People Living on Dream

Running for tomorrow!

Their team`s got dissolved, but their dream is not. As long as their dream sustains them, they would not and will not give up.

Saturday at Incheon Dongmak City Roller Skating Stadium. Five of them soaked in sweat got together. They were Kim Jae-kwan, Park Jin-hong, Pack Seung-hoon and Park Kyung-woon. Right after 2003 KHL Semipro Roller Blade game. Lee Kil-young, who was sitting on the stand, joined them.

They were well-to-do ice hockey players just months ago. They played for the Hyundai Oil Bankers. Last October, they got to know that their team was about to get dissolved due to the difficulties Hyundai was facing. Then, 20 members of the team lost their jobs and had to take their own ways to make living.

"It was really hard. All I could do was ice hockeying. That`s all I had done since elementary school. I did not know what I should do for living."

Pack, Park Jin-hong and Lee were once on the national team together. After the dissolution, they tried to give up on ice hockey and find a new job. But, they could not give up on the sport they had done for most of their lives.

Then, they got to hear early April that a roller blade hockey league would be launched. Based on the skyrocketing popularity of the roller blade, four teams got to be born. Roller blading has some differences, but it is generally similar to ice-skating.

"Sport means everything to us. We could not give it up. I know it`s not on the ice. Still we could do some thing similar. I can settle for that."

As an ice hockey player, they earned 30 million to 40 million won ($24,000 to 33,000) a year. Now, all they can make is 50,000 won per game. In terms of yearly salary, it amounts to less than one million won—a far cry from maintaining living paying bills.

Two Parks decided to take the new challenge. Five others joined them. In total, seven are playing the sport.

"Roller blading hockey is not so much limited in terms of place and equipment. Problem is that people do not care much about it. But I will do my best to boost it."

Kim, who lost his job after just one-year career, got selected on the national team that would participate in the International Championship slated for June in Czech. He vows that he would make this sport popular in Korea by winning the championship.

"Considering where we are now, I feel a little uncertain. But I do not worry about it much. We have tomorrow."

They live on their dream of making the fledging sport popular and becoming a star of it. That is why they can face and overcome all the hardships today.

Won-Hong Lee bluesky@donga.com