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Post by mtnme on Apr 3, 2009 19:19:38 GMT -8
 Another wonderfully colorful photo, this time of Ho Suk Lee  Yoon-Gy Kwak with Apolo Anton Ohno in hot pursuit. |
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Post by bubblebuttsbabe on Sept 24, 2009 20:46:25 GMT -8
Source: english.yonhapnews.co.kr/Features/2009/09/23/31/0801000000AEN20090923008700315F.HTML2009/09/24 15:37 KST (Yonhap Feature) Sports community struggles against violent coaching By Kim Boram SEOUL, Sept. 24 (Yonhap) -- When we think of sporting heroes, the images that come to mind tend to be of their moments of glory: a team lifting the champion's trophy as a stadium erupts in deafening applause, or the tears of pride as an athlete dons an Olympic gold medal to the sound of their national anthem. Yet, such moments of glory are a small part of any athletes life, and offset by no small amount of grueling training, hard work and self-abnegation. In South Korea, where seniority and hierarchy are key parts of the culture, obedience counts for much. So what happens when a coach gets angry and beats their players for losing an important tournament? Should such violence be justified by the hopes of an Olympic medal or winning a major championship? The questions resonate in a country which last year won 10 golds at the Beijing Olympics, proving itself a formidable competitor in world sports, and at home set a new record this month in the number of attendants at baseball games in their 28-year history. Last week, controversy erupted when a top-ranking volleyball player from the national team, while training for an international competition later this month, was beaten in the face and abdomen by an assistant coach. The player, Park Chul-woo, later held a press conference with a scarred face and bared his bruised torso for the cameras. The Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) responded by dismissing Kim Ho-chul, the team's head coach, although his assistant argued that Park had been "impertinent." The KOC's punishment was unprecedentedly heavy, apparently a message to the sports community. But insiders' stories indicate there are many more such cases in the sports business. According to a research by the KOC in 2005, 78.1 percent of some 1,600 athletes in school teams answered that they had been subjected to violence while in training or in a match. Most of them, 77.5 percent, were beaten by coaches and 21.8 percent were beaten by a captain or senior teammates. In 2004, some short track speed skaters left the national training center after losing patience with years of beating and excessive training. The sport has been a popular and favorite sector, with tens of medals won at Olympics and other international competitions.
"It was five years ago, but nothing has improved," said former short track speed skater Chun Lee-Kyung who won four Olympic golds. "After the short track assault, many other violent cases have been reported, but violence is still on the show."
She said that leaders of sports teams who attach too much importance on performance results forced players to train excessively hard and even hit them.
South Korea has what is called "semi-finals system," which guarantees players in a team that finishes at least fourth in a nationwide tournament a college admission. Under such a system, results are a matter of life and death to coaches and players. A separate report published by the National Human Rights Commission in February this year said that trainers and coaches teaching in schools are obsessed with performance records in order to be recognized as competent leaders. "If a player he beat up does well in a contest, the coach believes it had an effect. And even the players begin to believe that they don't train hard otherwise. It is a vicious cycle," Chun said.
The KOC study said that most coaches say they hit their players because they did not follow their instructions and were too weak mentally to survive tough training and produce good results at tournaments.
Other experts point out that longstanding culture of hierarchy in sports community aggravates the vicious circle. In schools, coaches virtually have absolute power in deciding whether their student athletes are competitive enough to be included in a regular roster and to take the field. Students and their parents, well aware of such power, cannot protest against the coaches and cringe at every facial expression suggesting discontent by the coaches. "The distorted relationship really exists here. Even though players feel something is wrong, they cannot say it out loud and oppose it," said Lee Moon-kyu, former basketball player and current sports commentator. Some argue that the KOC should punish violent coaching staff to eradicate violence in sport. A few years ago, a head coach of a professional volleyball team had beaten his players after losing a match. He was suspended for only six months and came back. "The sport community demanded that suspended coaches be reinstated in order to produce good results at Olympic Games, and that has been customary in the past," KOC President Park Yong-sung said. "Now, we will never lift the ban and purge all violent coaches." "Does a gold medal achieved by violence mean a lot? Does a gold medal won by battering our players shine brightly?" Park asked. "We don't need such medals."
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Sept 24, 2009 22:14:18 GMT -8
Sheez, this makes Gordon Ramsey (Hell's Kitchen) look like a veritable 'teddy bear'.
I've seen articles mentioning strong-arm tactics within the Korean ST system in the past - I'm very saddened that the publicity surrounding it doesn't appear to have had an effect - yet...
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Post by bubblebuttsbabe on Sept 25, 2009 3:08:10 GMT -8
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Post by bubblebuttsbabe on Oct 28, 2009 0:08:43 GMT -8
Source: www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/10/27/200910270110.aspKorean skater to carry torch for 2010 Vancouver OlympicsThe Canadian Embassy here said Tuesday that South Korean short track speed skater Chun Lee-kyung has been selected as a torchbearer for the upcoming Vancouver Winter Olympic Games next year, Yonhap News reported. "Olympic gold medalist Chun Lee-kyung will be one of the torchbearers for the Olympics in Vancouver," the embassy said in a statement. The 33-year-old, who acquired four golds at the previous Winter Olympics in the short track speed skating event, will carry the flame in Tofino, Canada, on Nov. 1, it said. The 45,000 kilometer-long campaign will start on Oct. 30 and crisscross the country over three months. China's speed skating star Yang Yang, Germany's figure skater Katarina Witt and 12 other winter sports stars will also take part. "It will be a great day for me. I'm very honored to participate in this glorious event," said Chun at a press call.
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Oct 31, 2009 17:15:51 GMT -8
Rumor has it that Ho-Suk Lee has broken his ankle and will not compete in the upcoming World Cups.
That 'Suks' for Lee...
But he's expected to be back in full form in time for the Olympics. ;D
He seems like a nice enough guy - best of luck to him in his recovery!
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Jan 21, 2010 8:48:50 GMT -8
Short Track Speed Skating: South Korea aim to tighten golden strangleholdJan 19, 2010 TOKYO (AFP) - World champion Lee Ho-Suk is determined to tighten South Korea's stranglehold on Olympic short-track speed skating gold despite the daunting challenges from the United States and Canada... ..."My goal is to win a gold by beating Apolo Anton Ohno of the United States and Canada's Charles Hamelin," said Lee, the runner-up to compatriot Ahn Hyun-Soo in the men's 1,000m and 1,500m at the last Games. "When I get my first gold, I will then aim at another," added the 23-year-old, famous for his dynamic outside pass. Read the entire article at: www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-news/n/news/afp-news/short-track-speed-skating--south-korea-aim-to-tighten-golden-stranglehold_234672vC.html
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Mar 15, 2010 15:40:01 GMT -8
I first saw this link posted on FB by Tony Chung (thanks, Tony!) - it's some very encouraging news! Ahn Hyun-soo Looks to Resurrect CareerBy Kang Seung-woo / Korea Times Staff Reporter / Feb 24, 2010 Ahn Hyun-soo's career as a short tracker is something to rave about. He became the first South Korean athlete to win three gold medals at the Winter Olympic Games and the first male skater to top the World Championships for the fifth straight year. However, an unexpected injury sidelined him for more than a year, costing him an Olympic berth, and there have been whispers that his career is over. But Ahn is brushing them aside and seeking to resurrect his career. Read the entire story: www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/02/136_61382.html |
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Mar 20, 2010 10:09:26 GMT -8
From Day 2 World Championships competition: CHO Ha-Ri (#82, in the lead)...  See more images at: www.2010wstssc-sofia.com/ (Click 'Gallery') |
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Mar 20, 2010 11:04:57 GMT -8
Belated Day 1 action - World Championships - 1500M Final: 1-2-3 - Kwak (#172); Sung (#171); Lee (#170) - and that's how they finished, for a Korean sweep!   L to R: Sung Si-Bak (Silver); Kwak Yoon-Gy (Gold); Lee Ho-Suk (Bronze) And the Ladies (another sweep):  L to R: Lee Eun-Byul (Silver); Park Seung-Hi (Gold); Cho Ha-Ri (Bronze) See more images at: www.2010wstssc-sofia.com/ (Click 'Gallery') |
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Mar 22, 2010 16:15:52 GMT -8
OMG, y'all are gonna LOVE THIS!!! I first saw this on Facebook from Tony Chung, where he said "Holy crap, they can sing too?" (Since then, I've gotten a Google Alert about it, too!) There seems to be no end to the talent on this team - and will ya' look at the mob of screaming fans (In a way, they kind'a look like the Beatles, don't they?) Screengrabs coming - we're gonna play 'Name That Skater Singer'! |
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Mar 22, 2010 16:47:48 GMT -8
Screengrabs from the above-posted video: Can U name the skaters? (I dunno who the boy band is) Answers below#1  #2  #3  #4  #5  Answers:
#1 - Si-Bak Sung
#2 - Jung-Su Lee
#3 - Ho-Suk Lee
#4 - Seung Il Kim
#5 - Yoon-gy Kwak |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2010 20:47:47 GMT -8
How Funny! Let's find us an American hip-hop group, blend the relay team in with them and watch every BUST -a MOVE. Oh wait, Apolo did that. But how much fun with that be. They all admit to being hip-hop lovers. Would make a truly cool charity fund raiser for some well deserving organization.
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Mar 25, 2010 15:30:44 GMT -8
Copied from a post by Justsayin on the World Championships thread: Factionalism in Short Track Resurfaces By Kang Seung-woo Staff Reporter / Korean Times / Mar 25, 2010 www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/sports/2010/03/136_63024.html------------------------------ If I understand this right, Korean skaters come from several different 'factions' within the country (maybe it's sort of like the Skating Associations in the USA?), and these factions are very competitive against each other. I remember reading that Ahn was the only one from his faction on the Korean team at one point in time, and was having a difficult time. If I'm interpreting this article right, Lee Jung-Su, and Kim Seoung-Il must be in the same faction as Ahn, and Kwak is in a different one. If I run across that article, I'll post it. |
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Apr 6, 2010 19:41:11 GMT -8
Oh, these videos are just precious! (Seriously) Kwak is a HOOT! I can see why our men's team likes to hang out with the Koreans. ;D Yoon-gy Kwak VS Shani Davis ----------------------------------- Yoon-gy with team USA ---------------------------------- Korean Olympians In Vancouver (Kim Yu-Na hanging out with the skaters - watch for several USA skaters in this one, too!)  -------------------------------- Kwak Yoon-gy (Korean Short track skater) Tags: Shani Davis ; Yoon-Gy Kwak ; Short Track Speedskating |
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(In a way, they kind'a look like the Beatles, don't they?)