Rapes and beatings: The torments of South Korea’s young athletes
seoul — When Kim Eun-hee was 10 years old, a primary school child with dreams of tennis stardom, her coach raped her for the first time. Then he did it again. And again. And again.
The would-be South Korean champion was too young to even know what sex was. But she knew she dreaded the repeated orders to come to his room at their training camp, the pain and the humiliation.
“It took me years to realise that it was rape,” Kim said, adding: “He kept raping me for two years... he told me it was a secret to be kept between him and me.”
Now 27, Kim spoke to international media for the first time and waived all rights to anonymity to reveal how female athletes in the South have silently suffered sexual abuse by their coaches. South Korea is perhaps best known for its technological prowess and K-pop stars, but is also a regional sporting power and besides Japan is the only Asian country to have hosted both summer and winter Olympics.
Despite its relatively small size and population, South Korea is regularly in the top 10 medal table places at both Games, and is globally dominant in archery, taekwondo and short-track speed skating, while packing the top positions in world women’s golf rankings.
But it remains hierarchical and patriarchal in many respects, including a close-knit, male-dominated sports establishment — where personal connections can be almost as important as performances in forging a successful career.
In a highly competitive society where winning is everything, many young athletes forego schooling or live away from families to train with their peers and coaches fulltime, living in a dorm-like environment for years.
The training camp system — akin to models used by Communist sporting
machines such as China — is credited with helping the South punch well above its weight on the global sporting stage.
But it has proven to be the setting for abuse in several sports — especially of underage athletes whose existence is controlled by their trainers. —