[KS] KH: Editorial Korea 's Pride & Joy

[Frank M. Tedesco]

>      07-16-98 : East Wind _ West Wind (Column By Mary B. Kim);
>      Korea's Pride and Joy
> 
>      Whatever anyone may say, this past week belonged to Pak Se-ri who
>      lightened up our spirits in the otherwise gloomy hot summer in
>      the middle of a long rainy season.
> 
>      Our damaged pride from the sluggish performance by the soccer
>      team at the World Cup finals in France did not seem to matter
>      that much as we watched on television the brilliant performance
>      of our own 20-year-old golfer in America.
> 
>      No matter that we lost much sleep over several nights as the
>      competitions usually did not start until 4 a.m. Seoul time. As we
>      satiated in the glory of her victory, we were able to forget for
>      a while the country's baffling economic woes and annoying
>      provocations continually coming our way from the North.
> 
>      We were able to ignore for a while the distressing street
>      demonstrations by the mistreated and the unemployed. We were able
>      to dismiss nonchalantly new revelations of corruption and
>      misdeeds by the rich and the powerful.
> 
>      When Se-ri won the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic in Ohio Monday, she
>      set new records with a 10-under-par at 61, the lowest LPGA score
>      ever, in her second round. She tied for the first-place record at
>      23-under after four rounds. She also became the year's biggest
>      money-winner.
> 
>      She gained national and international attention in mid-May when
>      she won the McDonald's LPGA Championship, the first major
>      tournament she entered in her first year's pro tour. She was the
>      youngest ever to win the U.S. Women's Open Championship July 6 on
>      the second sudden death play-off hole with a 18-foot birdie putt.
> 
>      By the time Se-ri was l8, she had won most of the major
>      tournaments in Korea. Sponsored by a chaebol group, she headed
>      for Florida about a year-and-a-half ago to become exposed to the
>      best training possible for her career.
> 
>      Her father, a golf enthusiast himself, is credited with
>      recognizing her special talent at the age of 10. Like all
>      ambitious Korean fathers, he urged her to aim high, and become
>      ``the best golfer in the world.''
> 
>      Observers have noted her discipline, confidence and ability at
>      mind control on the fields starting with consistently perfect tee
>      shots and finishing off with birdie putts, smoothly overcoming
>      hurdles in the rough or the bunker.
> 
>      She has achieved what the Koreans as a whole want to achieve.
>      Unlike the soccer team that represented the nation, Pak is in the
>      world arena as an individual competitor. Yet, Her success is
>      every Korean's pride and joy.
> 
>      The Korean national self-esteem was raised by Pak's performance
>      on the golf course, just as Croatia's third place win did at the
>      World Cup Soccer.
> 
>      Outstanding achievements by the individual Korean talents have
>      been noted in all fields, such as music, science, and sports. The
>      leaders of this country must somehow find a linkage that would
>      translate the individual brilliance to national greatness.
> 
>      Pak Se-ri is a product of modern Korea. Her victory came not in
>      taekwondo or wrestling, the sports in which the Korean have
>      already shown superiority, but in golf, the most Western of all
>      sports.
> 
>      Until very recently, golf has been looked upon off-and-on as a
>      wicked, extravagant influence on the Korean life, depending upon
>      who was living at the Blue House at the time.
> 
>      But it did not stop a steady growth of golf population in
>      consonance with the country's economic success. Shortly before
>      the War in l950, the Korean golfers numbered only 150. In l96l
>      the number did not exceed l,000. In l983, it was 150,000.
> 
>      Today, the Korean golf population is estimated at 2.5 million.
>      There are 128 golf courses registered with the National Golf
>      Association. No doubt, Pak Se-ri's success will spur many parents
>      to take their kids to golf ranges in Korea's ``can do'' spirit,
>      and feel justified in doing so.
> 
>      [Image]
> 
>            Copyright 1998 Korea Herald. All rights reserved.
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http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/kh0716/m0716e02.html

-- 


Frank Tedesco, Ph.D.
Occasional lecturer, University of Maryland
Assistant Professor
Sejong University
98 Kunjadong, Kwangjin-gu
Seoul 143-747 KOREA
Tel/fax: 82-2-997-3954
E-mail: tedesco at uriel.net

"Life is a terminal disease, and it's sexually transmitted."
John Cleese, the Buddhist.


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