Korea's 'bible of math' celebrates 50th anniversary
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"The Art of Mathematics" and it's author Hong Sung-dae / Courtesy of Twitter
By Lee Han-soo
The nation’s best-selling mathematics reference book, regarded as the “bible of math” among high school students, will mark its 50th on Wednesday.
The legendary “The Art of Mathematics” was first published on Aug. 31, 1966, and has sold more than 46 million copies. The book is believed to be the highest-selling book in Korea, except for The Bible.
Hong Sung-dae wrote the book aged 27, when he was studying mathematics at Seoul National University. He did the work after feeling sad that Korean students studied math with books imported from Japan. His book created a sensation on release, selling more than 35,000 copies in the first year.
The author established the Sangsan Institute, a non-profit school foundation, with his proceeds and opened Sangsan High School in 1981.
“My youth gave me the courage to put all my effort into publishing the reference book,” Hong was quoted as saying in a report. “Now I want to give back the money I earned from the students to the students themselves.”