Running 42.195Km through the Seoul City

Running 42.195Km through the Seoul City

Seoul International Marathon held with 1,000 of international participants while broadcasted in 77 different countries

 

         
           Runners will have to concentrate on the road itself during a marathon. However the viewers of the marathon can enjoy the view of the road that the runners are running down. On March 18^th the 83^rd DongA Marathon Contest (Seoul International Marathon) will be broadcasted in 77 different countries over the world. Besides the significance of this contest being held in Korea, there is another important meaning of this contest. As the runners run the course, they run through the Seoul City from GwangHwaMun Plaza to Jamsil Main Stadium.

         This contest has been held since 1931 not simply as a marathon but also to show the beauty of Seoul City during the run. In the terms of globalization, Seoul International Marathon viewpoints on showing the beauty of Korea’s capital and also brings many countries into one place at one time. An interview with JongHyun Eun from the Seoul International Marathon executive office talks about the specialization of this contest in the global century.

              
 Q. Are there only Korean participants or are there also foreigners? What are the percentages?

A. There are about 38 different country participants in the marathon. In numbers there are about a thousand of them and as a percentage, there is about 5% foreigners.
 
Q. Is there a special reason why the 83^rd DongA Marathon Contest is called ‘Seoul International Marathon’?

 

A. The course of the Seoul International Marathon is 42.195 Km. The course starts at the GwangHwaMun Plaza and goes through the downtown of Seoul City and ends at Jamsil Main Stadium. It was constructed to go through many different sights of Seoul City while running the marathon. Since the Seoul International Marathon is the only marathon that goes through the center of Korea’s capital Seoul City, this marathon was named ‘Seoul International Marathon’ this year.

 

Q.  Compared to other marathon contests, what kind of special meanings does the ‘Seoul International Marathon’ have in global ways? What makes this marathon different with others?

A. The ‘Seoul International Marathon’ (83^rd DongA Marathon Contest) was made by DongA Ilbo in the year of 1931. It is a marathon contest with the 2^nd longest history in the world; following the Boston Marathon. It is not an exaggeration to say that Seoul International Marathon is the Korean marathon history. Not only did this contest distribute development toward the history of marathon in Korea but also expanded the sport of marathon as a public sport rather than a sport for just elite runners. As a matter of fact, gold medalist Son Ki Jung from the 1936 Berlin Olympic, gold medalist Hwang Young Jo from the 1992 Barcelona Olympic and gold medalist Lee Bong Joo from 2001 Boston Marathon are all DongA Marathon participants. Through these medalists, Korea was able leave big foot prints in the history of marathon in the world.

 

 Q. The name ‘Seoul International Marathon Contest’ probably originated from the global century that we currently live in. What kind of special global aspects does this contest have?

A. ‘Seoul International Marathon’ has been labeled as the top rank ‘Gold Label’ in the IAAF(International Amateur Athletic Federation) since the 81^st contest in 2010-which is the first history of any Korean marathons to be ranked in label. Until the 83^rd marathon contest, it has been certified 3 years in rows along with Boston, New York, Chicago, London, Berlin and worldwide leading contests. We invite foreign elite runners, a thousand of foreign masters participants, 20 thousand Korean masters participants, 3,500 volunteers, Seoul City public service personnel, marathon organizing committee and about a thousand of Seoul City citizens who cheer for the participants. This marathon is broadcasted in 77 different countries while we show the beautiful scenes of Seoul and it is a great opportunity to raise the sports capability of South Korea.

         

             If over 18 years old and able to finish the course in 5 hours anyone can participate in this contest. The recruit for runners to participate in this contest is usually held in December. There is a fee of 40, 000 won and the money collected from this contest goes to Ethiopia Dijeluna Tijo Area to support young marathon runners, their families and societies. Seoul International Marathon shows Seoul’s beauty, Korea’s interest in marathon and also contributes gathering of many countries into one.

 

 

Foreigners and Koreans can register to enter in the Seoul International Marathon in two ways.

1) You can register on your own by logging onto http://marathon.donga.com/seoul/international_e1.html (english version website).
Click on REGISTER on the left side of the web page.

2) You can register through an agency that registers for you in foreign countries.