CEO promotes Ironman triathlon
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Park Ki-hwan, founder and CEO of Emerson K Partners / Courtesy of Emerson K Partners
By Baek Byung-yeul
Park Ki-hwan, founder and CEO of local public relations agency Emerson K Partners, was once a promising target shooter in high school as he was selected as a second-tier national athlete in the sport.
The 45-year old turned his career path to public relations after majoring sport and leisure studies at the Korean National Sport University, and has been in the business for nearly two decades.
Having successful careers at prominent public relations (PR) agencies such as Edelman and KPR & Associates, Park established his own PR firm in 2013.
Though most clients of his company are related with technology sectors, Park this time promotes the Ironman triathlon competition which will take place in the southern port city of Busan, June. 19.
Organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), the Ironman competition is a long distance race that requires athletes to finish 3.86 kilometers of swimming, 180.25 kilometers of cycling and 42.2 kilometers of running in 17 hours.
The Busan race will cover only half of a full course under the title of Ironman 70.3. The race also known as a half Ironman, requires participants to finish 1.9 kilometers of swimming, 90 kilometers of cycling and 21.1 kilometers of running in eight hours.
To learn more about the triathlon event, Park said he visited Australia to watch an Ironman race taking place there.
Park said he promotes the inaugural Ironman event in Busan as he anticipates that the race will benefit the local community of the country’s second largest city.
“I think an Ironman race is one of the greatest community-friendly sports events,” Park said.
“To have a single Ironman race, we need a lot of cooperation from the city and residents. It wouldn’t be possible to hold an event without the support from volunteers as we need at least 500 marshals for the race,” he said. “So, holding an Ironman event brings the city a chance to get closer with each other and highlights the importance of a fair society as every athlete is required to follow the rule.”