Bronze Statue of Berlin Olympic Marathon Gold Medalist Sohn Kee-Chung Features Korean Flag on Its Chest Instead of Rising Sun
http://japanese.joins.com/article/527/223527.html translated by Brett Larner photo by Horst Milde A bronze statue of marathoner Sohn Kee-Chung showing him crossing the finish line in first in the 1936 Berlin Olympics marathon has been raised near the Berlin Olympic Stadium. On its chest is not the Rising Sun, Japan's national flag, but the Korean flag. On Dec. 12, the Korean Cultural Center in Berlin held a ceremony to unveil the statue on Glockenturm Street near the Berlin Olympics marathon course. Sohn's grandson Lee Jung-Soon , director of the Sohn Kee-Chung Memorial Foundation, said, "Being remembered as the Korean Sohn Kee-Chung was my grandfather's greatest wish. I am deeply moved to help realize that wish by placing this statue outside the Berlin Olympic Stadium." In 2006, the 70th anniversary of Sohn's victory, the Foundation had previously tried to erect two bronze statues, one in the Seoul Olympic Stadium and the other at the Berlin O...