Chapter 81
Meanwhile.
The shocking news that Yoo A-yeon was going to become a professor
was more than enough to stir up intense emotions in some people.
They had been watching Yoo A-yeon ever since the special lecture incident last year.
Completely smitten with her cute, clever appearance and feeling intense maternal affection,
they kept close tabs on her every move all over the internet.
In fact, this was only to be expected.
Even stray cats,
zoo pandas,
and even wolves that escaped from zoos
can gather hordes of rabid fans in a world like this
simply because they're cute.
Let alone Yoo A-yeon, who was far cuter than most ordinary children—there was no way she wouldn't have devoted fans.
These rabid A-yeon fans were known online as “A-yeon moms.”
People who literally claimed to be Yoo A-yeon's mothers.
Of course, there was only one real mother: Han Seol-ae.
But these A-yeon moms went around zealously defending Yoo A-yeon's human rights as if they were raising her themselves.
[Gallery]
[Title : Honestly, a seven-year-old professor seems a bit much]
I acknowledge that solving the Riemann Hypothesis is amazing.
But being a professor is a job.
Jobs come with responsibilities.
Preparing lectures, guiding students, participating in academic societies, and conducting research.
Is a seven-year-old child really supposed to handle all of that?
Hmm…
I'm against it.
- The kid says she wants to do it.
- A-yeon thought it through and chose this properly, too.
- What are you gonna do about it just because you oppose it, you dumbass? LOL
[Title : Is this really something that can be dismissed with “She wants it”?]
Kids normally can't distinguish between what's good for them and what's bad for them.
Even an elementary school kid would love it if you let them play games for twenty hours a day, right?
Isn't this something the adults around them need to put the brakes on?
- By that logic, we'd have to stop every kid who's been training to become an athlete or preparing for the arts since childhood.
- What a fucking comparison. Are twenty hours of gaming and being a professor the same thing?
[Title : I think kids should grow up running around and playing like kids]
Isn't a normal seven-year-old supposed to start elementary school and go to the playground with friends?
She must be saying she wants to become a professor because her parents forced her to succeed, leaving her no choice.
Watching the broadcast, I felt strangely upset.
How much pain must A-yeon be in?
- Did this moron actually watch the broadcast?
- Who is this guy to invent an A-yeon in his imagination and arbitrarily conclude that she's suffering?
[Title : No matter how you look at it, we need to address the child abuse issue]
A professor is ultimately a worker, too.
You're making a child do labor at seven?
Is this nineteenth-century England?
This is blatant child abuse.
I think Seoul National University needs to come forward and explain itself.
- Do you think SNU's legal team is a joke?
- Here comes another gallery Supreme Court justice.
- Please stop meddling in the kid's life and start being strict about your own.
[Title : For fuck's sake, stop acting like her mother-in-law]
Here we go again.
A-yeon needs to run and play.
A-yeon is still young.
Is A-yeon really happy?
You fucking bitches, are you her mothers?
- Literally mother-in-law behavior.
- Where did all these mysterious anonymous mother-in-laws suddenly come from? LOL
- She says she wants to do it, so why are you making such a fuss?
[Title : A-yeon moms, following Fu Bao moms and Neutgyu moms, LOL]
Fine, let's give you a hundred concessions and say Fu Bao and Neutgyu are animals that can't talk, so that can be understandable.
But A-yeon is a human being who speaks better than most adults.
Why don't you treat the child as a person with her own identity instead of ordering her around as if she were your property?
- A-yeon moms, LOL.
- It's just a matter of intelligence.
[Title : “Kids should play like kids” <- Did this moron actually watch the broadcast?]
She goes out with her family every week.
She often runs around and plays with her little sister.
She plays with people she's close to at the chess club.
What on earth does she have to do here before you'd say she's playing like a kid?
- There's a 100 percent chance he was too stupid to watch the broadcast.
- He just thinks only what he says is right and everyone else is wrong.
[Title : If you really care about children's rights, go worry somewhere else]
Child actors filming until two in the morning while catering to a director's whims.
Elementary school kids in Daechi-dong being run ragged through eight hagwons seven days a week.
These kids are right there in plain sight,
so why do you only go ballistic at A-yeon, shrieking that this isn't a child's happiness?
- Justice that only activates selectively, LOL.
- The hypocrisy is fucking disgusting.
- If the kid likes doing it, we should respect that.
[Title : Thinking she's cute like a daughter and living her life for her are different]
Honestly, I admit A-yeon is cute. I admit she's impressive, too.
I want A-yeon to be happy, too.
But that's where it ends.
After that, it's her life and her choice.
- For real.
- Protective instincts shouldn't turn into overinvestment.
- Support her, but don't interfere.
The majority opinion in the gallery supported Yoo A-yeon's choice.
And before long.
The A-yeon moms who had plastered the gallery with anonymous posts were all wiped out by the blue-mod's ban wave.
✒️✒️✒️
Once the broadcast started trending, EBC Broadcasting decided not to let the wave pass them by.
Along with the unaired footage they'd had to cut for time, they released the entire uncut version of Yoo A-yeon's interview on MiTube.
And here.
The strength of a public broadcaster was brought to bear.
EBC painstakingly added subtitles in every country's language to the interview video.
Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese, French, Spanish, and so on…
It was the kind of thoughtful gesture you'd expect from a broadcaster founded to spread educational content far and wide.
As a result.
People from every country flocked to Yoo A-yeon's interview video,
and the algorithm took over, sending the view count soaring.
Comments in languages from all over the world came pouring in.
It was the moment Yoo A-yeon's charm began spreading across the world once again.
[MiTube Comment Section]
What does it even mean that her little sister is von Neumann-level...
→ What does it even mean that her little sister is von Neumann-level...
I want to study abroad at Seoul National University and attend Professor Yoo A-yeon's lecture.
I'll work hard at solving problems, so please pat my head as a reward...
→ I want to study abroad at Seoul National University and attend Professor Yoo A-yeon's lecture.
I'll work hard at solving problems, so please pat my head as a reward...
Why doesn't my university have a seven-year-old professor?
→ Why doesn't my university have a seven-year-old professor?
In fact, I got to watch a chess tournament her little sister played in. Honestly, it was hard to believe she was only four years old. I think she could become a champion someday.
→ I watched a chess tournament her little sister competed in live. Honestly, her performance was hard to believe for a four-year-old. I think she has plenty of potential to become a champion someday.
K-food just defeated the entire American university.
→ K-food just defeated the entire American university.
I am starting to suspect the Yu family is actually a Korean government experiment.
→ I am starting to suspect the Yu family is actually a Korean government experiment.
So this is why Korea gets +4 Science in Civilization 💀
→ So this is why Korea gets +4 Science in Civilization 💀
Imagine explaining this sentence to someone in 2010:
“Yes, a six-year-old Korean girl has solved the Riemann Hypothesis, and she has rejected offers from Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford because she loves Korean food.”
→ Imagine explaining this sentence to someone in the 2010s.
“Yes, a six-year-old Korean girl solved the Riemann Hypothesis, and she turned down professorships from Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford because she loves Korean food.”
born too late to explore Earth,
born too early to explore the Galaxy,
but born at just the right time to witness a kawaii six-year-old girl become a professor.
→ born too late to explore Earth,
→ born too early to explore the Galaxy,
→ but born at just the right time to witness a kawaii six-year-old girl become a professor.
✒️✒️✒️
Our whole family huddled together on the sofa.
Then we watched [The Great Lecture - Yoo A-yeon Edition] over and over.
Since I was the one who had given the interview, I already knew everything that had been said.
So there was only one thing I focused on checking in the broadcast.
My pronunciation!
That's right.
Speaking of me, Yoo A-yeon, I was still a six-year-old child whose oral structure was slowly developing!
So when I spoke normally, my pronunciation would sometimes leak out all soft and indistinct.
Maybe it was because my tongue was short, but I spoke with a pffft-hiss like air leaking from a balloon.
So to pronounce things clearly, I had to put a lot of force into my tongue and throat!
But.
Starting next year, I was going to be a proper professor, wasn't I?
If I was going to teach my university-student older sisters and brothers properly, I had to be able to speak at least Korean and English with crisp pronunciation that sank right into their ears!
And I had to be able to chatter for over an hour without straining myself!
While preparing for this EBC interview, I looked back on the days when I'd practiced my pronunciation intensely.
— Giyeo-cha-cheol sseu-e-chan-sal ssan-cheon-chan-sang!
After biting a ballpoint pen sideways in my mouth—
I had rolled my tongue around earnestly and practiced my pronunciation for hours at a time.
Ugh. Those really were grueling days.
I had bitten down on that pen so much that the corners of my mouth had gone numb.
As I reminisced, I quietly watched myself on the screen.
During the interview, I deliberately didn't put a lot of force into my tongue.
Even though I just spoke naturally, my pronunciation came through clearly.
Oh, nice, nice.
This was all the result of that blood-and-sweat intensive training.
“Uhehing-.”
The practice had been grueling, but feeling how much clearer my pronunciation had become left me completely satisfied!
“Wow, big sis, your pronunciation was soooo good....”
Arin, who was watching the screen beside me, opened her eyes wide in admiration.
This was the perfect opportunity to motivate my little sister!
“A-rin, let's practice nice and slowly, too, okay? They say if you pronounce things well, you'll become even prettier, just like Mom!”
“Really? Can I become as pretty as Mommy?”
Arin's head shot up as she looked at Mom.
Mom lifted Arin up by the side with a swift whoop! and settled her onto her lap as she said,
“Hehe. That's right, A-rin.”
Mom smiled gently and chimed in.
“If you get good at pronunciation, A-rin, you can become a little prettier, too.”
Of course, the claim that good pronunciation makes you prettier was, honestly, a little short on evidence.
But that didn't mean it was complete nonsense, either.
In any case, practicing pronunciation means using a whole lot of facial muscles, right?
Then your facial muscles become a little firmer!
In other words, it's a kind of facial exercise.
…So the correlation coefficient was probably just a little greater than 0.
(*Correlation coefficient: An indicator of the relationship between two sets of data. If it's 0, they have no relationship; if it's 1 or -1, they have a strong relationship.)
“Yay! I want to practice my pronunciation, too!”
Arin clenched her little fists tight.
Then, copying exactly what I'd done, she bit a ballpoint pen sideways in her mouth and began mumbling.
“I’maglinggilinggilingeungilinggilinggiling…!”
“Pfft.”
I burst out laughing at Arin's adorable pronunciation.
The way she squeezed her eyes shut and mumbled with the pen in her mouth was so cute.
Was I like this not long ago, too?
Pat-pat-.
I gently patted Arin on the head.