SEOUL — Esther Kim, a Korean American athlete whose extraor-dinary deed of courage and sacrifice made headlines in United States last month, is now visiting her mother country at the invitation of Culture and Tourism Minister Park Jie-won.
At the Taekwondo championships held at Colorado Springs, Colo., on May 20, she gave up the last match to her injured friend so that the latter won a spot on the U.S. team to compete in the Sydney Olympic Games slated for September.
Although losing the chance to compete at the Summer Olympics, Kim won the hearts of people who were deeply moved by her act of sacrifice. Her story was featured on U.S. nationwide TV networks like NBC, ABC and CBS, and a New York Times article extolled her deed with the title “The Wisdom From Korea.”
Minister Park Jie-won met her at his office June 19 during which he praised her courageous act. He said that Kim showed to the world true sportsmanship and at the same time contributed to promoting the spirit of the Korean sport Taekwondo in international society.
A sophomore student at Huston University, Texas, Kim found out before the final bout that her friend Kay Poe, whom she should have beaten, had a knee injury. Deciding that the match could not be a fair one, she forfeited her chance to compete in the Olympics for her friend.
Her deed surprised both U.S. and inter-national sports societies which have been plagued by rampant commer-cialism and taking victory by any means.
Juan Antonio Sama-ranch, president of the International Olympic Committee, phoned her to offer his admiration and gave a free pass which enables her and her father, Taekwondo coach to both Kim and Poe, to see all of the games during the Olympics.
Since her arrival last June 16, Kim has spent most her time sightseeing around the country and visiting various sports organizations such as the International Taekwondo Federation and National Sport Institute, both located in Seoul.
She is also invited to the opening ceremony of an international Taekwondo contest to take place in Chunchon, Kangwon-do, starting June 24. She will return to the United States on June 25.