Correct Name : Fete Honors ’36 Korean Olympian

As a record-setting marathon runner, Kee-Chung Sohn of Korea always set a fast pace for himself. But he had to wait an agonizing 50 years to see his name and country listed correctly on a plaque honoring his gold-medal performance at the 1936 Olympics in Germany.

The honor came Saturday morning, on the exact date and hour of his victory half a century earlier, as Culver City officials placed Sohn’s proper name, country and winning time on a bronze monument honoring Olympic marathon champions. The 74-year-old Sohn, who is a national hero in Korea, expressed his gratitude by smiling broadly and bowing before the dignitaries.

“Needless to say, this is my happiest day,” said Sohn, speaking through an interpreter. “I hope this is the beginning of a new friendship between the United States and Korea.”

South Korean Pressure

Sohn is identified as Kitei Son of Japan in many record books because Korea was under Japanese annexation at the time of his Olympic victory. Under pressure from the South Korean government, the International Olympic Committee agreed to recognize Sohn by his correct name, but has refused to list his correct nationality on grounds that it violates committee policy.

The Koreans, however, continue to press for corrections to the record throughout the world. Ki Soo Kim, the Korean consul general in Los Angeles, said Koreans and Korean-Americans feel tremendous pride over Sohn’s victory and are angered by his lack of recognition.

“Everybody has a right to have his real name and nationality recognized,” Kim said Saturday. “He is a hero.”

Monument Changed

The Culver City City Council unanimously agreed to change the city’s marathon monument, which honors Olympic champions and the winners of the annual Culver City-based Western Hemisphere Marathon, at the request of the Korean government. Mayor Paul A. Netzel, speaking Saturday to about 200 people who gathered at the Veterans’ Memorial Building, said the correction represented a “triumph of justice.” The ceremony was broadcast live via satellite in Korea.

Sohn lives in Seoul and has been working on behalf of the summer Olympic Games that will be played there in 1988. He looked extremely fit in a powder blue Olympic jacket and white slacks, and was besieged by well-wishers after the ceremony. Had he been a little younger, Sohn said, he would have gladly exhibited his athletic prowess for the crowd by running around the block.