▲ Photographed by Bae Mi Seon

From the start to end of the interview, Kwon Jung Hyuk (’97, Journalism and Mass Communication), the goalkeeper of Incheon United, remained modest, as if he was born so by nature. Moreover, his ardor for new things was enough to become an example to Korea University (KU) students who must have passion for the unknown outside. Be modest but passionate. This is what you realize from a conversation with him.

The destiny between Kwon and football started early, just like other players. the beginning goes back to his third year of elementary school. His homeroom teacher, the director of the football club in his school at that time, recognized his talent for goalkeeping and advised him to start football in earnest. Because playing football gave him a lot of pleasure, Kwon did not hesitate to jump into this field.

He entered Bupyeong High school, which has been famous for the traditional strength of its football team. Therefore, he could play with Lee cheon soo and Kim nam Il who were included as players of the 2002 world cup later. Kwon was selected by Ku when he was a secondyear student at Bupyeong High school. He, with modesty, owes Ku’s early confirmation of his entering Ku to his team members. Kwon says, “My value increased because my team won over and over, not because I was outclassed.”

When he set foot in Ku, he wanted to study at the university. He always played only football from the start of his player’s life. He hoped for something new which he had never experienced. Although his director of Ku’s football team recommended physical education to him, he chose Journalism and Mass communication at last. He says, “Studying journalism does not require math and English. It is proper to major in, in that this is a new possible field to me if I am literate in Korean.”

Before entering KU, the only thing he could do was football. He did not have his own private life, because he spent his time with his colleagues all the time. Kwon states, “Learning new things and making friends who did not belong to the football team made my campus life happy.” In other words, entrance into KU let him become aware of unusual things in his life.

When he reminisces about his life at KU, he brings up some episodes. He experienced four Annual Ko–Yon Games as one of KU’s proud players. Unfortunately, from freshman to junior years, KU football team was defeated by Yonsei University (YU) football team in a row for three years from 1997. It might seem unfamiliar to today’s KU students, because the current KU football team won electrifying victories for four years in succession from 2009. However, at last, KU could celebrate the victory of its football team when he was a senior. It could have been a big disappointment to him without the win.

   
▲ Photographed by Bae Mi Seon

Kwon is also well-known for constant ardor for study. He attended most of the lectures in spite of the hard training of the football team. Because in the afternoon there was backbreaking training, he had to take classes in the morning. This is a different point compared to other players. In general, the training was too hard to do other things. Therefore, players were tired from morning to night and they could not attend classes properly. However, Kwon wanted to study to an extent where he took the same class, Academic English, three times in order to learn English.

After eating dinner, he used to go to the Science Library and to study for about two hours from 6 P.M. His sincere routine for study went on during his campus life. He even wrote reports in the beginning of the semester. Sure enough, some people around him were critical of him for a reason why he acted unlike other players and was not with them in the dormitory. Kwon says, “I do not understand why young people sleep all day. Some people went out at night, got drunken and slept half a day. At that time, I thought studying was better rather than just sleeping.”

This goalkeeper of Incheon United was labeled as the first Korean football player as a goalkeeper who made his way to the Euro pean Stage. He put his foot in Veikkausliiga, the Finnish premier division. At first, he belonged to Rovaneniemen Palloseura in Rovaniemi. Kwon explains, “The debut game was the most anxious one. My team has been considered weak and the team atmosphere was distracted. The most critical point was that the opposing team was the defending champion team.”

In 2010, he transferred from the team to Vassan Palloseura where Lee Chung Yong’s ex-colleague, Jussi Jääskeläinen played in Vaasa. At that team, he bore rich fruit and was selected as Best 11 of 2010 season by Veikkaaja, the biggest Finnish sport magazine. In addition, he was ranked seventh in order of the average mark at the same season.

However, he does not want to force every young player to lead a life like him. Kwon says, “To keep one’s life as a professional player, luck cannot be ignored, let alone a player’s ability and skill.” Nobody knows when a player will be injured and which team wants the player. He adds, “It is tough to become a professional player. When I entered the field of pro league, 150 of 400 players were drafted by pro teams. However, two years later, only 30 to 40 players were left. The professional world is where competition is really intense.”

Life span as a professional player is too short to guarantee the rest of life. He explains, “When I was in Finland and Sweden, there was a player who had a license to become a bank teller. After retirement, he could get other job except occupations regarding football.” In the case of Korea, players do not have many options. Sure enough, they can keep engaging in this field but the path that people who want to become directors take is narrower than that of becoming professional players.

He adds, “Thereby, self-care is important.” He points to Edwin van der Sar, the ex-goalkeeper of Manchester United, as his role model. Kwon states, “Edwin van der Sar was coolhearted all the time and had strict self-discipline.” In fact, Kwon does not often participate in games after a painful back injury. However, he believes that he will be the one who plays in the ground like Kim Byeong Ji, who is 42, if he keep tight self-management. Lastly, he says, “I’m not a famous and successful football player in the objective point of view. I do not have many things to tell. Just live your life.”
 

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