Park Is Korea’s Most Popular Athlete

Korea’s most popular sports star according to Korean Internet users is Park Ji-sung (Manchester United).

According to a report released by Yahoo Korea (http://www.yahoo.co.kr) on November 23, the sports star most frequently searched for by netizens was Park Ji-sung. He was followed by Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova and Lee Seung-yeop (Yomiuri Giants). The “techno-goliath” Choi Hong-man, playing in the combat sport K-1, was ranked fourth.

It has been revealed that football players are dominating this list, which reached as far as 20th place. 12 soccer players were ranked in the top 20, including fifth place to tenth. Park Chu-young (FC Seoul), Lee Dong-gook (Pohang Steelers), Kim Nam-il (Suwon Samsung), Cho Jae-jin (Shimizu S-Pulse), Lee Young-pyo (Tottenham Hotspur) and Lee Chun-soo (Ulsan Hyundai) all made the list.

Park Chan-ho (San Diego Padres) was ranked 12th, while Michelle Wie (Nike Golf), the “ten-million-dollar-girl,” took 14th place. Ahn Hyun-soo (Korea National Sport University), the triple crown winner in the Torino winter Olympic Games, took 20th.

yjongk@donga.com