Japan Olympic Committee introduces Son Kijeong as 'Japanese'?…VANK calls it "intentional falsehood"

At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Son Ki-jeong said, "Hearing the national anthem, I have no regrets even if I die"
VANK states, "Omitting the fact that he is Korean is an intentional lie"

On August 9, 1936, Sohn Kee-chung (center) stands on the podium holding a laurel wreath after winning the marathon at the Berlin Olympics. Nam Seung-ryong (left), who finished third, and Ernest Harper, who finished second, also stood together on the podium at the same event. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] The cyber diplomatic mission 'VANK' announced on the 6th that eight Korean athletes, including Sohn Kee-chung, are introduced as Japanese on the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) website under the record of 'Japan's Olympic teams throughout history.'

Son Ki-jeong is included in the 'All-time Olympic Japanese National Teams' posted on the Japanese Olympic Committee website. Photo by JOC site capture

On the JOC website's 'Japan's Olympic teams throughout history' page, Sohn Kee-chung and other athletes who participated in the Olympics during the Japanese colonial period?Kim Eun-bae, Kwon Tae-ha, Nam Seung-ryong, Lee Gyu-hwan, Kim Jeong-yeon, Lee Seong-deok, and Jang Woo-sik?are listed as members of the Japanese team without any background explanation.

On the other hand, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) website explains that "Sohn Kee-chung is Korean, and during the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Korea was under Japanese colonial rule. After liberation, he also carried the torch at the 1988 Seoul Olympics."

VANK stated, "Visitors to the Tokyo Olympics website may misunderstand these eight Korean athletes as Japanese, so an explanation that they are 'Korean' should be added like the IOC does." They added, "The omission of this fact itself is considered intentional falsehood." Accordingly, they have sent a protest letter to the JOC and started a campaign to correct the error.

This is not the first controversy over Japan's distortion of Sohn Kee-chung's nationality.

VANK pointed out, "Last March, at the Olympic Museum near the Tokyo Olympic main stadium, the Japanese government placed a photo of Sohn Kee-chung wearing a laurel wreath at the top of the 'Japanese Gold Medalists Throughout History' exhibition corner, making him appear Japanese."

A post Professor Seokyung Deok uploaded on his Facebook last June./Photo by Professor Seo Facebook capture

In this regard, on the 17th of last month, Professor Seo Kyung-duk of Sungshin Women's University posted on Facebook, "There is expected to be controversy because Sohn Kee-chung is exhibited as Japanese at the 'Japan Olympic Museum' near the Tokyo Olympic main stadium."

He added, "They displayed a photo of Sohn wearing a laurel wreath standing on the podium with only the Japanese caption 'Sohn Kee-chung, 1936 Berlin Games Men's Marathon.' When Japanese visitors encounter Sohn here, they cannot help but misunderstand him as Japanese under the current circumstances."

Photo by Cyber Diplomatic Mission VANK

Meanwhile, Sohn won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics. During the Japanese colonial period, he belonged to the Japanese delegation and competed as a Japanese athlete, wearing the Japanese flag on his chest.

After winning the marathon, a photo of Sohn holding a laurel pot while standing on the podium became a topic of discussion. In the photo, Sohn cleverly covered the Japanese flag on his chest with the pot he was holding, and this act later became known as the 'Japanese flag erasure incident.'

In a 1992 interview with the media, when marathon runner Hwang Young-jo won at the Barcelona Olympics, Sohn said, "On the chest of Hwang Young-jo, who won today, is not the Japanese flag Hinomaru but our Taegeukgi. Today, instead of the Kimigayo in Berlin, the national anthem is playing. Today, the grudge that had been held for 56 years has been resolved, and Young-jo has restored my nationality. Now I have no regrets even if I die."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.