[Free Speech Forum] Is South Korean Archery a “Myth”? ... The Result of Fair Competition

The phrase “gold medal myth” is often used. But South Korea’s archery success was less a myth than an expected outcome. That is because it was the result of fair competition. In other words, the principle that competition produces the best results was once again proven through the Olympic Games. This is easy to understand when one looks at the selection process for the South Korean archery team that swept the gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics.

To become a national archery representative, countless athletes compete based solely on skill. Having a great deal of international competition experience does not earn anyone preferential treatment. Even athletes who represented the country in the previous competition are no exception. Over the course of seven months, three selection rounds and two evaluation matches are held, and each athlete shoots around 3,000 arrows. In the process of ultimately selecting six athletes, there is no factionalism or collusion. As a result, the ages of those selected range widely, from teenagers to people in their 40s.

In this environment, athletes give their all in training. They even undergo unusual forms of practice like these: to build concentration, they shoot arrows alongside a samulnori troupe, baseball stadium spectators, and military units. To strengthen their nerve, they even do bungee jumping. Despite this intense training, the athletes never relax. Everyone knows that skill leads directly to selection for the national team and to strong Olympic results.

The athletes’ efforts move us regardless of the outcome. No one would think the team won gold medals by sheer luck. The reason we are moved by the Olympics is our awe at the athletes’ fierce dedication. In other words, we respect free competition, the effort based on it, and selection according to the results of competition.

For competition to be fair, there must be no outside intervention. In that sense, it can be explained through the liberal market. The place where freedom of choice is guaranteed is the market, and economics explains the process through which those choices are made. Milton Friedman’s Free to Choose describes this well. We have the right to pursue what we want. Our choices should not be forced by others. Therefore, free competition in the market is itself the very manifestation of our rights being realized.

But if there is outside intervention, choices cannot be free and competition cannot be fair. Suppose, for example, that part of the team were allocated to athletes from regions that had produced few national representatives. We would be angered or frustrated by such a situation. Not because we fear lower performance, but because everyone opposes unfair competition.

The archery athletes directly demonstrated the power of competition. The reason South Korean archery has not missed out on a gold medal for 33 years, and the reason we are moved watching them compete, is that their success rests on fair and free competition. In that sense, freedom is not only effective but also more desirable. Freedom and competition must continue even after the Olympics end. If so, freedom will promise us “gold medals” in many different areas of life.

Seunghyun Jung

Intern Researcher, Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)

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Original title: [자유발언대] 대한민국 양궁은 '신화?' ...공정 경쟁의 성과

Author: Seung-hyun Jeong

Date: 2021-08-12

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=free_opinion&pn=10&idx=24108