[Opinion_01] What drove Korean sports to see success has ruined the athletes.

The leader of Team Kim, Kim Eun-jeong, revealed verbal abuse of coaches and unfair treatment from the administroation in the press conference.

In the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic, the Korean national curling team called ‘Team Kim’ occupied the empty throne for winter sports queen(s) after the famous figure skater Yuna Kim retired in Sochi. The thrilling victories of Team Kim over strong teams, such as Sweden and Japan, had introduced Koreans to the world of sliding and sweeping. The success of Team Kim was unique since none of them were educated to become professional players. The members began to play curling as a hobby, and they were school friends, sisters, or friends’ sisters to each other. All of team’s constituents including manager and head coach shared the same family name Kim, adding another specialty to the team. The team leader Kim Eun-jeong shouted out “Young me” loudly every time, which later turned out to be a secret jargon adopting one of member’s names. The fame that Team Kim had gained during the Olympic has brought tremendous governmental subsidy for building curling centers in Gumi and operating youth programs to raise a future Team Kim. The public was surprised again to know that the team did not have an official arena for practice. The endorsement for the curling association also escalated in a hope to provide better conditions to the Kims and future athletes. However, the public advocacy soon became denunciation when the leader Kim had a press conference in order to disclose unfair treatment that her teammates had received from the association since the beginning. The team managers verbally abused the players and did not distribute subsidy, including the one that the Kims earned in Pyeongchang. The association was almost occupied by one influential local family whose words were considered to be laws in Gumi region. The head coaches, medical team, and other supporting personnel had run the team as if it was a family business. Team Kim had nothing but obeying their instructions to purse their dream in the Olympic until gaining national fame that would be enough to draw public attention to their mistreatment.

 

Han could not raise both arms over the shoulder in his last year 2019.

Han Ki-joo, once the hottest pitching prospect in Korean baseball, took off his gloves and left the locker room forever in November 2019. Han’s career was like an ephemeral firework which blazed brighter than those of any other top rookies yet had never crossed the sky again. Han pitched the fastest ball in the Korean peninsula in his high school years and won the contract with Kia Tigers of one billion won (one million dollar) after graduation. Meanwhile, his right arm had already burned down for the excessive use in the high school league, calling for an elbow surgery in America or thorough rehabilitation that limited his pitches to 40 in a game. The head coach had refused Han’s surgery for four years until the Tigers obtaining the championship in 2009. He stepped down from the mound for the surgery, and that became Han’s Rubiccon river. Han later attributed his failure in the health care, especially his pitching arm, to himself as it was his decision to comply with the coach’s request, while most of old Tigers fans disagreed with him. The baseball fans and retired players accused coaches and managers, who had pursued victories without considering players’ health status, of making not only Han but many other promising pitchers wither before blooming. The KBO administration had set up the task force to come up with rules and obligations that prevent young pitchers from being exploited in early ages and guarantee injured players to receive proper treatments without getting disadvantages from teams. 

Choi wrote in her diary that "I fear him(coach) so much that it makes me vomit."

A week ago, a young triathlon prospect Choi Suk-hyeon freed herself from the sexual abuse and physical harassment by the head coach and team doctor, leaving a message to her mom “Mom, I love you. Please make sure to reveal their guilts.” The 23-year-old athlete had asked for help on several online communities as her last hope, after finding that neither police nor the Korea Sports Council could provide any aid to a hopeless athlete. When the death of George Floyd triggered the Black Lives Matter movement against racism in the States, the precious life of young girl sparked the movement to drive out violence and sexual exploitation in sports teams in South Korea. The current movement is different from what Team Kim and the pitcher Han had caused in a way that people have urged not only transformation of administrations but fundamental changes in oppressive and hierarchical sports society. The unique ‘Seonbae’ culture in Korea, which came from the spirt of Confucianism that respects elders, stands out even more among athletes as coaches have the absolute authority over team managements. There were several reported cases that players who refused to pay extra money to coaches had not played in official games for months despite of outstanding capabilities. Furthermore, as every player usually reside together in a restricted area for trainings, younger players have to follow older players’(they are called Seonbae) instructions to stay undisturbed. In this environment, the acts of violence and sexual abuse by older players and coaches are justified in the name of providing guidance, tightening discipline, or boosting teamwork. The case of the triathlon player explicitly exposed the hideous status of current Korean sports society. The problem is that this is the tip of the iceberg, and more than thousands of players are still under the treats of harassment, fearing revenges if they report violence. Some civil organizations also pointed out that some coaches and administrators have privatized sports teams and ruled over players like a kingdom, especially among unpopular sports like curling and triathlon.

A civil organization protests in front of the city hall of Gyungjoo, which Choi had played for.

Since the Seoul Olympics in 1988, the Korean government actively supported athletes in many areas to become a sports powerhouse along with western countries and Japan. The athletes spent doubled time in practice so that they could overcome the gap with players from advanced countries. The strict environment where players accomplished every practice coaches ordered was one of driving forces that had athletes to turn impossible into possible. Successful older players (Seonbae) had paved a way for new players to receive better support from the government and the public, and youngers practiced harder to outdo the predecessors. It had worked quite well as Korea has got into top 15 countries in both Winter and Summer Olympics. However, the isolated and repressive society conceived a lot of problems that should not be overlooked. The government, administration, as well as players themselves should have fruitful long-term discussion to come up with preventive measures for another case of Han, Kim, and Choi.

 

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Yoo Jee ho, "Former top pitching prospect traded." Yonhap News Agency, Nov 29, 2017.

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Yoo Jee ho, "With key figures banned, triathlon body shifts focus to mysterious 'team doctor'." Yonhap News Agency, July 07, 2020, https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20200707006952315

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