Kim Yong-un (; 6 September 1927 – 30 May 2020) was a South Korean mathematician, philosopher, and critic of civilisations. He was active in various fields of mathematics, philosophy, anthropology, and linguistics, and is considered to have established the

history of mathematics The history of mathematics deals with the origin of discoveries in mathematics and the History of mathematical notation, mathematical methods and notation of the past. Before the modern age and the worldwide spread of knowledge, written examples ...

in Korea. He was a professor of mathematics at

Hanyang University Hanyang University (HYU, ) is a Private university, private research university in Seoul and Ansan (ERICA campus), South Korea. ''Hanyang'' () derives from the Names of Seoul, former name of the capital Seoul used during the Joseon period. The u ...

Life

Kim Yong-un was born in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in 1927. He was liberated in the year he entered

Waseda University Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...

and returned to his father's hometown of

Naju Naju (; ) is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. The capital of South Jeolla Province was located at Naju until it was moved to Gwangju in 1895. The name Jeolla Province actually originates from the first character of Jeonju () and the ...

South Jeolla Province South Jeolla Province (), formerly South Chŏlla Province, also known as Jeonnam (), is a province in the Honam, Honam region, South Korea, and the Provinces of Korea, southernmost province in mainland Korea. South Jeolla borders the provinces of ...

in 1946. While working as a math teacher at Mokpo High School and Gwangju Jeil High School since 1947, he felt the need to popularize math and later wrote several popular math books. After teaching for more than 10 years, he earned a doctorate in science while studying in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. In the late 1970s, he studied the history of mathematics, and since the 1980s, he has analyzed Korea and Japan in a comparative cultural way by combining mathematics and history. The original form, which means

collective unconscious In psychology, the collective unconsciousness () is a term coined by Carl Jung, which is the belief that the unconscious mind comprises the instincts of Jungian archetypes—innate symbols understood from birth in all humans. Jung considered th ...

ness of the community, and the locality in which the community is located, were involved in the development of language and history. In 1983, he founded the Korean Mathematical History Association and became the first chairman, and in 1994, he participated in the development process of Ungjin Publishing (now Ungjin Thinkbig), a mathematics learning magazine brand of Ungjin Publishing (now Ungjin Thinkbig), along with his younger brother, Professor Kim Yong-guk of Hanyang University. This is also the predecessor of Thinkbig, a learning center brand of Ungjin. He wrote more than 150 books throughout his life.

Academic background

* Bachelor's degree in mining at Waseda University in Japan (dropout) * Bachelor's degree in mathematics at

Chosun University Chosun University () is one of the oldest private universities in South Korea. Its campus is situated in Gwangju metropolitan city, in southwestern South Korea. Around 33,000 students are enrolled. Academics Undergraduate courses are offere ...

* Graduate School of Orburn University in the U.S. (Bachelor of Science) * Graduate School of

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

, Canada (Doctor of Science)

Career

* Assistant Professor of

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

(1962–1965) * Visiting professor at

Kobe University , also known in the Kansai region as , is a public research university located in Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan. The university was established in 1949, but the academic origins of Kobe University trace back to the establishment of Kobe Higher Commercia ...

in Japan * A visiting professor at

Tokyo University The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

in Japan * Guest Professor of the Center for International Cultural Research in Japan * Professor of Mathematics at Hanyang University (1969–1993) * President of the Korean Mathematical History Society * Professor emeritus of mathematics at Hanyang University (1994-current) * Chairman of the Korea Broadcasting Culture Promotion Agency (2000–2003) * Director of the Korean Mathematical and Cultural Institute

Books

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Yong-un 20th-century South Korean mathematicians Academic staff of Hanyang University Waseda University alumni University of Alberta alumni 1927 births 2020 deaths Academics from Tokyo Historians of mathematics South Korean philosophers South Korean historians