#drawlings
Sohn Kee-chung & Nam Sung-yong
Now that the Tokyo Olympics is underway, let’s talk about Olympic medalists Sohn Kee-chung (손기정) and Nam Sung-yong (남승룡) - who were forced to compete under the Japanese flag during the 1936 Olympics.
As you may know, Japan was an imperial power during WWII and colonized Korea (as well as many other countries). Sohn Kee-chung and Nam Sung-yong were ethnic Koreans who were forced to change their names to Son Kitei and Nan Shoryu so they could compete as “Japanese” athletes.
Sohn won the gold in the marathon and Nam won bronze, but as you can tell from the awards ceremony photos, neither were happy about their victory as they had to stand in front of the world not as Koreans but as Japanese subjects.
Sohn specifically used the laurel plant he received as gold medalist to hide the Japanese flag on his chest. Nam recalled being jealous of Sohn - not because he won gold - but because he had something to cover the flag with. You can see Nam clenching his fist in photos instead.
Sohn was forced to give a victory speech that was pre-written for him praising the Japanese Empire. You can listen to a record here. Around the 2:39 mark - you can hear a voice threatening Sohn: “Louder. Read louder.”
Unable to celebrate his win, Sohn sent a postcard to a friend post-match that simply read: “I am sad.”
Korean newspapers Dong-A Ilbo (동아일보) and Joseon Joong-Ang Ilbo (조선중앙일보) edited out the Japanese flag when reporting on Sohn and Nam’s wins. The Japanese government responded by arresting Korean journalists and putting Sohn under surveillance.
Both Sohn and Nam have repeatedly asked to be remembered as Korean athletes, not Japanese ones. But to this day, official Olympics records still use Japanese names and the Japanese flag for them.
In fact, the JOC has been introducing Sohn and 8 other Koreans as “Japanese” athletes in order to promote Tokyo 2020. These athletes competed under the Japanese flag not by choice, but by imperialist force.
There have been many attempts to fix this. Noted example is Korean politician Park Young Rok who visited Germany for the 1970 Olympics and broke into the Berlin Olympic Stadium at night to fix Sohn’s country to Korea. He fled to Korea with the letters J-A-P-A-N in hand.
In the beginning the Japanese national team wanted to kick Sohn and Nam out because they did not want to show the world that Koreans were better than Japanese athletes. When Sohn and Nam ranked 1st and 2nd respectively in the Olympic trials, they demanded a retrial in Berlin and added TWO more Japanese runners in hopes of disqualifying Sohn and Nam. Some of the Japanese players actually left the course and tried to take shortcuts to beat them. Sohn and Nam noticed this while running and swore that they would beat them no matter what.
They did.
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DRUMROLL, PLEASE!
Thank you all so much for your patience and understanding thus far - we’re incredibly happy to announce that all products have finally arrived and pre-orders will begin shipping out tomorrow! Please ensure that your mailing address is accurate and keep an eye open for your bundle; you’re free to reach out to us at [email protected].
You have our deepest gratitude for your continued support! We absolutely cannot wait to share this book with you
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Congratulations to Academy Award Winner Yuh-Jung Youn and the Minari team!
윤여정 배우님 수상 축하드려요! 미나리 팀 화이팅!
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Today’s* Hanbok | 02.20.2021
(Technically, yesterday’s hanbok*) A cute bird-themed jacket + hanbok for a walk by the beach yesterday to look at birds!
새 자수 놓인 자켓입고 새보러 가기 ㅎㅎ
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Today’s Hanbok | 02.14.1021
Happy Valentine’s Day!! Please enjoy this heartbok 오늘의 한복은 하트하트~ (여러분 모란나비 한복 하세요… 존귀입니다)
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Today’s Hanbok | 02.13.2021
This is one of my favorite designs from Moranavi Hanbok!! I know it’s the wrong season but it’s got big autumn vibes~
오늘의 한복은 나의 한복 최애 모란나비~ 벌써 봄이 되어가고 있지만 가을 감성이 꽉 찬 글렌체크 세트!
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Today’s Hanbok | 02.12.2021
Technically, yesterday’s hanbok but who’s keeping track? 오늘의 한복…이 아니라 어제의 한복 ㅋㅋ
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Happy Lunar New Year!
I hope 2021 is an ox-picious year for everyone! Please enjoy this cowgirl wearing yeehawnbok. 모두 즐거운 명절 보내세요~
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Some preview crops of my submission for @dragonagestoryzine
It’s Blackwall in the Korean folk tale “The Ungrateful Tiger and the Rabbit (or in this case Nug)’s Judgment”
There are so many talented artists and writers on this project - please check it out if you’re interested in Dragon Age and fairy tales~
The project open for preorders now at: https://keeperscodex.bigcartel.com
yes i drew blackwall in hanbok because i can
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- Sayyida al Hurra: A pirate queen from Morocco who controlled the Mediterranean Sea during the 16th century!
- Shajar al-Durr: A sultan who fought off Crusaders invading Egypt in the 13th century!
I had the pleasure of working on stickers for @dames-zine . If you love warrior women, please give this project a look!
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Queen Seondeok
The first reigning queen of Silla who commanded the Hwarang in 7th century Korea!
My submission for @dames-zine! This will be printed on bound notebooks! You can check out the Kickstarter project here.
선덕여왕 - 한국인이라면 모를일이 없는 신라의 군주이자 한반도 최초의 여왕! Dames Zine에 실릴 선덕여왕 일러스트에요. (킥스타터에서 후원하시는 분들은 선덕여왕 노트북도 받으실수 있답니당~) 여걸’ 이란 주제로 기획된 콜라보 아트북이에요. 여성영웅 덕후라면 모두 모여랏! 많이 사랑해주세요~
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Unspecified, 2022
