Chung Hyeon poses for a photo with supporters at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018. Chung will play Switzerland's Roger Federer in a men's singles semifinal in Melbourne, Friday. / AP-Yonhap



Trailblazers in sports leave lasting legacy



By Kang Hyun-kyung



Tennis is poised to be Korea's next "it sport" once Chung Hyeon returns home after completing his ongoing triumphant journey at the 2018 Australian Open tournament in Melbourne.

Chung, 21, is the first Korean to reach the semifinals of the Grand Slam after he beat Tennys Sandgren of the United States 3-0 on Wednesday.



His saga is ongoing ? he will face second-seeded Roger Federer in the semifinal slated for Friday.



Chung's epic games will sow the seeds for a tennis boom in Korea, according to experts.



"There's no question what he has achieved at the Australian Open so far is something remarkable," said Kim Yu-kyoum, a professor of physical education at Seoul National University. "He's a trailblazer in Korean tennis because he is the first player to make the semifinals at a Grand Slam.



It's hard to compare what his accomplishment would be like in other sports, but I think it is equivalent to an Olympic medal. I mean for Koreans making the semifinals in a tennis Grand Slam is as demanding as winning an Olympic medal because he began his tennis journey from scratch."



Before Chung, two Korean tennis players have made the round of 16 at a Grand Slam. Retired tennis star Lee Deok-hee is the first Korean to advance to the round of 16 in women's singles at the 1981 U.S. Open. She was also the first Asian to reach the round of 16 at a Grand Slam.



Almost two decades after that, Lee Hyeong-taek followed in her footsteps. He is the first male Korean to make the cut for the round of 16 at the U.S. Open. He made it twice in 2000 and in 2007.



Chung broke the ceiling for Korean players by making it into the semifinals.



Trailblazers in sports have triggered a boom in their once unpopular sport after they garnered stunning success in global competitions.



Park Se-ri triggered an unprecedented golf boom in Korea when she became the first Korean to grab the LPGA championship in July 1998 after making her famous shot from a water hazard at the 18th hole of the Blackwolf Run golf course in Kohler, Wisconsin. The golf boom has led to a strong showing of Korean women in LPGA championships. In 2017, Korean golfers dominated 12 out of 22 LPGA titles. Among four majors, female Korean golfers swept three titles.



A similar boom was created in swimming after Park Tae-hwan ended Korea's decades-long Olympic medal drought at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He won a gold medal in the men's 400-meter freestyle and also bagged a silver in the 200-meter freestyle during the Olympics. He became a swimming sensation, causing many children to emulate his success.



Kim Yuna is credited with the post-Vancouver Olympics figure skating boom. The nation saw a group of young figure skaters years after Kim won an Olympic gold medal in 2010.



They are called "the Vancouver kids" as they were inspired by the Olympic champion to hit the ice. Lim Eun-soo, who finished fourth in the women's singles at the 2017 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championship in Taipei, Taiwan, and her rivals Kim Ye-rim and Yoo Young are three of the representative skaters of the Vancouver generation. All of them are under 16 and are not qualified to join the Olympics this year due to their age. These Vancouver kids will begin their hunt for Olympic medals at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.



Oh Yoon-sung, a professor of Soonchunhyang University, said Chung's success would trigger a similar tennis boom in Korea in the wake of the Australia Open.



He mentioned "the parent factor" behind the possible tennis boom here.



"Parents who are keen to help their young children discover their talent would recommend their children explore tennis in hopes they might be as successful as Chung in the future," Oh said. "Some parents might have been convinced that tennis is one of the areas through which their children can succeed."



His remarks indicate the nation could see "Melbourne kids" inspired by Chung as he is the newest sensation in Korean sports.



The term "golf daddy" was coined after Park rose to international stardom after her sensational 1998 LPGA win. Her demanding father became well-known for his overly strict discipline to help his daughter win the golf championship and his strict mentoring continued even after she won the title. Golf daddy has since have become used with a negative meaning about demanding fathers who push their children to play golf without proper rest.

Kim Yuna's mom ? Park Mi-hee ? drew media attention after Kim won the Olympic gold. Park's single-minded devotion to her daughter played a part in Kim's rise to be the top figure skater of her time.



Little is known about the role of parents behind tennis star Chung, except he is from a tennis-playing family. His father was a tennis player and his older brother also plays tennis.



Chung's epic games at the 2018 Australian Open came against all odds.



He made the semifinals almost three years after Samsung Group's corporate patronage for tennis ended abruptly in March 2015. Samsung scrapped its systematic support for its tennis team and the team was disbanded ??(years after it was established in 1992.

Amid scaling back its sports budget, Samsung, however, has continued its financial support for Chung.



The 2015 restructuring of the Samsung tennis team came as a shock to tennis players.



Chung reminded the Korean public of the disbanded tennis team after his epic game against the 12-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic of Serbia on Monday.



He scribbled on the camera lens after defeating Djokovic 3-0. "Did you see it?" it read.



Later Chung said it was a message for Kim Il-sun, the former coach of the now defunct Samsung tennis team. "I knew she went through hard times when the team was disbanded," he said during a news conference after the game. "I wanted to console her at some point after I became successful." That time came on Monday at the Australian Open as Chung defeated Djokovic who the Korean player has admired as his role model.



Professor Kim said Chung is the byproduct of Samsung Group's corporate patronage. "There was systematic support for tennis players during those years and thus a talented player such as Chung was able to pull together such a remarkable result in Melbourne," he said. "It's regrettable that systematic support is now gone."



