 Kim Yu-na holds up a skate, as she gives a lecture at Jinseon Girls’ High School in southern Seoul on May 8. She is participating in a month-long teaching practice as part of her physical education degree at Korea University. / Yonhap |
Olympian figure skater takes flak for off-ice life
By Jung Min-ho
Is it a fall from grace or public tiredness of a star they once adored?
That is one question that Olympic gold medal winning figure skater Kim Yu-na may be asking herself these days. After coming under fire from a group of psychiatrists for advertising beer in a TV commercial, the 21-year-old is facing an accusation from a professor that her teaching practice was nothing but a “show,” aimed at maintaining her commercial value.
Yonsei University psychology professor Hwang Sang-min roundly criticized Kim’s teaching practice at a girls’ high school as self-promotion.
The figure skating star began her teaching practice on May 8 as part of the curriculum for her physical education degree at Korea University, at Jin-seon Girls’ High School in southern Seoul.
Appearing on a CBS radio talk show and responding to the host’s observation that the star was “sincere” about her responsibilities, Hwang said: “I think you picked the wrong word. Sincere action is supposed to be steady,” said Hwang. “Kim didn’t go there sincerely. Rather, it was a show for her one-time action, which is a more precise term.”
“Kim spends most of her time training overseas. It is not right for the school to give credits to someone who barely even goes to class,” Hwang said. “Did Kim meet all the requirements for the teaching practice, faithfully attending the school for the last four years?”
Kim’s agency All That Sports said they are going to take “legal action” against Hwang’s “derogatory remarks.”
“Kim has been sincerely participating in the teaching practice program since the first day on May 8,” an official with the agency said. “We are going to take legal action against his remarks since they have apparently tarnished Kim’s public image.”
Kim recently drew extensive attention when she recently appeared on a commercial for best-selling beer Hite. Controversy has surrounded the 21-year-old about her dramatically-reduced athletic activities since she topped the podium in Vancouver in 2010.
During the radio show, Hwang also criticized universities’ marketing strategies of admitting sports stars, who barely even attend classes, just to promote their school.
“We give too many privileges such as exemptions from mandatory military service. This idolizing of certain sports stars is only shown in immature societies.”
Hwang’s remarks soon aroused a big fuss among fans. Some attacked the professor’s comments saying they were too critical of the young figure skater who enhanced national prestige by winning a plethora of honors and awards in international competitions. Others said Hwang made a good point although it sounded a little harsh saying, “It is an apparent privilege since other students in the same department study really hard for four years to meet the requirements for the teaching practice.”
In fact, star athletes’ privileges for admission to prestigious universities is not news in many other countries. Even in the United States, many sports stars get into decent schools on the back of their unique credentials. However, the privileges usually do not go further than the admission process.
As a golf prodigy, Tiger Woods grabbed many world-renowned universities’ attention by winning international competitions. He eventually entered Stanford University from the fall of 1994. However, he had to drop out of the school after two years since it would not give him credits just for his name featuring on the students’ list. In his biography, he said that he was struggling with immense amounts off school work while playing as a professional golfer saying, “What did I get myself into?”
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