Clearing hurdles of racial prejudice
This story was made possible with support from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Shinhan Financial Group, Hanhwa, POSCO and Citibank.
Kang Kyo-sun plays the recorder during her music class.
By Lee Tae-hoon
GOESAN, North Chungcheong Province - Kang Kyo-sun always arrives at school one hour earlier than any of her classmates, an effort she has been willing to undertake over the past three years to clear the hurdles in entering mainstream Korean society.
A large banner over the main gate of Jangyeon Elementary School suggests that the 11-year-old girl born to a Korean father and a Filipino mother is already reaping the benefits of her sweat and toil.
Kang performs leg stretching exercises.
It reads, “Congratulations to Kang Kyo-sun for winning the gold medal in the long jump in a province-wide athletic contest.”
Her teachers and coaches unanimously say that she has the potential to join the national team as she is determined to do her best and has the ideal physique for track and field ― strength, flexibility and height.
Kang is nearly five inches taller than her classmates, making her look more like a senior in middle school rather than a fifth grader in elementary school.
Kang, center at the back, runs the track in a stadium in Goesan, North Chungcheong Province with fellow athletes on Nov. 27. / Korea Times photos by Shim Hyun-chul
When everyone goes home after class, she undertakes another two hours of intensive training in a nearby public stadium under the supervision of seasoned coaches like Kyeng Han-ho, who nurtured the country’s top female marathon runner Kim Seong-eun.
She usually goes home at 11 p.m. after a tennis lesson, piano class and other extracurricular activities.
Despite her passion for sports, she strives to keep a balance between it and her studies.
Kang has received more than two dozen awards for academic excellence from her school and is the president of her class.
“No one treats her as a foreigner,” said Kim Ki-baek, vice principal of the school.
He noted that she has demonstrated excellent leadership skills and her Korean is even more articulate than her fellow students, not to mention English, which she naturally acquired from her English speaking mother.