During the London Olympic Games, Koreans everywhere could be seen heartily cheering on their athletes who were striving for medals only awarded to the best of the best. Thanks to the strenuous efforts of our outstanding athletes throughout the past and presently in London as well, South Korea earned her 100th total medal, and was amazingly ranked fifth in the London Olympics. Our athletes as usual swept the gold medals in archery, as well as winning many medals in fencing. Even better, the South Korean soccer team earned the bronze medal, winning a medal for the first time in the Olympic Games. Our country couldn’t be more proud of our Olympians.

While watching various competitions during the London Olympic Games, however, one cannot help but feel that Korean athletes were much too desperate to win a gold medal only. Though both silver and bronze medals are equally precious, Korean athletes seem at many times to be blinded by the prestige of the

One explanation can be found in the uniquely Korean philosophy that only the grand prize is worthy while all the other awards are disreputable. In Korea, only the best is praised and all others tend to be dismissed. There is no place even for the second best. That peculiar psychology is what makes Koreans ferocious warriors striving for winning in a competition at any cost.

Another reason for this mentality is that once an athlete claims a gold medal at the Olympics, he or she will be showered with gold thereafter. A South Korean gold medalist, for example, can reportedly receive approximately half a million dollars or more as a reward for their accomplishment. Male gold medalists can also be exempted from their mandatory military duty. No other advanced country gives out such a large amount of money and privileges to a gold medalist besides South Korea.

The last reason why Koreans crave gold medals is due to their strong sense of patriotism. Because of the nation’s turbulent, tragic colonial history, Korea was not recognized as a sovereign nation in the past, which resulted in an indelible psychic trauma.

When the Korean marathon runners Sohn Kee-chung and Nam Sung-yong claimed the gold and bronze medals respectively at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, they had to bear the Japanese flag on their T-shirts. Perhaps that is why Koreans today have an intense aspiration to be recognized and admired in the international competition, desiring to be the very best.

Though bringing home a gold medal can bring honor and glory to one’s country, there is no need for athletes to risk their lives to win a gold medal. During the 1984 Olympics, a Korean judoka told a reporter that he was ready to die in order to win a gold medal.

On the contrary, his opponent, who was a Japanese judoka, impressed the viewers by saying, “Judo is a sport. You should enjoy it first. Medals cannot be the ultimate goal for a sport. In a competition, you win some and lose some.” Contrary to that Japanese athlete, Koreans unfortunately still carry an unhealthy mentality today.

During this year’s London Olympics, one Korean athlete, for instance, surprisingly told a reporter, “I am ready to die for a gold medal,” repeating the exact same phrase as the past judoka, 28 years later. In London a foreign observer also told a Korean coach, “You look like you’re crazy about medals.” Perhaps the foreigner was intrigued by the Koreans’ obsession with medals, especially gold medals. A medal, however, is not the ultimate goal, but a reward given as a result of our athletes’ strenuous efforts and excellent performances.

Sports should not be a war or a competition of life and death. The true spirit of sports should be “goodwill and amity through fair competition.” Many Koreans, however, still tend to think they are at war during the Olympics, seeing other athletes from other countries as archenemies to defeat and destroy. That, however, cannot be the true spirit of the Olympic Games. It is only a “game” after all, not a deadly fight of gladiators.

In the world of sports, South Korea has proved herself undisputedly to be one of the best. We have excellent athletes such as world-class soccer players, superb archers, and adroit fencers, all of whom are internationally acclaimed. Nevertheless, we should learn how to enjoy sports games, instead of blindly and desperately seeking gold medals. We should also embrace silver and bronze medalists as well as those athletes who do not medal at all, applauding them for their efforts. Medal or no medal, they should be praised if they did their best. That is the spirit of sports.

Sportsmen should be like a gentle knight, not a vicious warrior. Unlike a warrior who fights to kill, a knight competes in a fair tournament. We should not be obsessed with a gold medal. We should learn to ‘enjoy’ sports and competitions.

By Kim Seong-kon

Kim Seong-kon is a professor of English at Seoul National University and president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. ― Ed.