MBC's 'I Live Alone' Spotlight on 'World Marathon'
Tokyo, London, Berlin, Chicago, Boston, New York 6 Major
Announcer Park with 140,000 Followers Participates
"Next year, Sydney, Australia will join the ranks of cities hosting the 'World Marathon.' Although the chance to participate in the event is like winning the lottery, I want to give it a try."
Park Ji-hye, the 'Exercising Announcer,' who participated in the Berlin Marathon in Germany this September. Photo by Announcer Park Ji-hye
Interest in world marathon events is growing as webtoon artist and broadcaster Gian84 participated in the New York Marathon, one of the world's six major marathons (Tokyo, London, Berlin, Chicago, Boston, New York), on MBC's entertainment show 'I Live Alone.' The New York Marathon is considered a bucket list item for runners worldwide. It is held annually on the first Sunday of November, and this year, over 50,000 runners from more than 150 countries participated. Among them, 154 were from Korea.
Announcer Park Ji-hye described the appeal of marathons in an interview on the 22nd, saying, "It is an exercise that helps build stamina and endurance." Park is a veteran runner who has already participated in the Berlin and Chicago marathons among the world's six major marathons. She is also a running influencer with over 140,000 Instagram followers. Running marathons weekly, she is known as the 'exercising announcer' and has a healthy female activist image on social media.
Park recalled when she fell in love with marathons: "When I was an office worker and announcer, I just read scripts written by reporters, so life felt monotonous and boring." She added, "To break away from that life, I once traveled abroad and saw a man who had undergone gender reassignment surgery take the stage and receive attention, which made me think, 'I want to live a better life too.'"
After returning to Korea, the first challenge Park took on was exercise. She said, "After starting to exercise, my stamina naturally improved, and I went to run a marathon on my bucket list alone. At first, running long distances was tough, but enduring it was also fun, so I became interested in marathons."
Park Ji-hye, the 'Exercising Announcer,' who participated in the Berlin Marathon in Germany this September. Photo by Announcer Park Ji-hye
Regarding the Berlin Marathon she participated in last September, Park explained, "The entire city came out to the venue to cheer on the runners, making it a festive occasion." She prepared for about eight months starting in January to participate in the Berlin Marathon, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this September.
She said, "In a monotonous work life, it was rare for someone to enthusiastically clap and cheer for me, but at world marathons, even strangers exchange a lot of positive energy, which revitalizes me and makes me feel alive." She added, "After the marathon, it was enjoyable to actively interact with people from various countries at nearby restaurants and pubs, using the marathon as a common topic."
Having confirmed her participation in next year's Tokyo (March) marathon and started training, she also expressed her ambition to run in the Sydney marathon in August and the New York marathon in November.
Park Ji-hye, the 'Exercising Announcer,' who participated in the Berlin Marathon in Germany this September. Photo by Announcer Park Ji-hye
Park also participates in the '1 Day 1 Running Donation Run,' which helps cultivate a daily running habit. It is a project where donations are made based on the distance run. When she was deeply enjoying running, she wanted to build a running habit, so she started it alone, and it developed into a donation run challenge after posting it on social media. The donations are used to support running shoes for high school track athletes.
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