Sohn Kee-chung

Joo's article about Chan Ho Park as an icon made me curious to search for other icons of Korean sports. I read about a marathon runner by the name of Sohn Kee-chung who won the Olympic gold medal in 1936, becoming the first Korean Olympic medalist. What I find more interesting was that because of the Japanese occupation, Sohn had to compete under a Japanese name and the Japanese flag. However, he always wrote his name in Korean, and would draw a Korean flag next to his name. Like Park Chan Ho, I believe Chan can also represent the "symbolic function as nation." No matter what flag he is competing under, Chan still retains his Korean values. As a true sign of iconic status, not only has a memorial park been built in his name, but a memorial hall is also in the works.

http://english.kbs.co.kr/society/news/1359501_11773.html

"The Sohn Kee-chung Memorial Foundation headed by Kang Hyung-koo has recently expressed the intent to build a separate hall in memory of the late marathon hero Sohn Kee-chung (孫基禎, 1912-2002.11.15) by bringing all of his relics together at one location.

The late Sohn won the gold medal in the marathon at the Berlin Olympics in 1936. The fact that Sohn's gold medal has been kept by the Yukyong Foundation, an organization for children's affairs, has been a public concern these days.

Lee Joon-sung, 38, secretary general of the Sohn Kee-chung Memorial Foundation, said on August 11, "We should not let the Yukyong Foundation take care of the marathon hero's gold medal, if we are serious enough to properly preserve the historic significance of his feat."

He said, "We are planning to build a separate hall in memory of the late marathon hero with the belief that the Yukyong Foundation has recently had some problem managing his relics."

Lee also said, "We will also dig out records and files to find out whether the marathon hero's gold medal and laurel had been donated to the Yukyong Foundation or to the state. We will ask the Yukyong Foundation to return those relics to us based on our research."

YYZ