[In Fact] 100m in 11 Seconds... The President Who Was Invited to Join the Track Team (Part 2)

Plastic Toothpicks Washed and Reused by Choi Gyuha
Jeon Du-hwan Reached Semifinals of National College Soccer Tournament as Goalkeeper
No Tae-woo Received Motivation Singing with Military Academy Broadcast Microphone
Kim Young-sam Enjoyed New Deaf Cooked Dish in Russia

Delivering useful information in a somewhat disorganized manner under the title 'If You Know'.

*Following

*President Choi Kyu-ha is the only commander-in-chief in Korean constitutional history who did not involve himself in political parties. He began his career as the Planning Director of the Central Food Administration and walked the path of a public official. Demonstrating outstanding English skills at international conferences, he was rapidly promoted to Minister of Foreign Affairs and served as Prime Minister for four years.

*President Choi Kyu-ha’s wife, Mrs. Hong Gi, worked as the general affairs manager at Yangjihoe, a charity organization founded by Mrs. Yuk Young-soo.

Gubongwan Furniture

*President Choi Kyu-ha often ate mackerel pike, black beans, and noodles at the Blue House. Mr. Kwon Young-min, who served him for a long time, explained the reason as follows: "A person called the Blue House food inspector asked the president what he ate a lot, and I said he liked noodles, black beans, and mackerel pike. After that, black beans, mackerel pike, and noodles were served every day. During his term, he ate all the cold noodles and noodles he would eat in a lifetime."

*President Choi Kyu-ha often refused security guards’ protection, saying, "Who would shoot someone like me?" He frequently traveled with a small group of secretaries. Mrs. Hong was the same. She found it cumbersome to have security guards accompany her to her regular hanbok shop and begged them not to come. In an interview with a women's magazine, she revealed that her husband personally made thirty heads of kimchi in early December 1979, just before he took office, which became a topic of interest.

*After leaving the Blue House, President Choi Kyu-ha always used briquettes at his home in Seogyo-dong. This was because, during the oil crisis when he visited coal mines, he promised the hardworking miners that he would use a briquette boiler. Heating time did not exceed one hour. In a somewhat cold house, he woke up every day at five in the morning to read and clip newspapers. By seven in the morning, he unfailingly called his secretary to greet him. He practiced frugality down to the smallest detail, such as washing and reusing plastic toothpicks.

Sangchunjae Furniture

*President Choi Kyu-ha once handed out papers retrieved from trash bins to his staff to use as memo pads. He smoked only the cheapest brand, 'Hansando.' When the price rose, he quit smoking altogether.

*President Choi Kyu-ha devotedly cared for Mrs. Hong Gi, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, a form of senile dementia. He fed her every meal and meticulously recorded her blood pressure and blood sugar levels in a notebook.

*President Chun Doo-hwan earned money while attending Daegu Technical High School. His only joy at the time was soccer. He had exceptional talent and played as a goalkeeper in every game. Even during his time at the Korea Military Academy, he excelled as a goalkeeper, leading the school to the semifinals of the National University Soccer Tournament. His interest and passion for soccer continued during his military service. The following is a recollection by former soccer coach Park Jong-hwan: "I first met President Chun Doo-hwan in 1975 when we founded the Seoul City Hall soccer team. We trained the players at the 1st Airborne Brigade, where President Chun was the brigade commander." The former president took good care of the players, even using his own money to organize dinners. After becoming president, he established professional baseball and soccer leagues, ushering in the sports era.

*President Chun Doo-hwan’s personal chef had worked in the kitchen of the Shilla Hotel but had to report to the Blue House the morning after the October 26 incident against his will. Although he wanted to refuse due to the burden and lack of freedom, he had no choice but to comply with the decision from above. The chef said President Chun liked meat dishes such as galbi (Korean short ribs) and neobiani (grilled marinated beef slices). "If the main ingredient is beef, we prepare neobiani or galbi, sometimes galbitang (short rib soup) and yukgaejang (spicy beef soup), and for chicken dishes, young chicken baeksuk (boiled chicken) or fried chicken legs, usually served every ten to fifteen days."

Bone china dinnerware set produced during the presidency of Jeon Du-hwan

*The rumor that President Chun Doo-hwan’s family ate meals sprinkled with gold powder is false. Claims by companies that supply the Blue House are also untrue. The personal chef mainly purchased meat and vegetables from butcher shops near the Blue House or Dongdaemun Market.

*President Roh Tae-woo liked foods containing soybean paste, especially a soup called aukguk (mallow soup). His personal chef, Mr. Lee Geun-bae, recalled, "I think he ate a lot of it when he was young," and "when he felt a bit chilly, he sought gaengsigi-guk." Gaengsigi-guk is a traditional Gyeongsang-do dish made by boiling bean sprouts, anchovies, kimchi, and rice. It is similar to bean sprout soup. President Roh also liked foods he ate as a child, such as jangtteok (soybean paste pancakes) and bindaetteok (mung bean pancakes). On the other hand, he disliked fish with a strong fishy smell.

*President Roh Tae-woo had musical talent. He sang his favorite song, "Besame Mucho," beautifully and played the tongso (a traditional Korean flute) at a high level. The tongso was a keepsake from his father, who died in a traffic accident when he was seven. He was also good at whistling. When he whistled in the forest, wild birds would fly over.

*President Roh Tae-woo was gentle and quiet by nature. When friends asked for bread, he willingly gave it. Even in group life where fights among peers were frequent, he never caused a single quarrel. He was introverted and calm but caused trouble only once at the Korea Military Academy. When cadets took turns announcing messages over the broadcast speaker, he sang "Besame Mucho" sweetly when it was his turn. He was disciplined for this incident.

President Roh Tae-woo's tungso

*As a military commander, President Roh Tae-woo wrote and composed his unit’s song. He was also good at sports like rugby. During his time at the Korea Military Academy, he ran 100 meters in 11 seconds and was invited to join the track team. However, he declined because he had promised to join the rugby team once it was formed with his peers. He played as a starter on the rugby team and became famous as a touchdown scorer.

*President Roh Tae-woo, who pursued a modest image, chose "Morning Dew," a song popular nationwide, as his favorite song.

*When foreign media reported that President Roh Tae-woo was a "horned person," he told a foreign journalist to touch his head to check if he had horns.

*President Kim Young-sam jogged early in the morning at the Blue House’s Nokjiwon (Green Garden). It was more than just health management. While running for about 30 minutes, he made major policy decisions and organized complex state affairs. A representative example was the announcement of the implementation of the Real-Name Financial Transaction System on August 12, 1993. He ran at twice his usual speed in the early morning to relieve tension. Jogging was both a method of immersion and a ritual of decision-making.

*President Kim Young-sam loved sports so much that he played soccer during his school days. After becoming a politician and having an irregular schedule, he started jogging anytime and anywhere. He unfailingly woke up at five in the morning and ran more than 4 km. During his house arrest in the early 1980s, he installed a track in his small yard and ran there.

President Kim Young-sam's jogging shoes

*President Kim Young-sam jogged even at dawn the day after his inauguration. When his secretaries brought new jogging shoes, he angrily refused them. He wanted to show the public a frugal image. He wore his old jogging shoes, still stained with mud, before running in Nokjiwon.

*President Kim Young-sam grew closer to U.S. President Bill Clinton by jogging together. There was also an invisible sense of competition between them. Kim was nervous after hearing reports that President Clinton was a fast and skilled runner before jogging together. However, during the actual jog, President Clinton struggled quite a bit. Kim showed generosity by stopping to walk and talk.

*As a jogging expert, President Kim Young-sam gave the following advice to First Lady Hillary Clinton: "I saw President Bill Clinton jogging at the White House on television, and he runs a lot on hard asphalt. That can easily cause knee injuries later." Later, when Kim visited the White House and jogged with President Clinton, the course surface had been changed to rubber tires. Kim was secretly pleased, thinking Mrs. Clinton had taken his advice.

*President Kim Young-sam stopped jogging after his retirement because his knees weakened with age. He switched his hobbies to swimming and badminton. Even in winter, when the temperature rose above freezing, he met with local badminton club members to play matches.

Commemorative stone made of marble from the old Governor-General's Office building demolished by President Kim Young-sam

*President Kim Young-sam usually did not care about formality or logic. He acted impulsively and intuitively, often making verbal slips. For example, he called the "Uruguay Round" the "Uruguay Incident" and "Recruit" as "Yogurt."

*President Kim Young-sam was nicknamed "Wangchangski" because he ate heartily. His taste was far from picky. His personal chef, Mr. Lee Geun-bae, said, "When his young granddaughters complained that the food was too salty or sweet, he told them to add water if it was salty and salt if it was bland."

*In 1994, President Kim Young-sam visited Russia and held talks with President Boris Yeltsin. President Yeltsin served a deaf bird at his villa. It is a wild bird with sharp hearing and fast speed, making it difficult to hunt. Russian security guards failed for several days but succeeded in hunting on the day President Kim arrived and served it as a banquet dish. President Kim enjoyed the exotic and unheard-of dish, which helped create a warm atmosphere for the talks.

Calligraphy Desk of President Kim Young-sam's Official Residence

*President Kim Young-sam liked fish. When buying a whole fish, he would have sashimi made and use the rest to make soup. Among fish parts, he especially liked the "eoduyukmi," literally meaning the head, which is considered the most delicious. Mr. Lee Geun-bae recalled, "At first, I didn’t know well and brought the fish body, but he seemed disappointed and said, 'Where’s the cod head?'" President Kim Dae-jung was the exact opposite. His personal chef, Mr. Moon Moon-sul, reminisced, "I made spicy croaker stew, but actually, the meat near the croaker’s head attached to the bone is delicious. Since the soup bowl was small, I only gave him the meat from the croaker’s head, but President Kim Dae-jung called me and said, 'Director Moon! Where did all the meat go? Did you eat it all?'"

*During President Kim Young-sam’s term, most guests at Blue House luncheons ate kalguksu (hand-cut noodle soup). Table tennis player Hyun Jung-hwa jokingly said in an interview with the media, "President Kim Young-sam invited me to the Blue House for a meal twice, but both times he served kalguksu, so I was very disappointed. What is kalguksu for athletes returning from international competitions?" President Kim often ordered kalguksu because Cardinal Kim Soo-hwan requested that more Korean wheat foods be eaten. At that time, wheat farmers were struggling due to a lack of sales outlets.

*Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin quickly ate kalguksu at the Blue House in 1994 and repeatedly exclaimed "Hot! Hot!" because it was too hot. Everyone around, including President Kim Young-sam, burst into laughter.

Calligraphy of "Daedo Mumun" written and gifted directly by President Kim Young-sam to U.S. President Bill Clinton in 1993

*President Kim Young-sam insisted on kalguksu to the extent that nutritionists worried about serious nutritional imbalance. Early in his term, he got angry when boiled pork slices were served alongside. He was determined to be a clean and frugal president. The Blue House kitchen had to make kalguksu continuously. There were often cases where 130 servings were made at once.

Reference materials: Written and published by MBN Blue House Dining Table production team including Park Byung-ho, Ban Bo-hyun, Park Yeon-jae, published by Gorae Media 'The President’s Dining Table (2012)'; written by Lee Kang-rae, published by Hyeongseol Life 'The People Who Complete the President (2022)'; written by Park Young-gyu, published by Woongjin Knowledge House 'A Complete Record of the Presidents of the Republic of Korea (2022)'; written by the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, published by Han Georeum Deo 'The President in My Heart (2009)'; written by Lee Myung-bak, published by RH Korea 'The President’s Time 2008-2013 (2015)', etc.