Korean Heroes in Asia - written by 10125 Min Gyeong Hwan and 10624 Yun Won Hyeong

Korean Heroes in Asia

written by 10125 Min Gyeong Hwan and 10624 Yun Won Hyeong

The 2018 Asian games ended in success as the Korean national soccer team won the gold medal, and many other players achieved good results in various events. However, did you know the fact that there were Korean coaches who led the other nations to victory and that they were praised by the citizens of Korea as well as others? A lot of people wouldn’t have heard about the coaches since they concentrated more on the players and the victory of Korea.

Once a Legend, Forever a Legend – Joo Bong Park

Famous for having the most world championship titles in the world in badminton, Joo Bong Park started his new post as a badminton coach in England, in 1997 and has been leading the Japanese national badminton team for 14 years. During the 2018 Asian Games, the Japanese women’s doubles team won the gold medal and the men’s doubles team got third place. He is now called Kami-Sama which means lord god in Japanese.

When Park was first appointed as the coach of Japan, the Japanese national team was falling apart. The players cared more about their own teams’ performances than the national team. They didn't even have a national training center for the athletes who represented their country. So, Coach Park started a massive reformation in order to make the team get to a higher place. He adopted the training system of Korea such as the national coach system, training camp, and many other things. After the changes in the 2004 Athens Olympics, Japan’s rank has been steadily rising, and in 2018 they finally achieved the gold medal.

This medal is especially impressive for Japan because, after the golden age in the 1970s, interest in badminton had gradually gone down. Also, they hadn't won any gold medals since the 1998 Bangkok Olympics.

However, after 2004 Athens Olympics, their pride with badminton had gone up as well as interest towards it. Throughout all of this, Coach Park regained the strength of Japanese badminton and also showed the world his name again for winning a title in a major match as a coach.

The Magician of Vietnam – Hang Seo Park

Hang Seo Park, the head coach of Vietnamese national football team is now making history. He got his team reaches the semi-finals in the 2018 Asian Games. It’s the best record in all of Vietnamese football history. Now all Vietnamese people know him and call him the magician.

Park was appointed as the head coach of the Vietnamese national football team in September 2017. Four months later, Vietnam placed second in AFC U-23 Championship. It was the first time for Vietnam to get to the final in an international tournament. A lot of people praised him because it’s very difficult for coaches to figure out the team in a short period.

In the 2018 Asian Games, Vietnam showed high-quality football skills with Park’s coaching. Vietnam got through the first round by beating Japan, Pakistan, and Nepal. Vietnam played against Syria and won 1-0 in the quarter-final. They had their semi-final game against Korea.

Park said, “I’m Korean. But now I’m the coach of Vietnam and whoever we play against, I will do my best to win.”

Vietnam did their best but failed to stop Korean players such as Heungmin Son and Uijo Hwang, being defeated 3-1. Although they had to stop their road to the gold medal and failed to get the bronze medal, many Vietnamese football fans got excited that they could watch their team ranked fourth place in the international tournament.

Now, Park is trying to improve the level of Vietnamese football. Vietnam will participate in the Suzuki Cup which is the football championship of nations affiliated with the ASEAN football federation. Thanks to Park, Vietnamese people expect to get the trophy. Park made a big change for Vietnamese football.

Not only Joo Bong Park and Hang Seo Park but many Korean coaches such as Yeong Suk Choi of the Thai national Taekwondo team and Man Soo Lee of the Laotian national baseball team, work over the world. In the Asian Games, they showed remarkable results. We can find that Korean coaches get respected and recognition in Asia.