Kim In Soo, Director of the International Relations Department of the Korean Olympic Committee, was recently in Beijing to attend a conference of the leaders of the Olympic Delegations to Beijing. Mr. Kim took time out of his busy schedule to speak with the official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

During the interview, Mr. Kim talked about Korea's expectations at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and stated that China and Korea had equal chances for medalling in archery, one of Korea's strongest sports.

Change, change, change

Mr. Kim, who has been to Beijing more than 10 times since 2001, when he attended the 2001 Summer University Games hosted in Beijing, noted that the city has changed in many ways every time he has visited. On this current visit, he was most surprised by all the construction work and progress.

Beijing will continue to see changes, and Mr. Kim knows in which areas.

Seoul successfully hosted the 1988 Olympic Games. Also, Busan hosted the 2002 Asian Games. The two Korean cities' experiences have proven that there are many positive outcomes that result from hosting such large-scale sports events. Kim noted that the most apparent differences were in the economy, personal income, and infrastructure of the two cities. Everything was upgraded. Kim believes that Beijing will have a similar experience.

Korea at the Beijing Olympics

Korea will try to send all of its qualified athletes to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in an effort to beat their performance at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, where Korea earned nine gold medals and placed eight of all nations. Of the eight gold medals, five were won in archery and taekwondo, the nation's two strongest sports.

Kim feels that in a sport like archery, in which China is also very strong, there is an equal chance for both Korea and China to medal. Most likely, China and Korea will be competing in the final matches, says Kim.

Aside from archery and taekwondo, Kim also thinks that Korea has a chance at performing well in table tennis.

According to Kim, everybody all over the world knows that China is very strong in table tennis, but Korea is also very strong. At the last Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Ryu Seung Min beat Chinese table tennis player Wang Hao, winning the gold medal for the Men's Singles. Kim expressed that the Koreans will continue to strive for their best in table tennis next August in Beijing. "We want to try our best to compete, to get a gold medal," said Kim.

(BOCOG August 14, 2007)