A couple weeks ago we presented the inaugural edition of Ask a Korean Sportswriter. This week’s column  exclusively concerns the 2008 games in  Beijing, which Jee-ho will be  covering in depth for the JoongAng Daily.  

EWC: What is the most anticipated Korea-related storyline going into the 2008 Olympics?

Jee-ho: The Korean sports fans and the media can get pretty crazy about numbers at the Olympics. This year, the magic number is 10; as in 10 gold medals to finish top-10. That Korea has finished in the top-10 five of the past six Olympics is a huge deal around here. And when Sports Illustrated projected Korea to win seven gold medals, it became a big story among the Korean media.

Preview stories are popping up everywhere now, and when I did one for the Korean-language JoongAng Sunday for the Aug. 3 edition, I had to come up with about 10 events where Korea has the best shot at winning gold.

I think the most anticipated event/storyline will be whether Park Tae-hwan can win a swimming gold medal. It would be first for Korea in Olympic swimming and it will be quite a symbolic accomplishment. Korea has never won a gold in the so-called “basic events” where there are tons of medals up for grabs–track and field (except for marathon) and swimming.

Some people may forget but Park actually competed in the 2004 Olympics, too, but the kid was so nervous he got disqualified for a false start in the heat and cried his way home.

Park has the eye of the entire nation now. I don’t think he will false start this time but the pressure can’t always be a good thing for him. As an aside, when Kim Yu-na competes in the 2010 Winter Olympics, the attention will be just about similar, if not more so.

To be honest, I think a silver in 400m freestyle (his strongest event) is a realistic goal, and a bronze in 200m freestyle (where Michael Phelps is competing) is also a possibility. Park’s time in 1,500m freestyle has been up and down and it’s Grant Hackett’s event to lose anyway. Really, a medal of any color by Park should be lauded.

Another storyline will be whether Korea can win 10 gold. Other than swimming, though, not much will be new for Korea: archery, taekwondo, judo, wrestling, badminton, weightlifting and maybe shooting and fencing. Gymnasts might be in tough against the Chinese. I would say 3 in archery, 2 in taekwondo and 1 in weightlifting are the surest thing, plus a pretty good chance in badminton (men’s doubles) and judo. So that’s 8. Shooting (men’s air pistol and pistol) has an outside shot, fencing is hard to predict (European dominance) but some wrestlers in Greco Roman could surprise. Baseball will be tough, too. Maybe bronze there.

So I think 10 is not an outrageous goal but Korea would have to have more luck than before to win that many. It also doesn’t help that most of Korea’s main events overlap with those of China’s.

EWC: Is there a consensus great moment in Korean Olympic history?

Jee-ho: This is a tough one because there have been quite a few: perhaps Ben Johnson’s doping in Seoul (just kidding. I was actually in attendance as an 8-year-old).

Seriously, a lot of people would point to the marathoner Sohn Ki-jung’s winning gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics as the greatest Olympic moment for Korea. Of course, Sohn represented Japan, not Korea, at the time, because Korea was still under the Japanese colonial rule. And the famous (some say poignant) photo of him at the top of the podium shows Sohn covering the Japanese flag in his chest with the flowers presented to the medal winners. The bronze medal also went to a Korean-born runner, Nam Seung-ryong.

At the 1976 Olympics, wrestler Yang Jung-mo became the first member of the Korean delegation to win an Olympic gold. But the late Sohn is still recognized as the first Korean to win the gold.

My personal favorite moment was watching Jim Abbott pitch in Seoul in 1988. I was already a huge baseball fan and had heard about the guy before he came. It was just so cool and awe-inspiring to see him in person.

Among the Olympics I watched on television, watching Ryu Seung-min win the men’s table tennis gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics over the favored Wang Hao of China was pretty exciting. Ryu wasn’t even supposed to be in the finals and had beaten Wang only once before in six previous meetings. I watched that match in the barracks while I was still serving in the army. Ryu is also one of all-time favorite interviewees—articulate, honest, friendly and cliché-proof.

EWC: How does the media regard the 1988 games? Do Korean reporters ever wax nostalgic about the Seoul games in 1988? Do you think some media will get competitive and favorably compare the 1988 games to the 2008 games?

Jee-ho:I am surprised that we haven’t seen more stories about the 1988 Games these days. Most reporters who covered that are probably retired now and even sports editors now weren’t around sports beat 20 years ago. You’d see some video clips of medal winners from back then, with the voice actor in his hushed, reverential tone that you hear from Jim Nantz before the Masters. Some athletes who competed in the 1988 Games are now coaches in their respective sports. It’d be interesting to get their perspectives, too.

I do believe there will be more 1988-related stories once the Beijing Games begin, especially once Korea starts winning medals.

EWC: What’s the general mood about the Olympic baseball team right now? Do people think there’s a chance at a gold medal? Is there any individual storylines you’re interested in with the Olympic baseball team?

Jee-ho: I am writing this before Korea plays the Netherlands and Cuba in tune-up games early August. So far, the mood is that of cautious optimism. Hitters have picked up the pace of late but pitchers have been hit hard.

People love their handball, archery, fencing, etc, but still, baseball is baseball, and with KBO pros plus Lee Seung-yeop in lineup, people will watch the boys and will scrutinize every move.

People are hoping for medal of any color, knowing how strong Japan and Cuba are. Some guys who have not served in the military will have the extra motivation of receiving the exemption with an Olympic medal. If that doesn’t drive them, I don’t know what will.

Personally, I’d like to see Lee Seung-yeop do well in the Olympics. Without Park Chan-ho and Lee Jong-beom, Seung-yeop is without a question the heart and soul of this team. I think guys respect the way he is missing action in Japan and foregoing some serious cash in playing-time based options to play for Korea. If Seung-yeop hits a homer against Japan, I’d love to see the Japanese media’s reaction.

I like this team’s pitching staff. Good, solid lefties (I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Jang Won-sam), though I would question selecting Bong Jung-keun over Son Min-han. Son would have been the elder statesman and the calming presence on the staff. There’s no one that stands out as the leader on this staff.

I like the young Lim Tae-hoon in the bullpen; I think he is definitely a keeper. But we could have used more power pitchers than just Han Ki-joo and Oh Seung-hwan. Yoon Seok-min would have been a nice addition as a reliever, too.

Looking at the lineup, there are essentially three guys—Seung-yeop, Lee Dae-ho and Kim Dong-joo—with power and a bunch of scrappy guys. This team could have used Kim Tae-kyun, though that could have created a logjam at first base.

One guy who could surprise people is Lee Taek-geun. I liked his aggressive approach during March’s qualification and he can hit for a little power. You read it here first.