Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Park proves his worth for Team Korea
By Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
Striker Park Chu-young netted a well-crafted opener as South Korea beat Japan 2-0 to take bronze, the nation’s first Olympic football medal on Saturday (KST).
At Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, Park dribbled past four defenders to open the scoring in 38th minute and captain Koo Ja-cheol doubled the advantage with a right-footed strike in the 57th. Japan’s skipper Maya Yoshida had a headed goal disallowed in the 86th minute after it was judged that Yuki Otsu fouled goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong.
“Tired from the previous games, we expected a tough match,” Park said. “I concentrated on the match, trying not to be distracted by anything else.”
As one of the three wild card picks for Team Korea, the 27-year-old joined the Under-23 squad after making a public apology before the London Games over his controversial decision to delay military duty by obtaining a 10-year residency permit in Monaco. With this performance, however, Park banished the doubts and criticism surrounding him an Olympic bronze is expected to exempt all those who earned a medal from mandatory military service.
“I’m so glad and proud that we came back with medals that we’ve promised before taking off to London,” Koo said at Incheon International Airport. “Although our players are still immature in terms of skills and experience, it is important that we are still growing. We gained confidence from the Olympics. The members will do much for the future of Korean football.”
Korea’s route to the podium was difficult with injuries and tough encounters with heavy favorites like Britain and Brazil along the way. Korea edged past Team GB in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals before it was thrashed 3-0 by Brazil in the semis.
Although Korea got off to a good start, as soon as the second half kicked off, Japan dominated, seeking an equalizer. However, Koo’s goal quickly halted the momentum.
Manager Hong Myung-bo was unable to hide his delight over the deeply-coveted win over Korea’s Asian rivals.
“We're the dream team, not because we have the star players, but because we achieved our goal from a humble beginning,” Hong said. “I want to thank and congratulate the players. I hope that they continue to develop for the future of Korean football.”
This was Korea’s ninth appearance at the Olympic football competition and its previous best was reaching the quarterfinals in 1948 and 2004.