In a closely fought election, the incumbent Choi, Won-tae beat off a challenger to retain leadership of the Korean Rugby Union. Despite being an alumnus of Dankook Uni, a famous rugby playing university in Korea, Pres. Choi was not a player himself. However, he has apparently committed himself to the role and has backed his candidacy with funds to support the development of rugby in Korea. In addition to his role within Korea, Pres. Choi is also the current president of the Asia RFU, a post he has held for a couple of years.
It will be interesting to see if stability brings rewards for Korean rugby. The sport desperately needs a coherent strategy, consistently implemented in Korea. Remaining number two in the HSBC-sponsored Asia Five Nations is not a given without improvements in the infrastructure and a substantial increase in the player base. Hong Kong, who certainly do have high ambitions backed by concrete actions, are progressively narrowing the gap on Korea…the shame experienced by the Koreans in a shock loss to HK at sevens should have been a wake up call. However, the KRU is notorious for its internal focus with key figures preferring to bask in the dubious glory of grand-sounding titles while doing little to build the sport. Their current approach is likely to leave a legacy of a painful, humiliating and lingering death of the rugby here on the peninsula.
All this is in sharp contrast to previous glories of the 80’s and early 90’s when Japan and Korea were neck-and-neck as leaders of rugby in Asia. A revival of those heights would surely bring credibility to co-host a world cup, something that would be very dear to Japanese hearts and at least consistent with the Korean government’s attempts to bolster the economy with tourism. An even earlier take on history reveals the true roots of rugby in Korea and perhaps provides the spark needed to ignite the patriotic fervour needed to be a great rugby nation. During the colonial period, it is said that the only opportunity the Korean people had to get one back on their oppressors without fear of reprisal was on the rugby field. A story, determinedly not apocryphal, tells of the time when one Korean high school beat all its Japanese opponents. It is on these kinds of foundations that rugby can build and, with the inherent Korean competitiveness and determination not to be outdone, you have the makings of an attitude that could be shaped to boost the obvious sporting skills that exist here.
So, Pres Choi has the mandate and now we’re waiting for the plan….followed by action which will eventually lead to results. Winning an election is not enough, Pres. Choi has now taken on the burden of delivering a better future for rugby in Korea. We wish him well and offer our support as we implore him to act with great energy and urgency to do what it takes to take Korea to its full potential in world rugby.
More coverage of this story can be found at http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=102&oid=001&aid=0002445257
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