Pro Bowling Chief Is a Businessman Too

Kim Eon-shik, the 53-year-old president of the DSD Samho Corp , was appointed the head of the Korean Pro Bowling Association last year.

Korean pro bowling’s top official comes with a peculiar resume, since he still is a pro bowler himself. He earned his pro bowler’s license in 1995, after winning a best-of-20 competition. In the Fila Cup pro bowling tourney in 1996, Kim scored his first perfect score of 300 points.

There are approximately 400 pro bowlers in Korea. Although Kim has not competed in any official games for the past five years, his average scores still exceed 200 points.

Kim never left the world of bowling, despite his busy schedule after he started his own business in 1980. He concentrated on running his company during the day, and he practiced bowling early in the morning. “I quit drinking and became healthier because of bowling practice. It has been a great help to my business.”

Since 2000, Kim has been sponsoring the Samho Korea Cup International Pro Bowling Competition, the nation’s top bowling event. It features pros, amateurs, and commercial players alike from Korea and Japan.

This year, its seventh game will take place at the Busan Asiad Bowling Center on January 14-17 and will offer a combined prize of 70 million won; 20 million won will be awarded to the first place winner.

uni@donga.com