‘Japanese naturalization’ Choo Seong-hoon reveals his determination, “I cried a lot because the Korean Judo Association decision was wrong” (Lecturers)[종합] : ZUM News

(Xports News Reporter Kim Hyun-jung) Choo Seong-hoon revealed the story of how he had no choice but to naturalize as a Japanese citizen.

On the MBC entertainment program ‘Let Your Heart Cry Lecturers’ aired on the 3rd, Judo athlete-turned mixed martial arts athlete Choo Seong-hoon confessed his life story under the theme ‘When the world doesn’t go as you want.’

Seong-Hoon Choo, who was the first speaker, was born in Osaka, Japan and confessed the discrimination and conflict he experienced growing up as a fourth generation Korean-Japanese.

Choo Seong-hoon said, “My father is a third generation Korean-Japanese, and my mother was born in Korea and came to Japan. My father and mother were very young. My father got married when he was 23 and my mother was about 20. My mother stayed in Korea until she was 20. “I could barely speak Japanese and I had no friends, and my father was a student, so he couldn’t find a job and didn’t have enough money to feed us while working part-time,” he said, referring to his difficult childhood.

Later, he recalled that he got into a fight with a friend he borrowed 100 yen from in middle school because he didn’t pay it back even though he had the money. He made a shocking statement: his friend’s homeroom teacher called him and said, “Don’t hit Japanese people,” and beat him all over his body except his face.

Regarding the reason why he did not go down a bad path despite experiencing discrimination in Japan, he said, “I have been doing judo since I was young. My father did judo and I was very scared, so I didn’t go down a bad path and just focused on judo and liked it.”

Choo Seong-hoon said, “I couldn’t go to middle school, high school, or university because I didn’t have money, so I looked for what I could do. If I won first place in the Osaka regional competition, I could go there for free. I worked hard. I was happy to be scouted. After graduating from university, I joined a Japanese business team. In order to go, I had to choose my nationality. The salary for the Japanese business team was 3 million won per month, so I was very hesitant about going, but I told my father that I would go to Korea and decided to go to Busan City Hall.” I saw it.

He, who went to the 2001 Asian Championships wearing the Taegeuk symbol, said, “I cried because I wanted to have ‘Korea’ written on my back so much. Here, another problem arose. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t do it, so I cried a lot in my heart. The Judo Association made a wrong decision. “At first, I thought I could do it if I worked hard, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t do it,” he said, adding that even though he won a gold medal at the Asian Games, he suffered consecutive decision losses in domestic competitions and was eliminated from the national team selection competition.

Choo Seong-hoon said, “I made a big decision to become naturalized. The Chu family has a history in Japan that lasted about 100 years, so I thought it would be strange to change nationality for judo. My father’s dream is to wear the Taegeuk symbol and win a gold medal, but my parents’ dream is to do it.” “I don’t know how you feel, but you allowed my naturalization,” he said.

From Choo Sung-hoon to Akiyama, he competed with Korean athlete An Dong-jin for the gold medal at the 14th Busan Asian Games and won.

Choo Seong-hoon said, “I felt strange when I saw the flags of both countries go up to the podium. The next day, the newspaper said, ‘We defeated our country.’ There were a lot of negative comments in Korea. However, it wasn’t that we were loved in Japan. There were a lot of negative comments in Japan as well.” ‘Where on earth am I?’ “In Korea, they say I’m Japanese, and in Japan, I’m not sure where I should fit in,” he said, adding that he experienced confusion about his identity.

Choo Seong-hoon, who retired from judo and became a mixed martial artist, competed in the ring with the flags of two countries engraved on him.

Choo Seong-hoon, who said he was moved by the support of Korean fans, said, “I became Japanese, but the blood that flows through my body and my heart are Korean.”

He continued, “My father passed away two years ago. I learned a lot from him. Every moment in life is a choice. They say you make 70,000 decisions a day. But they say there will come a time when you have to make a difficult choice. My father always encouraged me to take the difficult path. “He told me to go and that it would be helpful and a way to succeed faster,” he said, adding that he was taught by his father.

The reason she doesn’t stop taking on challenges is because she wants to be an example to her daughter Chu Sarang.

Choo Seong-hoon said, “Sarang is 12 years old. She has grown up a lot. As a parent, I wondered what I should teach her, but studying is meaningless and giving her pocket money is meaningless. I think showing her how hard I work is the best education. That’s why I work hard.” I said it and received applause.

Photo = MBC broadcast screen

Reporter Kim Hyeon-jeong [email protected]

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