"Modern Pentathlon, Like a Middle School Sports Day"... Kim Eo-jun's Controversial Interview with Bronze Medalist Jeon Woong-tae

On the 7th, at the Tokyo Stadium in Japan, Jeon Woongtae of Korea crossed the finish line in 3rd place in the men's modern pentathlon laser-run event at the Tokyo Olympics. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Broadcaster Kim Eo-jun sparked controversy on the 10th during an interview with Jeon Woong-tae (26, Gwangju Metropolitan City Hall), the bronze medalist in the modern pentathlon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, by making remarks such as "It feels like a middle school sports day" and "If you compete in each event separately, can you pass the domestic qualifiers?"

On that day, Kim conducted a phone interview with Jeon Woong-tae on his TBS program "Kim Eo-jun's News Factory." As soon as the call connected, Kim opened by saying to Jeon, "I didn't watch the entire competition. I only saw the medal ceremony."

Kim then asked, "The modern pentathlon consists of five events: swimming, fencing, equestrian, shooting, and athletics, right? If you compete in these events separately in domestic competitions, can you pass the qualifiers?" Jeon replied, "It's ambiguous, but I think I'm above high school level," adding, "It's hard to gauge the skill level."

Broadcaster Kim Eo-jun. Photo by TBS, screenshot from the YouTube channel 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory'.

Kim responded, "So you are at least a specialized athlete at high school level in those events? For ordinary people, what does it mean to be a high school athlete? Even middle schoolers can't beat you?" Hearing this, Jeon said, "I think I can beat high school students," and added, "I've never actually done that, so I'm not exactly sure."

After hearing Jeon explain the modern pentathlon events, Kim expressed confusion, saying, "Shooting and running are done together, right? I saw it during the last Olympic broadcast, and it seemed very strange," adding, "You run, shoot, run again, shoot again, several times."

Jeon explained in detail that it is a tough and dizzying event. Kim laughed and said, "It somehow feels like a middle school sports day," and added, "You run quickly to pick something up and shoot, then run again. Don't the athletes get tangled up?"

Photo by YouTube screen capture.

Kim then asked, "Which event are you most confident in?" Jeon answered, "Rather than saying I'm confident, I rank in the top tier, and I like the laser-run, which is called the flower of the events, the most." Kim responded again, "This is the strangest. It feels like a school sports day."

Viewers who listened to the broadcast criticized Kim's interviewing attitude on online communities and social media platforms.

One netizen said, "Even if it's an unfamiliar event, how rude is it to say the event is strange in front of Korea's first modern pentathlon medalist?" and criticized, "It's also strange that the first greeting didn't include congratulations but said, 'I didn't watch the competition but saw the medal ceremony.' Comparing it to a middle school sports day is also inappropriate. There is no respect for Jeon Woong-tae."

They added, "It felt like the athlete was being laughed at as if they were inferior, which made the interview very unpleasant to listen to."

Other posts criticizing Kim's attitude continued. Netizens responded, "Isn't it proper to start by encouraging the athlete for their hard work?", "How can someone be this rude and disrespectful?", "Is it something to be proud of that you didn't watch the competition? Calling the hard-earned medal a sports day event is absurd," and "Demeaning the efforts of a medalist is outrageous. Officially apologize to the athlete."

Meanwhile, Jeon Woong-tae won the bronze medal in the men's individual modern pentathlon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held on the 7th at Tokyo Stadium, scoring a total of 1470 points across five events, placing third behind Joseph Choong (UK, 1482 points) and Ahmed Elgendy (Egypt, 1477 points). This is the first time Korea has won a medal in modern pentathlon at the Olympics. Fellow competitor Jung Jin-hwa also scored 1466 points, finishing fourth.

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