Korea's Olympic Icon - Kim Un-yong's Resolute Odyssey shares profound insights into the life of Kim...
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Korea's Olympic Icon - Kim Un-yong's Resolute Odyssey shares profound insights into the life of Kim Un-yong, the father of Olympic Taekwondo and a legend of Korean sports administration This biography is of special significance as a work by David Miller, veteran sports journalist and awards winning author from Great Britain, who has spent six decades traveling to sports events around the globe. Miller has covered 24 Olympic Games, attending 45 annual Sessions of the International Olympic Committee, fourteen World Cup football finals and more than thirty sports in 120 countries. Korea's Olympic Icon - Kim Un-yong's Resolute Odyssey provides profound insights into the exhilarating life of Kim Un-yong, a man whose light shone brightest on the international stage, leaving a huge footprint on sports history not only in South Korea and Asia but across the world. The biography follows a thoroughly researched and considered perspective of Kim's resilient life and career despite challenges and adversities.Whilst the focus of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) publication in 2017, A Big Man Who Embraced the World, Kim Un-Yong, recounted primarily Kim's life and career as national sports hero, this latest work delves into his international impact. Miller and Kim interacted over many years and enjoyed a particular closeness; the author has stated that "there would never have been an Olympics in Seoul had it not been for Kim".Detailing the passionate life story of Kim Un-yong as someone who represented South Korea's face in the world of global sports - taking on multiple roles over history as a soldier, diplomat, sports administrator, and politician - this critical biography is rich in messages of courage and hope that are worthy of sharing with younger readers. It also offers a practical guide to thinking people of all generations in fields beyond sports administration and marketing, including diplomacy and international business.The book consists of eight chapters: 1. Emergent Phenomenon, 2. Seoul Spectacular, 3. Asian Leadership, 4. Salt Lake Subterfuge, 5. Presidential Turmoil, 6. Pyeongchang Reversal, 7. Symbiotic Convergence, and 8. Squandered Icon. It also includes a foreword and a preface by the IOC Finance Commission chairman, Ng Ser Miang and Honorary IOC member, Vitali Smirnov, respectively. Its 320 pages capture the life of Kim Un-yong devoted to serving Korea and the Olympic Movement, developing and globalising Taekwondo and elevating the stature of Korean sports.
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