A History of Dong-A Sports Competitions

At the 73rd Dong-A Swimming Competition in 2001, a 12-year-old elementary school boy claimed gold after finishing the boys’ 100m freestyle race in 1:00:65. A day later, he won another gold medal in the 200m freestyle with a time of 2:09:65.

After three years, his name was heard again at the same event when he was in ninth grade. He became a double gold medallist for the 200m (1:55:23) and 400m (4:05:35) freestyle races. A year later at the same competition, he broke two Korean records for the 200m (1:50:41) and 400m (3:50:37) freestyle meets, and was named the athlete of the games.

It has been two years since then. Park Tae-hwan, now in 12th grade, became the first-ever Asian male to win a freestyle world title at the 12th FINA Swimming World Championships held in Melbourne, Australia, in the 400m freestyle, with a new Asian record of 3:44:30. He claimed another medal, this time bronze, in the 200m race (1:46:73) on March 28, breaking another Asian record.

He won three golds at last year’s Doha Asian Games in the 200m, 400m, and 1,500m freestyle races.

The Dong-a Swimming Competition was originally called the “Chosun Swimming Competition,” and was first held on September 1, 1929. The competition was created to give hopes and dreams to the Korean people.

The start of the competition changed the scene of Korean swimming. When the competition opens, all competitive swimmers and other relevant people of the nation gathered, and that’s how the Chosun Swimming Club came into being in August. The club became the Korea Swimming Federation in 1960.

Japanese colonial rule and the Korean War posed difficulties, but the Dong-a Swimming Competition has always been the centerpiece of Korean swimming.

Swimming legend Jo O-ryun (55) in the 1970s and Choi Yun-hee (40) in the 1980s were all first discovered through this competition. Jo won two golds in the 400m and 1500m freestyle at two consecutive Asian Games, in Bangkok in 1970, and Teheran in 1974. His nickname was “Asia’s seal.” Choi was nicknamed “the mermaid of Asia” after winning two gold medals in the 100m and 200m backstroke races at the Seoul Asian Games in 1986.

The 62nd Dong-A Marathon, held on March 17, 1991, was a full 42.195-kilometer course starting from the Jamsil Olympic Stadium in Seoul and returning from Unjung-dong, Seongnam-City. It was greatly spotlighted due to the emergence of Korea’s two prospective marathon stars: 21-year-old Hwang Young-cho and Lee Bong-ju. They competed with the then best marathoners, Kim Jae-ryong and Lee Chang-woo. It was a full-course debut for Hwang, but he ranked third after Kim Jae-ryong and Lee Chang-woo with the record of 2:12:35; a remarkable achievement back then. Meanwhile, Lee Bong-ju ranked 15th with the record of 2:16:56 in only his second full-course race.

In the same year, Hwang, also known as “the genius marathoner,” was victorious at Summer Universiade, in Sheffield, England. Then, in 1992, he quickly rose to worldwide stardom after winning Gold at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.

Meanwhile, Lee Bong-joo, “the national marathon runner,” has been loved by his fans for a long time for his steadiness and consistency; although he made a belated debut. He ranked a mere 12th in the 64th Dong-A Marathon in 1993. However, in the same year, he came first in the Honolulu Marathon, and went on to gain global recognition after his victory in the 66th Dong-A Marathon in 1995; the same year that it was first officially recognized as an international marathon. In 1996, he earned a Silver Medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and then, in 2001, he cruised to victory in the world’s most prestigious marathon, the Boston Marathon. In addition, he enjoyed successive victories in the 1998 Bangkok Marathon and the 2002 Busan Asian Games.

Hwang retired in 1996 at the early age of 26, while Lee kept his promise to his fans, “to run for as long as he can.” Lee, at the age of 37, which is said to be “60” for a marathon runner, won the 78th Dong-A Seoul International Marathon on March 18, 2007, with his third fastest time of 2:08:04. With this victory, he sent a clear message to Koreans that “age is but a number.”

March 21, 1931, saw a 14.5-mile (or 23.2 kilometer) foot race from Gwanghwamun to Yeongdeungpo take place. The competition, organized by the Koryo Track Sports Association and co-sponsored by Dong-A Ilbo and Chosun Athletic Association, was the 1st Dong-A Marathon, “The First Marathon Game.”

During the Japanese colonial rule, marathon running was the number one sport for the people of Korea, as it gave them consolation and hope. The Dong-A Marathon came into being mostly due to Korean patriotism and the needed for a boost in national self-esteem; although it was also significant just as a sport.

At the first ever marathon, Kim Eun-bae, the top racer of Yangjung High, was victorious among the 14 competitors in a record time of 1:22:05. In the second marathon, held in 1932, a new face, Sohn Ki-jung, who is also known as the “Olympic hero,” entered the spotlight. Sohn, from Shinuiju, came second at the age of 20 and rose to the top after beating many other strong candidates in the third marathon in Seoul. With such remarkable achievements as a foundation, Sohn broke the Olympic marathon record with a time of 2:29:19 at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, extending Korea’s marathon prestige to the world.

It was 1964 when the Dong-A Marathon made another leap forward to revive the history of marathon running in Korea. After that, the Dong-A Marathon was reborn to cover a full course from Gwanghwamun via Gyeongin Road, catapulting Korea’s marathon into a real competition of records.

Up until now, 20 top marathon runners have broken the record 28 times, including Ma Bong-ok with a time of 3:29:29 in 1927, and Lee Bong-ju with a time of 2:07:20 in 2000. Among these, the Dong-A Marathon has generated ten records in the history of marathon in Korea. In particular, from 1964, with the adoption of a full course, 10 out of 19 records came from the Dong-A Marathon.

The Dong-A Marathon, which transformed itself into the Seoul International Marathon in 2003, has drawn in more than 20,000 marathon masters, serving as “a festivity” to further contribute to marathon running in Korea.

yjongk@donga.com