English-language biography Korea’s Olympic Icon ? Kim Un-yong’s Resolute Odyssey shares the life of Kim Un-yong, a legend of Korean sports administration
Korea’s Olympic Icon ? Kim Un-yong’s Resolute Odyssey, an English-language biography of the late former Korea Sports Council president and International Olympic Committee vice-president Kim Un-yong, will be released on June 18 by the English-language specialist publisher Seoul Selection. The book will be distributed and sold in South Korea and overseas through global channels including the US-based website Amazon.com. It will also be sold in e-book form in the Kindle, Apple, Google, and other online stores.
This biography is of special significance as a work by David Miller, a veteran sports journalist from the United Kingdom. A journalist who has spent over six decades traveling to sports settings at home and all around the globe, Miller has covered no fewer than 24 Olympics and 14 World Cup competitions in his career. Miller shared a particular closeness with Kim Un-yong, of whom he has said there would “never have been an Olympics held in Seoul had it not been for him.” Miller and Kim interacted for many years during the former’s activities as a sports reporter and official IOC historian.
Kim’s life received newfound attention in South Korea with the 2017 publication of a biography by journalist Chung Tae-hwa. The publication of an English translation titled A Big Man Who Embraced the World in August 2018 was an opportunity for sports figures in South Korea and around the world to reflect on Kim and his aims. While the focus of the previous biography was on Kim’s career as a South Korean sports hero, Korea’s Olympic Icon focuses on who he was as a person and as someone whose light shone brighter on an international stage. Although Kim certainly was a figure who left a huge footprint on sports history not only in South Korea and Asia but throughout the world, the book also adopts a balanced perspective, acknowledging mistakes by Kim that resulted in major and minor misunderstandings.
Kim Un-yong contributed to bringing monumental sports events to South Korea, including the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul and the 2002 World Cup co-hosted with Japan. He was also responsible for the historic moments at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney with joint marches by a combined inter-Korean squad. He played a pivotal role in the national achievement realized at those Games when taekwondo was staged for the first time as an official Olympic event (a decision finalized at the 1994 IOC Session in Paris), while his efforts to globalize and popularize taekwondo earned him the nickname “father of global taekwondo.” Later on, he was implicated in a scandal concerning bribery over the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and he would go on to resign his position on the IOC after a 2005 prison sentence on charges of embezzlement, including the misappropriation of World Taekwondo Federation support funds. He also stepped down as Korean Sports Council president, gradually distancing himself from activities in South Korean and international sports administration.
Kim would go on to resume his outside activities, sharing his sports administration acumen with successors through a 2006 advisory role on the Organizing Committee for the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon and a 2010 advisory role on the Organizing Committee for the 2015 Universiade in Gwangju and taking on positions as an advisor to the KSC and honorary chairman of the Korea Taekwondo Association. Later on, he would share his aims through lectures and talks at various schools, institutions, and companies, while contributing columns to online and offline media including his own official website, Kimunyong.com.
Born during a difficult time for Korea under occupation by imperial Japan, Kim Un-yong worked nonstop to cultivate himself, contributing to society in various roles suited to the times and the country’s demands: soldier, diplomat, sports administrator, politician, and professor. He also made remarkable achievements in raising global awareness of his home country of South Korea, which at the time was a late starter in the international community and a sports wasteland. Sharing the life story of the “Mr. Kim” who represented Korea in international sports for over 40 years, this biography is sure to move and resonate with many readers. It is likely to strike a profound chord in particular with people of all generations and nationalities who are pursuing careers through sports. The stories of Kim’s innumerable achievements as an outstanding negotiator offer ample practical value in terms of politics, diplomacy, and business.
Official release at Kimunyong Cup International Open Taekwondo Championships in July
Copies to be donated to sports associations, federations, and institutions around the world
With a publication date in June 2019, Korea’s Olympic Icon is set to officially go before the public at the Kimunyong Cup International Open Taekwondo Championships taking place at Seoul’s Jangchung Arena this July. Copies are also to be shared around the world, including an initial donation to the 206 National Olympic Committees affiliated with the IOC. They will be provided as well to the 208 World Taekwondo member countries ?better acquainted than anyone with Kim’s aims ? and to around 90 international sports institutions affiliated with the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), including the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).
The biography consists of eight chapters: “1. Emergent Phenomenon,” “2. Seoul Spectacular,” “3. Asian Leadership,” “4. Salt Lake Subterfuge,” “5. Presidential Turmoil,” “6. Pyeongchang Reversal,” “7. Symbiotic Convergence,” and “8. Squandered Icon.” It also includes messages honoring the late Kim Un-yong from IOC Finance Commission chairman Ng Ser Miang and honorary IOC member Vitali Smirnov. Its 320 pages capture the story of a life devoted to globalizing taekwondo and elevating the stature of South Korean sports.
Major events in the life of Kim Un-yong
March 19, 1931 Born
1949 Enrolled at Yonhi College (now Yonsei University)
1951 Entered the Republic of Korea Army Infantry School
1953 Entered the US Army Infantry School
1961 Aide to South Korean Minister of National Defense
1963 Counselor at South Korean Embassy to the US / South Korean Embassy to the United Kingdom
1965 South Korean representative at 20th UN General Assembly meeting
1971 President, Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA)
1972 Establishment of Kukkiwon
1981 Inaugural chairman, World Games
1984 Vice president, Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF)
1986 Member, International Olympic Committee (IOC)
1994 Director, IOC Olympic Museum
1995 President, 2002 Busan Asian Games Organizing Committee
1997 President, Korea Sports Council (KSC) / President, Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KOC)
1998 Ranked second by German sports magazine Sport Intern among “most influential leaders in world sports.”
2000 Member, 16th South Korean National Assembly
2006 Advisor, 2014 Incheon Asian Games Organizing Committee
2009 Advisor, KSC / Honorary chairman, KTA
2010 Advisor, 2015 Gwangju Universiade Organizing Committee
2012 “Kim Un-yong Hall” dedicated at Yonsei University Sports Science Complex
2015 Chair professor, Kookmin University
October 3, 2017 Died
