In Our Prime

{{Infobox film

| name = In Our Prime

| image = In Our Prime.jpg

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| native_name = {{Infobox Korean film name/auto

| hangul = ^이상한 나라의 수학자

| hanja = 異常한 나라의 數學者

|lk = Mathematician in Wonderland}}

| director = Park Dong-hoon

| producer = Ha Jeong-wan

| writer = Lee Yong-jae

| based_on =

| starring = {{Plainlist|

}}

| music = Lee Ji-soo

| cinematography = Park Hong-yeol

| editing = Kim Sun-min

| production_companies = Joy Rabbit

| distributor = Showbox

| released = {{Film date|2022|3|9|}}

| runtime = 117 minutes

| country = South Korea

| language = Korean

| budget =

| gross = {{USD|4.1 million}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/boxOffice_Yearly.jsp?mode=BOXOFFICE_YEAR&selectDt=2022&category=ALL&country=K|title=KOFIC, KOBIS (Korean Box Office Information System) The Box office: Korean films of 2022|access-date=23 March 2022|work=KOFIC}}

}}

In Our Prime ({{Korean|hangul=이상한 나라의 수학자|lit=Mathematician in Wonderland}}) is a 2022 South Korean drama film directed by Park Dong-hoon, starring Choi Min-sik, Kim Dong-hwi, Park Byung-eun, Park Hae-joon and Jo Yun-seo. It revolves around two people: a genius mathematician with a hidden past and a student who is failing math.{{cite news |last=Song |first=Seung-hyun |title='Oldboy' Choi Min-sik to return to big screen as genius mathematician |url=https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20220209000782 |work=The Korea Herald |access-date=11 March 2022|date=9 February 2022}}{{cite news |last1=Kwak |first1=Yeon-soo |title=Choi Min-sik says his new film 'In Our Prime' parallels 'Good Will Hunting' |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2022/02/398_323922.html |work=The Korea Times |access-date=11 March 2022|date=15 February 2022}} The film was released theatrically on March 9, 2022.{{Cite news|url=https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/now/article/312/0000530719 |script-title=ko:[종합] "수포자 감독이 만든 수학 영화" 대배우 최민식X신예 김동휘의 차진 호흡 '이상한 나라의 수학자' |trans-title=[Comprehensive] "Mathematics movie made by a desperate director" Great actor Choi Min-sik X rookie Kim Dong-hwi's breathing 'Mathematician in Wonderland' |author=Kim Ji-won |work=Ten Asia|publisher=Naver |date=February 15, 2022|access-date=March 11, 2022|language=ko}}

Plot

A genius mathematician, Lee Hak-sung, defects from North Korea in pursuit of academic freedom. To conceal his identity and past, he takes on the role of a security guard at an elite private high school, where only the top 1% of gifted students are admitted.

With his cold and stern demeanor, Hak-sung becomes the most avoided figure on campus. However, his life takes an unexpected turn when he meets Han Ji-woo, a struggling high school student who has given up on math. After discovering Hak-sung's true identity, Ji-woo persistently begs him to become his tutor.

As Hak-sung teaches Ji-woo not just how to find the right answers, but how to navigate the process of problem-solving, both of them experience an unexpected transformation in their lives.

Cast

Choi Min-sik as Lee Hak-sung, a school security guard and defector from North Korea who is said to have proven the Riemann hypothesis.
Kim Dong-hwi as Han Ji-woo, a student who asks Lee Hak-sung to teach him math.
Park Byung-eun as Kim Geun-ho, math teacher.
Park Hae-joon as An Gi-cheol, agent of the National Intelligence Service who monitors Lee Hak-sung and the owner of a junk shop that is a front office.
Jo Yun-seo as Park Bo-ram, Ji-woo's classmate.
Tang Jun-sang as Lee Tae-yeon, Lee Hak-sung's son.
Kang Mal-geum as Han Ji-woo's mother{{Cite news|url=https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/movie/article/311/0001419540 |script-title=ko:강말금·탕준상, '이상한 나라의 수학자' 속 반가운 얼굴들 |trans-title=Kang Mal-geum and Tang Jun-sang, familiar faces in 'Mathematicians in Wonderland'|author=Kim Ye-eun |work=Export News|publisher=Naver |date=March 11, 2022|access-date=March 11, 2022|language=ko}}
Kim Hee-jung as Park Bo-ram's mother
Joo Jin-mo as Oh Jeong-nam, a mathematician who participated in an international math competition with Lee Hak-sung when they were young.
Kim Won-hae as Park Pil-ju, a North Korean defector and Economics professor.

Reception

=Box office=

{{As of|2023|1|31}}, the film has a gross of US$4,081,864, and 534,287 admissions.

Awards and nominations

class="wikitable sortable"

! scope="col" |Year

! scope="col" |Awards

! scope="col" |Category

! scope="col" |Recipient

! scope="col" |Result

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | {{Tooltip|Ref.|Reference(s)}}

rowspan="9" |2022

| rowspan=4|Baeksang Arts Awards

| Best Director

| Park Dong-hoon

| {{nom}}

| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center" |{{cite web|url=https://entertain.naver.com/now/read?oid=144&aid=0000805268 |title=58회 백상예술대상 후보 공개…영광의 주인공은?|trans-title=58th Baeksang Arts Awards nominations revealed... Who is the hero of glory? |author=Ahn Byung-gil|work=Sports Kyunghyang|publisher=Naver|date=April 11, 2022|access-date=June 1, 2022|language=ko}}

Best Actor

| Choi Min-sik

| {{nom}}

Best Screenplay

| Lee Yong-jae

| {{nom}}

Best New Actor

| rowspan="6" | Kim Dong-hwi

| {{nom}}

Chunsa Film Art Awards

| rowspan="4" | Best New Actor

| {{won}}

|style="text-align:center"|{{Cite news|url=http://www.chunsa.or.kr/award2.html?cate=award2|script-title=ko:후보자(후보작) 리스트|trans-title=Candidate (Nominations) List|website=Chunsa Film Festival|date=August 26, 2022|access-date=August 27, 2022|language=ko|archive-date=September 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928072854/http://www.chunsa.or.kr/award2.html?cate=award2|url-status=dead}}

Buil Film Awards

|{{nom}}

Busan Film Critics Awards

|{{won}}

Grand Bell Awards

|{{nom}}

Blue Dragon Film Awards

|Best New Actor

|{{won}}