Late marathoner Son Kee-chung's statue stands in Berlin

Late marathoner Son Kee-chung's statue stands in Berlin. December. 05, 2016 07:10. by Hyung-Seok Seo skytree08@donga.com. The statue (photo) of the late Son Kee-chung (1912-2002) has been erected at the marathon course for the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games where he won the gold medal.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Son Kee-chung Memorial Foundation on Sunday, Son's statue has been put up Friday at some 500 meters away from the Berlin Olympic stadium, where the Korean marathoner ran some eight decades ago. In particular, the hand of his statue holds the Taegeukgi or the national flag of Korea, not a Japanese flag.

Seoul began its 3rd round of discussion in August with Berlin for the erection of the statue and finally concluded in November. In the beginning, the Korean government suggested that his statue be put up near the stadium in commemoration with the 1st Son Kee-chung Marathon, which was held in Berlin in 2010. The German government, however, opposed to the idea, suggesting the place to be the inside Olympic hall, which had delayed the whole process. Marking the 80th anniversary of the Berlin Olympics and after tenacious persuasion of Seoul, Berlin suggested a 3rd candidate place near the stadium, and the two finally reached an agreement. The place where the statue stands is subject to the jurisdiction of sports association in Berlin, and therefore maintained and managed at the level of the city.

The statue of the Korean marathoner had been staying at the Korean Embassy in Germany for six years after its completion, but now has been moved to the place on Friday. The unveiling ceremony is slated to be held on next Monday, where Rep. Kim Seong-tae of the Saenuri Party who leads the foundation will attend along with people from Korean Embassy and a culture center, and Ralph Brilliant, president of Berlin city council and high-ranking officials of Berlin City. The photo exhibition titled “Great Step” is held on the sidelines. “We have emphasized genuine meaning of the star-crossed sport player as he is, which has come to fruition,” said Lee Joon-seung, secretary general of the foundation who is also a grandson of Son Kee-chung.