Old friends met again in Wimbledon

It was when Joo Won-hong, president of the Korea Tennis Association, was on board a flight to Incheon after seeing the Wimbledon Championship in London in July last year. A close friend who has lost touch for over 30 years was sitting next to Joo. The person was Kim Min-hyeong, a notable genius and professor of maths department at Oxford University. The two became friends back in the 1970s. The families of Kim and Joo were close to each other. Thanks to the relationship between the families, Kim followed Joo as if Joo were his own brother. At that time, Joo was a tennis player of SungKyunKwan University and Daewoo Heavy Industries. Kim had to quit school due to the nephritis that he suffered from during the first year of middle school and passed the middle and high school qualification examinations. During that period, Joo taught how to play tennis to Kim and playing tennis was a great pleasure to the home-schooled boy. Afterwards, Kim studied mathematics at Seoul National University, which he graduated in three years, and went to Yale University with a full scholarship. Kim has built a stellar career as a mathematician and became the first Korean professor at Oxford. Kim’s father, Kim Woo-chang, is also a famous scholar in the liberal arts and the professor emeritus at Korea University.

The two friends, who lost contact due to Kim’s study in the U.S., have finally met again thanks to tennis. “We recognized each other at the first sight,” said the 60-year-old tennis association president. Last week, Joo visited Wimbledon again to meet Kim. Over the weekend, the two old friends saw star tennis players, such as Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, playing in the Wimbledon. “Tennis was so popular in Korea back in the 1970s and 1980s. I often went to Jangchoong tennis court to cheer Joo and he took good care of me,” said Kim looking back on those days.

Joo and Kim both showed great interest in school sports. “School sports are the important medium to enjoy leisure and grow physical strength. Historically, philosophers such as Plato or mathematicians trained body and mind both. The whole-rounded education is needed for Korean students,” said Kim, who is widely known as a master of the arithmetic algebra. President Joo, who trained Lee Hyung-taek and Jo Yoon-jeong when he was a coach, said, “Athletes who have not developed intellectual capability would easily face limitations. We need to provide an atmosphere where students can study and enjoy sports at the same time. If a student excels in school, it pleases his parents. But if the student is good at sports, it makes the student himself happy.”

“Although I am a mathematician, I want to help athletes to improve their performance. Mathematics simplifies and explains basic principles in the world. If the performance data is analyzed and utilized in training, it can boost chances to succeed,” said Kim. Joo replied, “Whether it is a sport game or a study, creativity, application ability and readiness of wit may determine success or failure. I would like to invite Professor Kim to a meeting with tennis players.”

Kim who learned how to play tennis from Joo started playing tennis again from last month. It was to play with his two sons, respectively 12 and 16 years old. Professor Kim is scheduled to visit Korea as a visiting professor to Ewha Women’s University at the end of this month. “Communication and conversation greatly matter for coach-athlete and parent-child relationships. Sports are good in that regard. I want to play a tennis game in Seoul with my old friend,” said Professor Kim smiling at Joo.