The Beijing Winter Olympics came to an end, and most Chinese people's enthusiasm for ice and snow sports has just been ignited.
Facing the reality, most of China, especially in the south, the current foundation for ice and snow sports is still weak. Venues and facilities are under construction on a large scale, but the biggest problem facing the post-Olympic era is that these sports often lack a mass base and professional coaches.
In the past decade, under the policy of "North Ice South Exhibition", curling has become a breakthrough in Shanghai's ice and snow sports. In 2017, Kim Ji-sun, the captain of the South Korean women's curling national team, was invited by the Shanghai Municipal Sports Bureau to serve as the head coach of the Shanghai Youth Curling Team. In October 2020, she left the Shanghai Youth Team and was hired as the coach of the curling high-level sports team of Shanghai University of International Business and Economics (hereinafter referred to as the Shanghai University of Economics and Business), and her husband, Xu Xiaoming, the former main player of the Chinese curling men's team, also taught in the curling team of the school.
A month ago, Xu Xiaoming entered the closed loop as a technical official in curling at the Beijing Winter Olympics. "I also want to participate in the Winter Olympics, no matter what I have done in the past." Kim Ji-sun has only one Winter Olympic experience as an athlete, which is a great regret for her.
Recently, the Morning News reporter chatted with Jin Zhishan and listened to her talk about the current situation and dilemma of curling in Shanghai, as well as her own transnational marriage that had caused a sensation.
In the process, we have come to realize that her experience has gone beyond the scope of general sports, and it reveals the journey of a professional woman who bravely pursues what she loves and resolutely chooses between family and personal dreams.
Although I like him, curling is my dream
Reality is completely different from the version that has been widely circulated on the Internet, and the previous story of "rich people chasing poor boys" that is more in line with the appetite of Chinese readers has proved to be an infinite exaggeration. Kim admitted that his father did run an ice and snow equipment company before, but he had long since retired, and the parents of both sides did not try to obstruct their relationship as rumored, and the biggest obstacle between the two was language and distance.
Kim Ji-sun was born in Seoul in 1986, and her father was also an ice and snow sports athlete. Influenced by her father, she practiced speed skating since she was a child and switched to curling in her freshman year of high school. In 2007, South Korea organized athletes to come to China for exchange and study, and as a representative of ice athletes, she went to Harbin, where she met Xu Xiaoming, who later became her husband. Xu Xiaoming also changed careers halfway, and his speed skating coach was one of the first people in China to come into contact with curling.
In fact, curling has taken place late throughout the world. It was not until 1993 that the International Olympic Committee approved the sport as an official Olympic sport. China's first curling team was the Harbin City team, founded in 2000, while the national team was formed three years later.
When Kim Ji-sun first came to China, curling was also an unknown sport in South Korea. She recalls that everything from purchasing equipment to hiring coaches was at her own expense, because Seoul was far from building a perfect curling youth training system and not establishing a city team. "In the beginning, there was not even a dedicated ice rink, but it was necessary to borrow a skating rink or a short track speed skating venue."
She can't remember the cost of renting a venue that year, but we can use the cost of renting a curling track in South Korea as a reference. She said that if it is a cheap track, the one-hour rent is about six or seven hundred yuan.
It costs a lot to buy equipment, but the service life is generally longer. For example, although a pair of shoes is often priced at two or three thousand yuan, it can be worn for several years. "The main cost is to hire a coach, and the cost of hiring an ordinary coach for a team is spread to the individual, which is two or three thousand yuan per month."
Kim Ji-sun didn't want to waste his curling training during the exchange period, so he trained with the Harbin team. The first time she saw Xu Xiaoming, she thought, "How come this person's eyes are so big!" Many years later, the two who were already married participated in a variety show in South Korea that focused on the lives of multinational celebrities and couples, and Koreans who saw him sighed, "Like Zhou Runfa!" ”
When she first arrived, she didn't know Chinese, so she often practiced with Chinese athletes after studying, and Xu Xiaoming was the most patient of them. She sighed, "At the beginning, I thought he was a good character and very warm. ”
As the year-long study life draws to a close, the two formalize their relationship. It was July 15, "and I always remember this day because we confessed to each other on that day, it was in Beijing. ”
When the exotic couple went through the first of countless separations in the years to come, they hugged each other and cried, "But our goal was very clear, and there was something that had to be done at that time, which was to curl." As far as I am concerned, although I like him, curling is my dream. ”
If it's something you like, dare to pursue it
In 2008, Beijing hosted the Pan Pacific Games. During this time, Kim Ji-sun met the coach of the South Korean curling national team, who selected her to join the team. At the Gangneung Curling World Championships in January 2009, she competed as a substitute. It took less than a year to become the main force and then the captain.
She has participated in five World Championships and one Winter Olympics in her career, and at the 2012 World Championships, the South Korean women's team advanced to the top four, quickly setting off a curling fever in South Korea. "At this time, the whole of South Korea learned that there was still curling in the world, and the support of the government and enterprises increased significantly." Our local team was officially established, the conditions have improved a lot, and the athletes finally no longer have to pay for coaches out of their own pockets. ”
The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi were the first time a South Korean women's curling team qualified for the Winter Olympics, while the South Korean men's team did not compete for the first time until four years later at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in mainland China. The true glory of Curling in South Korea came at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, where the Korean women's team won the silver medal, and the players represented by Kim Eun-jing became household stars, and their images frequently appeared in TV and magazine advertisements. None of this has anything to do with Kim Ji-sun, who has gone to China for her family at this time.
Her athlete-turned-father encouraged her when she was a child, "If it's something you like, dare to pursue it." After the years passed, she inadvertently found out one day that she always held such an attitude regardless of her career and feelings. In the face of this long-distance relationship, she never flinched.
"At that time, the network was not yet developed, the chat tools were only QQ and MSN, and video calls were also very stuck." Kim Ji-sun recalled that he often spent thousands of yuan a month in order to make long-distance phone calls. Because the Chinese curling team trains in places like Canada and Europe all year round, long-distance phone calls are ridiculously expensive.
"If you don't love enough, you really can't stick to it."
From 2007 to 2013, the two were in the same place for no more than half a year. Until after marriage, because of their respective careers, they still gathered less and left more. Jin Zhishan said that they really lived together, and the daily life of chai rice oil and salt did not begin until he came to Shanghai in 2017.
If they want to meet, it is usually she who goes to Harbin to see him.
"On the plane, thinking about this person, the heart began to flutter. I started crying two days before each separation, reluctant and not knowing when we would meet next. ”
After living together for the past few years, she gradually felt that the brief separation did not seem to be a thing, because she knew when he would come back and return to their common home. But the essence of the feelings has not been worn away by the years, "now except that I no longer have a heartbeat when I see him, I still love as before." ”
The cross-border marriage attracted the attention of both countries, and South Korean television specially invited the two to a variety show to discuss how they handled their differences when faced with different cultures, ideas and lifestyles. In Kim's view, it is normal for differences to arise, and what is important is mutual respect.
"My husband is willing to listen and always consults with me on big things to make decisions." She added with a smile, mostly listening to her. This makes up for his lack of romance, "He is really far from romance, love you, think of you this kind of thing is not too much to say," she tried to think for a moment, "last year there was a second baby, he suddenly said thank you to me one day, I think this may be the most romantic thing he has ever done." ”
Kim Ji-sun chatted with his Korean girlfriends, and heard that young men in South Korea now know how to create romance, perhaps influenced by the male protagonist of Korean dramas. Moreover, they pay special attention to dressing up. For today's young Korean men, painting an eyebrow and putting on some light makeup has almost become a necessity. Xu Xiaoming was adamantly unwilling to take this step, but at her insistence, he was now at least willing to apply a mask with himself.
Eight months pregnant, she still trains on the ice track every day
After the Sochi Winter Olympics, she became pregnant and gave birth to a child. In addition to her husband going to South Korea to accompany her in the third trimester of pregnancy, the two stayed in a different place for the rest of the time. Until she was eight months pregnant, she maintained two to three hours of training time a day on the ice track. A month after giving birth, she immediately returned to the ice rink.
She had thought that this life in the exotic twin cities would continue indefinitely until the Shanghai Municipal Sports Bureau sent her an invitation in 2017. At the time, she was looking forward to her second Winter Olympics. But on the other hand, she knew that this unusual relationship between husband and wife had really lasted too long, and by that year, it had been a full 10 years. "It doesn't come often, and I can come over and get used to it a little faster than he does when he goes to Korea."
When she, as a spectator, witnessed the Korean women's curling team win the silver medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, the mood was a bit indescribable.
"Sometimes I wonder what I would be like if I stayed in South Korea. But there is no life that can do everything you want, if you keep practicing, you can also participate in the Winter Olympics, right? You can also get cards, right? But if you continue to practice, you will not have such a home as you have now... That's all I can think of. ”
When he said this, Kim Ji-sun's tone was neither proud nor regretful, but merely stating an established fact. She stressed that although she chose the former in her family and dreams at that moment, she still wanted to return to the national team when she had the opportunity.
"I have never announced my retirement, and when the South Korean team calls me, I can play for the country at any time."
Curling is known as "chess on ice", and the age requirements for the players are not harsh. Kim Chi-sun cited Jennifer Jones, a Canadian fourth baseman at the Winter Olympics, as an example, "She is 47 years old this year, and I think it will be okay until she is 50 years old." The average age of this South Korean team is almost 30 years old. Curling is not all about physical and technical, but more about experience. She said. At this time, the spirit of being an athlete returned to her. "We have two and a half hours to three hours in a game, during which we have to experience many downwinds and headwinds, and the athletes' psychology fluctuates a lot, which is especially necessary for a lot of experience."
Xu Xiaoming also lamented in the interview, "Engaging in curling requires an understanding of life. "And that takes time to accumulate.
Still struggling, striving to buy a house as soon as possible
When I first came to China, everything was difficult, and it was natural. "When a child gets sick and goes to the hospital, I can't even understand the name of the patient. When he went to school, he couldn't help him with his homework. ”
But having a job she loves is a great comfort for her. She served as the coach of the Shanghai Curling Youth Team, and later was hired by the University of International Business and Economics to become the coach of the curling varsity team. Kim Ji-sun said that he could not imagine giving up this love,
"Many of the Korean women of my mother's generation do not go to work and dedicate themselves to their families, but the new generation of Korean women all work and have proved their abilities in society. I never thought that some difficulties in my family life would affect my work. ”
But now the family is definitely number one. "I also recently learned that people live for their families." When I had my first child, I was busy with my own business. After my son was born and released from home, I went out to train and compete abroad, and I didn't feel like a mother. ”
After the birth of the second child, he has been by his side and watched her grow up, and he really feels like a mother.
During Xu Xiaoming's time at the Winter Olympics, Kim Ji-sun had to juggle family and work at the same time. His curling club classes in society have also recently been replaced by Kim Ji-sun. She told us that if the two want to have a better life in Shanghai, they must also work harder.
"We're still renting a house, but we hope to buy a house." Only by having a house of your own can you have a sense of stability. ”
Interview with | the captain of the Korean curling women's team who went to Shanghai to coach for Ai, what is going on now? (Part 2)