(Yearender) S. Korean athletes rise to new heights despite political setbacks

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- When South Korean Park Tae-hwan started swimming at
age seven in an attempt to defy his asthma, he did not imagine he would grow up
to be the first to bring his nation an Olympic medal in the sport long dominated
by Western competitors.
This year at the Beijing Olympics, the 19-year-old did more than just score a
medal. He galvanized his country by taking gold in the 400-meter freestyle and
demonstrated his potential to evolve into a greater medal producer by capturing
silver in the 200-meter event.
Park's feat was the beginning of many rallies South Korea would stir up at the
Summer Games, held in the capital of its giant neighbor, China.
The delegation swept all four of the Games' taekwondo competitions, claimed a
largely unexpected gold medal in baseball and produced the world's strongest
woman, Jang Mi-ran, in weightlifting.
South Korea, which had won nine golds at the 2004 Athens Games. posted its
best-ever tally of 13, electrifying fans back home burdened by deepening economic
woes.
The year in sports opened on a somber note. A 35-year-old Korean boxer named Choi
Yo-sam lapsed into a coma in 2007 shortly after winning a Christmas bout against
an Indonesian champion, and was taken off life support on Jan. 3.
In his personal journal, disclosed after his death, Choi spoke of his fears and
despair associated with the increasingly unpopular sport.
"I miss so much the people who have left me. Will boxing leave me, too?" he wrote.
"One step back, then I die," he said, comforting himself by picturing a life he
had always dreamed of.
"I just want to live a simple life in a pretty house on a green landscape with
someone I love," he said. "I don't like the smell of blood any more."
On the football pitch, South Korea rolled ahead toward its seventh straight World
Cup ticket by advancing to the final Asian qualifying round -- alongside North
Korea.
North Korea repeatedly rejected the idea of South Korea raising its national flag
and playing its anthem in Pyongyang, forcing two inter-Korean matches to be moved
to the Chinese city of Shanghai.
The two countries are technically still at war, not having signed a peace treaty
after the 1950-53 Korean War, and their ties rapidly unraveled this year as
Seoul's new administration took a more hardline approach in February.
The soured relations also crippled a symbolic Olympic movement, as the nations
could not agree to a joint march at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Games.
The two Koreas marched together holding a common flag at the openings of the 2000
and 2004 Summer Olympics. Talks aimed at keeping up the tradition in Beijing
failed a day ahead of the start of the event, prompting International Olympic
Committee (IOC) chief Jacques Rogge to express his disappointment.
"The political powers both on the South and on the North did not agree, and I
regret this very much," Rogge said. "This is a setback for peace, harmony and
reunification."
Still, South Korea enjoyed an important diplomatic success when its Athens
taekwondo gold medalist, Moon Dae-sung, was elected to the prestigious IOC
Athletes' Commission.
Moon, 32, engaged in a weeks-long campaign of face-to-face interaction at the
Olympic Village to make his presence known, and came out ahead of Australian
swimming legend Grant Hackett and Chinese track star Liu Xiang in the vote.
Moon's victory -- in which he won 3,220 of 7,216 votes -- was a boost to South
Korea, which had lost two of its IOC members over the years and failed to win the
right to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The language barrier hardly affected Moon during his campaign in Beijing, but it
was a source of irritation for some officials at the LPGA Tour, where South
Koreans form the largest and most successful group of international players.
LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens said in August that her organization was mulling
penalties for those lacking English proficiency, citing professional obligations
for players to support sponsors through interviews.
The plan instantly drew a blowback from both U.S. and international media, and
Bivens had to give it up after being stung by criticism from within the Tour,
including its top-notch golfers.
Brushing aside the brouhaha, South Korean golfers continued to mark up resounding
victories on the U.S. circuit, with 19-year-old Park In-bee becoming the youngest
ever to win the U.S. Women's Open.
Shin Ji-yai also won three LPGA events this year alone, becoming the first-ever
to achieve such as a non-Tour member.
On the ice, Kim Yu-na easily secured a ticket to the first Grand Prix Final held
in her country, but came just short of winning her third straight title at the
top international figure skating event.
The 18-year-old South Korean, who has become a national icon because of her
top-class performance and charming looks, will take another shot at landing her
third Grand Prix Final title next year, and a gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver
Winter Olympics.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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