[Lee Jong-gil's Autumn Return] A Small Tree That Hid the Shame of History

Goh Kyuhong 'People Who Planted Trees'

Germany substituted laurel with Quercus palustris at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

Son Ki-jeong’s chest, marked with the Rising Sun flag, was covered with leaves

The award tree in a pot was planted on the grounds of his alma mater, Yangjeong High School

The ‘Laurel Wreath Memorial Tree’ holding the humiliation fully reflects his life and meaning

In Manri-dong 2-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, there is the 'Son Ki-jeong Laurel Wreath Memorial Tree (Seoul City Monument No. 5)'. It is known that Son Ki-jeong (1912?2002) received it as a gift from Adolf Hitler (1889?1945), the dictator of Nazi Germany, to commemorate his marathon victory.

Strictly speaking, this story is incorrect. The ruler of Germany, which hosted the 1936 Berlin Olympics, was Hitler. He did not prepare a tree specifically for Son Ki-jeong. The potted tree was a prize awarded to the marathon winner who received the laurel wreath.

The 'Son Ki-jeong Laurel Wreath Memorial Tree' that came from a distant foreign land is a Quercus palustris, native to North America. It did not naturally grow in Korea at that time. Nowadays, its autumn foliage turns a beautiful red, making it popular as a street tree. However, when Son Ki-jeong brought this tree in a pot, it was so unfamiliar that it had no Korean name.

Originally, Olympic winners were crowned with a laurel wreath made from bay leaves and awarded a potted bay tree as a prize. Since Berlin, Germany, could not obtain bay leaves at the time, they focused on Quercus palustris as a substitute. They judged that Quercus palustris could sufficiently represent the splendid elegance of the laurel wreath. Therefore, the laurel wreath placed on Son Ki-jeong’s head and the tree in the pot awarded as a prize at the Berlin Olympic marathon were both Quercus palustris.

‘People Who Planted Trees’ by humanities scholar Ko Gyu-hong explores human life embedded in wood grain. It examines the mindset and attitude of those who nurtured trees, as the history of human life not recorded in documents is fully contained in trees.

Following their traces, one can piece together the gaps in our history like a puzzle. The author wrote, "Trees are ultimately the history of living people."

The 'Son Ki-jeong Laurel Wreath Memorial Tree' conveys both the despair of a lost nation and a strong spirit. Son Ki-jeong became a hero of Berlin on August 9, 1936. He crossed the marathon finish line with a world record time of 2 hours 29 minutes 19.2 seconds. However, he did not openly express joy on the podium. This was because despair and humiliation from having to wear the Rising Sun flag on his chest overshadowed his feelings.

When the Rising Sun flag was raised in the Olympic main stadium and the Japanese national anthem 'Kimigayo' played, he bowed his head deeply. Wearing the gold medal around his neck, he gently covered the chest marked with the Rising Sun flag with the leaves of the small potted tree he received as a prize. The author describes that moment as follows:

"The tree was like a motherly homeland embracing his burning grief, and a symbol of the Olympic myth waiting for a new hero to be born on this land after living for another 1,000 years. Young Son Ki-jeong looked at the tree that covered the shameful Rising Sun flag on his chest and thought about the fate of his homeland. He placed the dream of national liberation and the birth of a new hero into the tree that would live for 1,000 years."

Son Ki-jeong carefully tended the young tree in the pot during the 40-day sea voyage back to his homeland. Every morning he watered it, and every evening he devotedly looked after it with his whole body. He arrived in his homeland in October. It was impossible to transplant the young tree into the cold, unfamiliar open field. People suggested moving the tree to a botanical garden for cultivation.

Kim Gyo-shin, a biology teacher at Son Ki-jeong’s alma mater Yangjeong High School, opposed this idea. He said he would personally care for the tree and plant it on the school grounds when the spring breeze came. Eventually, the tree safely survived the winter at Kim Gyo-shin’s home and was planted in the spring of the following year on the grounds of Yangjeong High School in Manri-dong, Seoul.

Quercus palustris produces acorns like our native oaks but has large and ornate leaves. The elongated leaf edges have several deep lobes with sharp spines at each tip. For this reason, Westerners also call it 'Pin Oak'.

The unique leaf shape gave special memories to Yangjeong High School students. At the time, using leaves as bookmarks was a trend. Using Quercus palustris leaves as bookmarks was a pride only enjoyed by the descendants of heroes. Every autumn when the leaves fell from the 'Son Ki-jeong Laurel Wreath Memorial Tree', students excitedly collected the most beautiful leaves. Some students even threw shoes onto the tree before the leaves naturally fell to make them drop. The school eventually disciplined students for throwing shoes at the tree due to the severity of the behavior.

Yangjeong High School moved to a new building in 1988. The old site was redeveloped into the 'Son Ki-jeong Sports Park'. The 'Son Ki-jeong Laurel Wreath Memorial Tree', holding memories of humiliation, grew faster and sturdier than any other tree. It now stands over 17 meters tall with a trunk circumference close to 2 meters, symbolizing the glorious moment in the heart of Seoul, the capital of the homeland.

Like all living things, this carefully protected tree also faced a life-threatening crisis. At one point, its leaves withered and its growth condition deteriorated severely. This was due to insufficient delicate care of the soil where the roots spread. The tree grew quickly and extended its roots far, but a pedestrian path was created right next to it. Frequent foot traffic caused problems with root respiration and drainage. Although health was restored through prompt measures, more attention and active protection measures are required in the future. This is because the tree embodies the reason to reflect on Son Ki-jeong’s life and his meaning.

"The Berlin Olympic hero Son Ki-jeong left behind a tree and departed from us. The tree grew steadily, carrying the wishes of all the young people of this country who dream of new heroic myths following the young hero. The feeling of looking at the Son Ki-jeong tree, nurtured by the spirit of the hero, is always fresh. Looking at the tree left by the departed hero evokes the theme of some heroic film: heroes are not born but made by the world."