[Manbo Jeongdam] Moon Won-jae, President, Envisions Alma Mater's Centennial Plan through 'Han Che-dae Dawn Walking'

Arriving at school every day at 6 AM, starting the day by walking around the playground
"Walking and running to sweat relieves stress and clears the mind"

The day at Korea National Sport University (KNSU) begins with the vigorous shouts of students training at dawn. Moon Won-jae, president of KNSU, joins the students in their early morning walks. He wakes up every day at 5 a.m. and arrives at the school by 6 a.m. to walk around the athletic field. For him, who has trained his body and mind through Taekwondo all his life, walking and running are ways to clear his mind.

"These days, I walk a lot because of my back. In the past, when problems piled up and stress built, I used to run. When you run, sweat drips down, and it feels refreshing, relieving stress. Walking and running a lot helps organize thoughts and plan work."

President Moon is a KNSU person through and through. He entered KNSU as a freshman in 1981, so his connection with the university spans over 40 years. However, as president, he is a newcomer. Moon began his presidential duties on April 18. He said, "The members of KNSU are diverse," and "It is harder than expected to unite everyone with the intention of 'let's give it a try.'” When his four-year term ends in 2027, Moon will retire, and KNSU will celebrate its 50th anniversary. He expressed his desire to lay the foundation for the university’s grand future of its 100th anniversary during his term. We met him on the KNSU campus on the 15th of last month.

Since his inauguration, President Moon has walked the university athletic field every dawn without missing a day. This is his way of encouraging the efforts of professors and students by setting an example through action rather than words. He said, "Instead of saying 'please come out, please do this,' I thought the president should come out early and lead by example. It’s a silent message of 'let’s work hard once.'”

Walking the field at dawn allows him to get a clear view of how the school operates. "When I walk the field, I can see which departments are out training and which professors are guiding students," he said. He expressed regret that more people are asking if early morning training is still important these days. KNSU students must compete not only with students from other universities but also with experienced senior athletes from professional teams. President Moon emphasized that young KNSU students have no choice but to work hard to make up for their lack of experience. "To achieve good results, I think students need to work three times harder than now. At the national training center, experienced professional athletes train four times a day?dawn, morning, afternoon, and night. Our students train for one hour at dawn and two hours during afternoon classes. Can they really beat the professional seniors who train four times a day in shorter sessions? Moreover, our students are rookies who just graduated from high school and have less experience than the athletes at the training center. The only way is effort. Some say they hate dawn training but want to become national representatives or go to the Olympics. I want to ask if becoming a national representative and going to the Olympics is something you can just say."

President Moon rose step by step through roles as a student, teaching assistant, professor, dean of the College of Sports Science, director of training, and chair of the university council before becoming president. His life has been intertwined with KNSU’s history.

When Moon entered as a freshman in the Department of Physical Education in 1981, KNSU was only four years old. "When I entered, there was only one building, the athletic field was under construction, and the dormitory was being built."

KNSU was founded in 1977 by borrowing a building in Gongneung-dong, Nowon-gu, which was then the engineering campus of Seoul National University moving to Gwanak Campus. Considering KNSU’s current status, it was a humble beginning.

"Wrestler Yang Jung-mo won the first gold medal for Korea at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, and President Park Chung-hee ordered the establishment of a university where athletes could study while training. That’s how the National Korea National Sport University was founded."

At the Montreal Olympics, where Korea won its first Olympic gold medal, East Germany, with a population of less than 20 million, ranked second overall. President Park established KNSU with the determination to develop elite sports. The term "elite sports" has recently been replaced by "professional sports." KNSU’s achievements, aimed at nurturing professional athletes, have been remarkable. KNSU has won a total of 126 Olympic medals to date. President Moon emphasized, "It is hard to find such a university anywhere else in the world."

President Moon also achieved results as a coach in many international competitions over a long period. He said the 2008 Beijing Olympics was a particularly important time in his life. At that time, Moon was appointed as a coach for the national team, playing a significant role in gold medal wins by KNSU students Hwang Kyung-sun and Cha Dong-min. "At the Beijing Olympics, four weight classes all won gold medals, and two of those athletes, Hwang Kyung-sun and Cha Dong-min, were KNSU students. The professional teams were very strong then. Having two students from our school participate was quite unprecedented and a great honor for me as a coach."

Considering KNSU’s achievements so far, President Moon stressed that KNSU should be designated as an Olympic legacy.

KNSU moved to its current location in Oryun-dong, Gangdong-gu, in August 1985, ahead of the 1986 Seoul Asian Games and the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The Olympic Park was also just being developed at that time. President Moon expressed regret that while the Olympic Park has been designated as an Olympic legacy, KNSU has not. He said, "KNSU should be designated as an Olympic legacy just like the Olympic Park," and added, "I will create the conditions for this during my term."

To enhance KNSU’s value as an Olympic legacy, President Moon emphasized improving athletic performance. Although KNSU’s achievements at the Olympics have been impressive, its athletic performance has declined when judged solely by Olympic results. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, KNSU students won three gold medals, one silver, and one bronze. However, at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Jang Jun won only a bronze medal in Taekwondo.

Improving athletic performance is directly related to KNSU’s identity as an institution for nurturing professional athletes. President Moon stressed, "Professional sports must thrive for our university to thrive."

He lamented that, compared to the past, public interest in international sports events like the Olympics has decreased, noting that nothing unites the nation like sports. He emphasized that to revive public interest in sports, athletic performance must improve, which in turn would stimulate investment in sports. "Sports depend greatly on how much investment and interest they receive. The results follow the investment, and with good results, you gain more attention."

To improve performance, President Moon plans to implement bold reforms. For example, he intends to allocate more budget to departments that achieve good results, changing the current system of distributing budgets equally regardless of performance. He also plans to actively respond to societal demands for changes at KNSU in line with the times. For instance, internally, by enhancing professional sports capabilities through improved performance, and externally, by contributing to society through the promotion and expansion of recreational sports.

Last month on the 20th, KNSU signed a business agreement with the Ministry of Education and Neulbom School. President Moon explained, "Neulbom School opens the university’s infrastructure to elementary and middle school students, providing an environment where youth can engage in after-school sports." He emphasized, "KNSU’s identity is based on professional sports while also developing recreational sports well to promote public health and contribute to local communities," expressing his commitment to catching both professional and recreational sports.

"We must not become complacent. I believe the university must change to produce the workforce society demands. We must accept departments that society wants, and if necessary, boldly reform by merging or abolishing departments. Also, if the university has been professor-centered until now, we will shift to a student-centered approach. Only then can we produce the workforce that meets societal needs."

Meanwhile, President Moon firmly opposes recent attempts by some local governments to attract KNSU, stating that KNSU, along with the Olympic Park, has value as an Olympic legacy.

Currently, Jincheon in Chungbuk Province and Mungyeong in Gyeongbuk Province are competing to host KNSU. Both cities argue that they can create synergy with the national training center and the military sports unit located there.

However, President Moon pointed out that most local universities are facing closure due to low application rates, warning that KNSU could face a crisis if relocated to the provinces. He also said this would damage the sports-related systems and infrastructure that KNSU has built up over 30 years. President Moon said, "KNSU is a university with the best training conditions, and that’s why students apply here. If KNSU moves to the provinces, the lack of infrastructure will lower application rates, causing a significant national loss."