There’s always been a fixed path to make the national team in Korea.
Kids start practising in after-school clubs at a very young age. There are more primary school clubs than middle school, more middle school than high school, and more high school clubs than university squads.
It’s a funnel, only the best remain in the sport – and eventually turn professional, representing a company or a city team. And only the best of those go on to wear the Korean uniform.
But the system, built four decades ago, was purely focused on recurve.
With the introduction of compound to the Asian Games in 2014, Korea needed compound archers, too. Some former recurves switched to fill the void. It was at about the same time that there was a huge drive in Korea to encourage more people to take up sport.
And it was only in early 2017 that Kang Donghyeon picked up a bow.
“I wanted to be a firefighter so I enlisted in the military in this role at the age of 20,” he says. “While working in the rescue team for two years, I saw life and death with my own eyes. It made me want to experience more in life.”
“With a vague idea I wanted to shoot a bow, I don’t know why but my heart was more inclined towards compound. I took a part-time job for three months, saved and bought beginner equipment. I went to a public archery field, three hours back and forth by bus, and starting pulling and shooting.”
“I had no idea about archery.”
