2024-04-04 14:48:12
Toyo Corporation Chairman Mok I-kyun (74) has been playing tennis since 1974. He had been enjoying table tennis with his friends since high school, and he started playing with his college friend when he boasted that he played tennis. He still plays tennis more than four times a week and is enjoying a healthy old age.
“In our time, we were into table tennis because of Ierisa Ierisa and Hyunsook Jeong, who won the team event at the 1973 World Table Tennis Championships in Sarajevo. However, around the time tennis became popular, one of my classmates at Korea University was at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), and he boasted about playing tennis on the institute’s court. So, I ran to KIST and started learning while playing.”
Chairman Mok has been a sports fanatic since his high school days. However, tennis was very different from table tennis. He swung the tennis racket as if he were swinging a light table tennis racket, and it didn’t fit well. He ran a lot longer than tennis. He said, “If table tennis requires good use of small muscles, tennis requires good use of large muscles. “It was a lot of fun to beat my opponents with a variety of techniques on a tennis court that was much wider than a ping pong table,” he said. He went to work after playing tennis early in the morning, and played again after work. He played 2 to 3 hours a day. He picked up a tennis textbook and taught himself. He said, “In short, I was crazy about tennis.” “I hurt my right arm, so I have to do everything with my left arm. At that time, there were no private lessons like there are now. Since I had to use only one arm, I needed my own know-how, so I did my research.”
Chairman Mok has been relying on his left arm since he suffered a serious injury to his right elbow when he was five years old. He had undergone two surgeries at the time, but his right arm was no longer growing. He lost only two-thirds of his left arm. Because of this, in the early days of his school days, he stayed away from sports. He turned into a sports fanatic in high school.
“I entered Daejeon High School and had to learn judo two hours a week. I told the instructor at the time, ‘I can’t do it because my arms are like this,’ and he told me, ‘In Japan, even people with no legs can get a black belt in judo using crutches.’ But when I tried it, it worked. “I got only 12 out of 20 points in the high school physical fitness test, but I ended up getting a black belt.”
It was the moment when Chairman Mok opened his eyes to sports. He said, “As my lower body strength improved while doing judo, I gained confidence that I could also play other sports.” From then on, he became interested in and delved into various sports. He entered Korea University and was active in the judo club until his second year. He enjoyed not only table tennis and tennis, but also badminton and golf. His athleticism made him stand out in every sport he entered. As for tennis, he won various amateur competitions starting in the mid-1980s, although he did not compete often.
When I started playing golf in 1989, I occasionally played tennis. He worked at a securities and investment company and even served as the president of Woongjin Lucas Investment Advisory, so he had many people to meet in the business field. He said, “I also heard that if you want to play golf well, you need to play less tennis.” However, while he played tennis with his friends, he also enjoyed golf. His best golf score is even par. These days, he is focusing on tennis again, so he plays golf occasionally and his scores are inconsistent, but he says he can hit scores in the low 80s if he puts his mind to it.
“After learning judo, I actually thought of myself as a sportsman. In addition to the joy of exercise itself, the pride that comes from a healthy body made me grow. “I always had confidence in my social life.”
President Mok, who is an advisor to the Korea Senior Tennis Federation, plays tennis at the federation’s regular meetings, as well as the ‘Reconciliation Club’ and ‘Apartment Early Childhood Club’ where he plays tennis on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He also plays tennis with his family. After realizing the importance of playing tennis to his health, he introduced his family to tennis in the 1990s. In particular, he often enjoys playing tennis with his son Jinseok (44), a professional baduk player.
If Chairman Mok has no special schedule, he starts his day with tennis. He plays tennis with residents on the tennis court in the apartment complex in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, where he has been living for the past four years. When it rains, he goes to the table tennis court. He said, “I’m enjoying playing table tennis with my wife these days.” Thanks to his strong physical strength trained through tennis, he still enjoys a variety of sports.
Yang Jong-gu, Deputy Director of Sports Department yjongk@donga.com
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2024-04-04 14:48:12