SEOUL – The Korean billiard player is polite, even courteous, exemplary in his sportsmanship, passionate about his craft, but he rarely shows emotion and is feared for his concentration and mentality. South Korea, with its millions of players, countless billiard rooms and almost 200 professional cueists, is indeed the land of limitless opportunities in 3-cushion.
Three players are in the world’s top twelve, six are in the top-40 of the world. In spite of that, the current generation, with great players like Kyung-Roul Kim, Sung Won Choi and Jae Ho Cho has not yet produced a world champion. The Koreans may boast however with the most promising talent in 3-cushion: four time world junior champion Haeng Jik Kim
Kozoom interviewers Markus Schönhoff and Frits Bakker asked their Korean colleague Woojin Park, who often acts as coach for the top players, about the billiard culture in his country.
Kozoom: Which are the most popular sports in South Korea, and what place is there for billiards, more specifically 3-cushion?
Woojin Park: ,,Baseball, basketball and soccer are the most popular sports. 3-cushion has a rather special position, because many people enjoy it, but do not regard it as a sport.’’
Kozoom: We know there are many strong 3-cushion players, but are other disciplines also played, such as pool and snooker? Snooker is very popular In China and Taiwan.
Woojin: ,,3-cushion and 4-ball, whic is comparable to the free game or balkline, are the dominant disciplines in Korea. The market share of pool does grow, but it is still very small when compared to 3-cushion. Snooker’s share of the market is negligable. As far as I know, there are only three snooker tables in Korea. In China and Taiwan they play a lot of snooker and pool, not 3-cushion.’’
Kozoom: How many professional 30cushion players are there in Korea?
Woojin: ,,Right now, there are 780 professional players, who are registered with the Korean federation.’’
Kozoom: Who were the role models of the current generation of top players? If we look at Belgium with Caudron and Merckx, they started their careers in the era of Raymond Ceulemans and Ludo Dielis. Was Sang Lee the prime example for Korean players? And maybe Kobayashi and Komori for the Japanese?
Woojin: ,,Truth be told, we did not have a generation like that. Sang Lee, whose full name was Sang-Chun Lee, was the only player to become famous, he was the exception. He moved to America and after three years got his citizenship. In a few years time, he became a world class player, but he then carried an American passport. In 2003 he returned to Korea and became chairman of the Korean billiard federation. In that position, he was able to give the sport a tremendous boost. These were also the years when Kyung-Roul Kim started to develop.’’
Kozoom: In Porto, Sung-Won Choi was close to the world title, but he lost the final to Eddy Merckx. A story went around then, that a Korean player who wins a world title, is rewarded by his country with the formidable sum of 100.000 euro.
Woojin: ,,That is correct, and it applies to all sports in Korea. An athlete who achieves something great (for billiards, that would be a world title or a victory at the Asian Games) will receive points. On a world championship, 20 points would be awarded for the gold medal, 5 for the silver and 3 for the bronze. If that sportsman has collected 20 points, he will receive 300.000 Korean won (200 Euro) for the rest of his life. That can amount to more than 100.000 euro.’’
Kozoom: Looking at the players from your country, such as Kim, Cho or Choi, we see players with fantastic concentration and will to win. What are the specific qualities and characteristics of the Korean billiard player?
Woojin: ,,We like to call them the ’Big Six’ in Korea: Kyung-Roul Kim, Sung-Won Choi, Jae-Ho Cho, Dong-Goong Kang, Jung-Han Heo and Chung-Bok Lee. They are the best in Korea, always the first 6 names on the ranking. Kim is the best of the best, with an average between 1.900 and 2.000. Choi is probably the second best, but his average is not that high, let’s say 1.600 – 1.700. He is a player who has phenomenal concentration, and who is mentally tough until the last point.’’
,,There is not much different about Korean players, but the main difference with European players is, that we must travel far to World Cups and other tournaments. That brings with it that the cost is high, and players are super motivated to do well in a tournament. If you invest 3000 euro to take part in a World Cup, and you lose your first match, that is a horrible feeling.’’
Kozoom: About style of play: many Europea players will hit the ball and then move their body as if to guide the ball towards the target. A Korean player will usually remain motionless after the strike.
Woojin: ,,This has to do with the Korean culture of being polite and courteous, in daily life but also in sports, i.e. billiards. If you first learn how to play billiards, they will tell you that good behaviour is more important than anything else. Moving around and following the ball with your body is not considered acceptable behaviour.’’
Kozoom: How should we look at the billiard culture, given the large number of rooms and players.
Woojin: ,,Our culture is very different from the European countries. South Korea has more than 40.000 billiard clubs and 10 million people play the game regularly. If you go to the University district, you’ll find 100 billiard clubs within 15 minutes of walking distance. Every building has a billiard club. The accomodations are there, and there are many good players, so everyone who wants to, can learn the game. There is however, no competition. You can only watch top matches in the big tournaments, of which there are 4 to 6 every year. Amateur players cannot compete in those, but they have their own amateur tournaments. The quality there is not that high: 0.800 – 1.000.’’
Kozoom: So many players, and just one top talent: Haeng Jik Kim. Or are there others, waiting in the wings?
Woojin: ,,Haeng-Jik is the nr. 1 young player in Korea, but there are other talents, such as Jun-Tae Kim and Tae-Jun Oh, who are in the military right now, and Myung-Woo Cho.’’
Kozoom: What motivation do young Koreans have to take up billiards?
Woojin: ,,The older generation does not regard billiards as a sport, which is why they do not encourage young kids to play it. Many people have tried to change that culture, and it is starting to work. Some highschools (not that many yet) promote billiards and some universities help young talents to develop. Haeng-Jik Kim is the best example of that system. But overall, people will usually take up billiards as an adult, which is what all of the Big Six have done.’’
Kozoom: Haeng Jik Kim came to Germany to grow as a player, and he also competed in the Dutch league. Inwon Kang did the same thing. Why do other Korean top players not come to Europe and make a lot of money?
Woojin: ,,Going to Europe will not be a guarantee to make big bucks. Top players, like the Big Six, are reluctant to leave Korea, because of the things they have to give up. They would be unable to play the Korean tournament, and lose their ranking. They would lose personal sponsorship. Most professionals work in a club, where they also practice, and attract spectators. They make 2000 to 3000 euro a month, and if they leave Korea, they would give up on that security.’’