No. 153 / Sep 6, 2021
Korea is a descendant of Goguryeo, which existed from BC 37 to AD 668. It was so powerful that it won all the wars against the Sui, the unified dynasty of China. The largest number of troops deployed by the Sui Dynasty was approximately 2 million. It is the largest number of troops deployed before World War Ⅰ. Goguryeo was a brave country with enough power to expand its territory to Manchuria and the Liaodong region of China. The people were skilled in martial arts. It seems that Goguryeo’s martial spirit and archery ability still linger in its descendants, the Koreans. At the Tokyo Olympics, Korea won four gold medals in archery. The present Olympics archery added a coed match; therefore, it consisted of a total of five detailed events. Korea won gold medals in all events, except for men’s individual matches.
Archery was adopted as an official sport at the 1900 Paris Olympics. Korea first went to a 1984 Los Angeles (LA) Summer Olympics game and won one gold and one bronze medal in the women’s individual matches. Since participating in archery at the Olympics, Korea has won a total of forty-three medals out of ninety-seven (twenty-three gold, nine silver, and seven bronze medals). This number is 2.7 times more than the medals received by the United States (U.S.), which ranked second, with a total of sixteen medals (eight gold, five silver, three bronze). Korea recorded nine consecutive wins for the women’s team, two consecutive wins for men’s team, and the first winner of a coed match.
Korea stands out in archery because of the way the Korean Archery Association operates. The fair and systematic operation adds synergy to the players’ efforts. In the selection process, other than archery scores such as regionalism, school ties, blood ties or career, are strictly excluded, and athletes are trained under all possible conditions, such as windy or rainy days and noisy stadiums, to avoid embarrassment on match days. Unlike other sports, due to the way the Archery Association operates, which is free from regionalism, school ties, blood ties the national archery players do not have to endure unfairness such as the bullying by seniors, sexual assault by coaches, selection in only specific universities students. Even though they are federations under the same Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) in the country, the management methods and outcomes are very different. The Archery Association is a good example of the importance of a leader’s qualities in the outcome.
By Kim Min-ji, AG Reporter
mmoboo77@naver.com
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