What do you think is the common feature between the numbers 284 and 220? Maybe most people will find it difficult to answer the question. The feature the numbers have in common is that the total sum of each one's divisors is equal to the other number. This is called an "Amicable Number." This is just one of the unusual mathematical facts we are introduced to in Ogawa Yoko's novel The Professor and His Beloved Equations. The novel makes us aware of the meaning of life and love by using such unusual mathematical allusions. The main protagonist, Dr. Math, not only leaves a deep impression on the
Have you ever heard about pansori? Pansori is a type of Korean music. It is usually performed by two people, one singer and one drummer. It was proclaimed a “Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage” by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) on November 7, 2003. As pansori has influenced traditional Korean music culture, the movie Lineage of the Voice also deals with pansori and the lives related to it. Paik Yeon-ah, who directed Lineage of the Voice, confesses that she was often asked about Korean culture during her stay in the U.K. At that time, she real
Sometimes love is the most difficult thing but sometimes it is the easiest thing because it depends on our mind. Do you have someone in your mind? If so, why do you love him or her? The book, Why Do I Love You, doesn't answer the question directly. However, if you read this book, you can feel sympathy with the author about love and understand the meaning of love more than before. The original title of Why Do I Love You was Essays in Love because the form of this book is an essay-writing style which helps you to understand the contents more realistically. Alain de Botton, an author who speciali
Presenting a prospective vision of a genre of western-style movies made in Korea, the Good, the Bad, and the Weird, shown at the 61st Cannes International Film Festival in May, received a great public favor. The audience gave a high rating to this movie because it pursued the harmony of both eastern and western style movies. Within eight days of the release, the number of box office sales reached three million and twenty four days after the release the number reached six million, recorded as the picture of proven box office in this year. Director Kim Jee-woon has made various genres of movie,
The musical the Last Empress has been showing off its fame and staying power since its first showing in 2007, recorded as the successful musical which had more than one million spectators. The reason that this musical could be one of the best representative performances is because it was made by such talented musicians: Korea representative composer Kim Hee-gab, lyricist Yang In-ja, and Australian musician Peter Casey, already famous for his musical arranging talent through his works Cats and Jesus Christ Superstar. Harmonized with the rhythm of orchestra and Korean traditional tunes, the Last
The musical, the Last Empress, is an original work about the Joseon Dynasty’s last Empress Min’s life story and it was produced to look back on the memory of her.The Last Empress has attracted over 920,000 people since it was premiered in 1995. Further, just 2 years later, when it was successfully performed in Broadway, every foreign spectator gave a high rating to it. The Last Empress was the first successful work in introducing oriental musical to other countries, so the performance has a significant meaning in itself. Empress Min’s life began when she got married to Emperor Gojong at the ag
Gong Ji-young, who inaugurated the era of feminist literature in Korea, has published her eighth novel, My Sweet Home. Her novels have always become a talk of the town and this, her newly-released work, also became a bestseller as soon as it was published. My Sweet Home is a family novel. However, the family is unacquainted with other families. Contrary to other ordinary family images, My Sweet Home is unfamiliar. For example, in this family, the existence of the father is absent from the home. That's why My Sweet Home attracts people's attention in that it helps mediate a new family image in
Historically, who do you think tried to exert himself the most to abolish slavery? Maybe your immediate answer to it will be Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of America, who did his best to abolish slavery in the U.S.A. However, there was another person who fought against slavery abolition. He was William Wiberforce, an Assemblyman of the British Parliament in the 18th Century, and he tried to abolish slavery for twenty years. Many people were impressed by his devotion and called him ‘British conscience.’The British Empire in the 18th Century could obtain one third of its national income th