With its tenacious vitality and indomitable fighting spirit, weedy Korean Go has leapt from the position of the old third in the mid-1990s to become the world's boss in the World Go world. Not only that, Korean Go has done a particularly good job in the inheritance of leading figures, and has done a good job of paving the way for the endless life of Korean Go.
Since the first year of the 1988 World Go Championship, five leading masters have been born in the Korean Go industry, including Cho Hwan-hyun, Lee Chang-ho, Lee Sedol, Park Young-huan, and Shin Jin-chan. Relying on the seamless docking between them, in many cases, the Sino-Japanese Go has formed a crushing situation.
Known as the emperor of Korean Go, Cho Hwan-hyun, born in 1953, is the flagship figure of Korean Go to the world. After the first Fujitsu Cup lost to Kobayashi Koichi in 1988 and defeated Japan, he rose strongly in the first YingShi Cup, first revenge Kobayashi Koichi, then stepped through the level of Lin Haifeng, broke into the final, and finally everyone knows that he defeated the hero Nie Weiping in 1989 and became the national hero of Korean Go.
Later, in 1994, Cho won the Fujitsu Cup and the Toyo Securities Cup, crowning himself the only triple crown at that time and becoming a leading figure in the world chess world. People say that the heights are not cold, but he is warm, because he has three strong defenders next to him, namely Li Chang-ho of Lianba's two-time Toyo Securities Cup in 1992 and 1993, Liu Chang-hyuk, the champion of the sixth Fujitsu Cup in 1993, and Xu Fengsu, the winner of the second Ying's Cup in 1993. The four heavenly kings hugged each other and relied on each other, and Cao Xuanxuan could feel lonely.
Cho Hwan-hyun, Seo Bong-so, Cho Ji-hoon, Yoo Chang-hyuk, Lee Chang-ho
Cho is an evergreen in chess, and his world championship spanned 13 years, from 1989 to 2003, and he was finally ranked third in the world championship list with nine world championships. Before he could stop the flag, his apprentice Lee Chang-ho had already taken over. As the second generation of South Korea's leading standard-bearer, Lee Chang-ho, born in 1976, is a super chess player who truly frightens the world chess world. At his peak, from 1996 to 2005, he was almost invincible, and a large number of Chinese and Japanese elites were ruthlessly trampled under his feet and it was difficult to turn over. For example, Two of China's leading figures, Ma Xiaochun and Chang Hao, have been sent by him to a miserable 10-game defeat and 12 consecutive defeats, respectively, and have been bullied by Shi Fo in the finals of the World Series 4 and 3 times respectively.
Lee Chang-ho set many world records, such as the youngest world champion, four world championships in one year, three consecutive three-time championships in the Samsung Cup, and finally he led the group with 17 world championships, becoming an insurmountable barrier in the world chess world. However, just when the scenery of the Stone Buddha is unlimited, Lee Sedol, the third generation leader of South Korea, has quietly risen. Born in 1983, Lee Sedol's first world champion was the 15th Fujitsu Cup in 2002, and since 2006, he has replaced the elderly Lee Chang-ho as the world leader in Go.
Unlike Lee Chang-ho, Lee Sedol was challenged by China's top master Gu Li, and after the Lee Chang-ho era, the two jointly created the Gu Lee era of the world chess world. Despite this, Lee Se-seok won 14 world titles in his Go career (spanning 2002-2012), second only to Lee Chang-ho.
Seeing that Lee Sedol's mansion was about to topple, Park Young-hwan, a prominent representative of the new generation of Korean Go, born in 1993, rushed to bubble up in 2011, the year he took the last Fujitsu Cup into his arms. What is more tragic is that the first Korean person with a glass heart has not been able to see the mountains in the world chess world like the previous three. During his term of office, he was sniped and surpassed by Chinese good hands represented by Chen Yaoye, Tang Weixing, Shi Yue and Ke Jie, which created the glory of Chinese Go.
Lee Chang-ho, Lee Se-seok, Park Young-hwan, Shin Jin-chan, etc
What is remarkable is that Park Tinghuan did not sink, did not give in, but continued to be focused and diligent, which has allowed him to be at the forefront of the world of Go, and three days ago he just defeated his successor Shin Jin-chan and reached the podium of the 26th Samsung Cup at the age of 28. Park Young-hwan is now seventh in the World Championship list with five world champions, ahead of him are Lee Chang-ho, Lee Se-seok, Cho Hyun-hyun, Gu Li, Ke Jie and Yoo Chang-hyuk.
Park Tinghuan has not yet fallen, and Shin Jin-chan after zero zero can't wait to shoot, the leader of the new generation of Korean Go, last year in the 25th LG Cup final, it was on the shoulders of the predecessor Park Tinghuan that he became a world champion. This year, Xiao Shen defeated Tang Weixing in the 13th Chunlan Cup and was crowned double champion, and recently he has the ninth Ying Cup final and the new LG Cup quarterfinals waiting for competition, and is expected to become a triple crown sooner or later.
Looking at the world of Go today, Park Tinghuan is close to 30 years old after all, and it is impossible to stop Xiao Shen endlessly; ke Jie, the eight-crowned king, has many hobbies and is difficult to concentrate, and he is afraid that he is also fierce and ji-ji in the face of Shen Zhenchen; Yang Dingxin and Gu Zihao, who are lacking in their own combat strength, seem to be difficult to become the sharp soldiers who block Xiao Shen; and the post-zero new sharps that can block Shen Zhenchen's forward pace have not yet emerged, and it seems that the Confrontation between China and South Korea will reappear in the cold situation of the Korean Wave in the coming period.
Looking at the seamless inheritance of Korean Go from generation to generation, it once again proves the importance of cultivating reserve talents. It is hoped that South Korea's success will be able to strike a blow to the Chinese Go community, face up to the current emerging problems of green and yellow, and take strong measures to reverse the backward and beaten situation.