Picture the scene, the 2010 World Cup has just ended and coming out of the tournament one of the shining stars for South Korea was Kim Jung Woo. Aged 28 Kim Jung Woo, in the holding midfield role, was shining on the biggest stage of them all, the World Cup. His performances inevitably led to European sides doing what they do best and sniffing around the hot World Cup talents. However what Kim Jung Woo did shocked a lot of onlookers, he snubbed all of his western suitors and decided to stay in Korea, to finish his military service.
- Kim Jung Woo during the 2010 world cup
Now I’m no patriot but you have to give Kim Jung Woo credit for sticking to his guns and turning down the big money prestigious option and serving his country instead. Agreement on whether it was the correct decision may be divided but there is one certain fact most people would agree on. This may well be the end of Kim Jung Woo’s career, 28 is a prime age for footballers and coming back would be a big trial for the lanky midfielder. However this is South Korea and in South Korea there is another option for Kim Jung Woo.
This option is tied up in the identity of South Korea. South Korea looks a prosperous thriving nation and certainly is in a whole lot of areas. This transformation to one of the most developed nations in the world is remarkable considering where the southern half of this peninsula lay at the end of conflict in the Korean war. 1953 marked the date where Korea was well and truly split in half and both the South and the North lay in ruins. The biggest building left in Korea was the relatively tiny building where the armistice was signed in Panmunjom. However both Koreas managed to buld themselves back up to functioning nations and in the Souths case carried on gaining more and more prosperity until they reached the remarkable situation they are in today. However this situation does leave behind a nation still hugely scarred by what it did to itself. This manifests itself in odd happenings. For example the weather report shows the whole peninsula of Korea despite the fact there is clearly no way anyone’s taking a trip to North Korea, nor anyone watching SBS weather in the North. This may be a minor thing but even South Korea’s progression is a lasting legacy of the war. Most Koreans I’ve talked to do see themselves as Korean, but if there Korean there also associated with North Korea. This has led to the making of a South Korean national identity. Bar the obvious nationalist indicators the main theme of this growth and progression. In the same way as if you had a brother who bough shame to the family for dealing drugs, you might work harder to cover up his misdemeanours. Consequently back breaking work and essentially capitalism has become South Korea’s rallying call.
Just a hint of the devastation during the Korean war.
It’s in this climate we return to Kim Jung Woo. Instead of moving to Europe or giving up his career he instead did what almost all professional and semi professional footballers do when they start their military service. He joined the military’s official football club, Sanju Sangmu Phoenix. What special about Sanju Sangmu is that they are in the K league. Yes the top division of Korea. It’s the equivalent of having Blackburn Rovers become a military side. Admittedly that might improve Blackburn but thats not the point. Players who do their military service spend 2 years on loan at Sanju Sangmu, for no charge. After two years they head back to their previous club. This option gives players the option of progress in their career, a South Korean trait, whilst also fulfilling their duty. Current K league champions FC Seoul recently lost two senior Korean internationals to Sanju Sangmu, Kim Chi Woo and Choi Hyo-Jin. In two years they’ll return having done their duty. It really is a remarkable club and one that shocks most people I talk to. The club has had trouble finding a home and this summer had to move to Sanju from their previous home of Gwangju.
Going back to Kim Jung Woo, he had the option of joining the bigger European clubs and doing his national service in 3 month stints through the summer, indeed Park Ji-Sung would always return to pre-season training the fittest because he would do national service in his time off.
However each footballer is an individual and when asked by the Joongang daily how he was he replied “Private First class Kim is a happy man.”
South Korean Football 