Sohn Ki Chung - a National Hero to remember

-Yanna Lee

"Kitei Son! Kitei Son of Japan is first to cross the finishing line!” On August 9th, 1936, Sohn Ki Chung won the Gold Medal for the marathon competition in Berlin at the 11th Olympic Games. Apart from simply the sheer talent and athletic abili-ties, Sohn deserves to be lauded for his perseverance and loyalty to Korea.

Sohn Ki Chung crossing the Finishing Line

After breaking the world record with 2:26:42 on 3rd November, 1935, Sohn had dreams of entering the Olympic Games of 1936. That period, however, was a dark one for Korea. From 1910 Japan had taken over Korea, making it a colony of Japan. With the ongoing war, Japan ended up extracting many resources from Korea in order to supply its own military base. 1936 in particular was part of the most repressive period in Korea’s colonial history, since the administration was moving from previous apartheid-style policy (system of segregation based on race) to a forced assimilation.

Consequently, when Sohn applied for the Olympic team, he was only allowed to apply as a Japanese national. This led to Sohn Ki Chung’s becoming “Kitei Son,” the Japanese pronunciation of his Korean name. Even to this day, there are some websites that contain references to “Son Kitei of Japan” who won the 1936 marathon race.

The Awards Ceremony - The two Korean athletes bow their heads in protest

What is to be remembered is the amazing bravery of Sohn Ki Chung. He would only sign his name in Korean, and also go to authorities to explain that Korea was separate from Japan. During the awards ceremony, Sohn once again showed great nationalism. Emotional and humiliated, Sohn listened to the Japanese national anthem and saw the Japanese flag raised to celebrate his victory. In silent protest, Sohn kept his head bowed for the whole of the ceremony, and expressed "silent shame and outrage" by covering the Japanese flag on his shirt with a small oak tree.

Sohn Ki Chung's photo as published by Donga Ilbo

The repercussions of the event were incredible. Following Sohn’s triumph, pictures in the press and news of his victory took two weeks to be published. Donga Ilbo, an influential Korean daily, published its August 25 issue with the picture of Sohn Ki Chung while eliminating the Japanese flag on his shirt. Donga Ilbo editors had decided to challenge the authorities. The journalists and editors knew that they were taking a risk. As expected, the Japanese government responded by jailing eight people ― most of them heads of the newspaper’s departments ― and suspending the newspaper for eight months.

The fight for freedom—that is what Korea had. The willingness to oppose what was wrong, and the unity of the people clearly echoed in the Korean citizens’ hearts.