Yang Hak-seon’s “From Rags to Riches” Story

A South Korean gymnast won an Olympic gold medal along with 500 million won (US $444,000) through recent donations.

Yang Hak-seon, the first South Korean to win a gold medal in a gymnastics event, previously lived in a shantytown in Gwangju, the sixth biggest city in South Korea, before relocating to North Jeolla Province’s Gochang in South Korea’s countryside in 2010, when his father, back then a construction worker, suffered a severe injury in his shoulders. Currently, Yang’s father is a farmer.

Yang’s family currently lives in a “converted greenhouse constructed from PVC pipes… Covered with thin wooden boards and plastic sheeting, the makeshift structure was nearly swept away during heavy rain two years ago, according to South Korean media,” says CNN.

“After Yang’s father lost his job, Yang supported the family with a modest income from the Korea Gymnastic Association” (Wikipedia, 2012).

The latest donation of 500 million won comes from the chairman of LG Group, Koo Bon Moo who announced that the gift was “intended to help Yang put aside financial worries and focus on his training.”

The CEO of construction company Samla Group announced earlier this week that he will build Yang an apartment valued at US $190,000 respecting Yang’s wish to build a house for his family.

Yang’s favorite instant noodles company, Nongshim, also announced that they would provide Yang a “limitless amount of instant noodles.” However, there has been some controversy over this.

“People believe that Yang Hak-seon, taking into account his poor background and his accomplishments, deserve more than just instant noodles for the rest of his life, and they’re right,” says Eunkyung Koh, age 45.

According to the official 2012 London Olympics’ website, Yang is also known as the “God of Vault.” He currently attends the Korea National Sports University, and his coach is Yang Tae-Young. He first started gymnastics at the age of nine to follow his brother, and he debuted in 2010.

His signature move is called “The Yang,” which is a triple-twisting front somersault. He performed it in his first routine in the men’s vault final and scored 16.466, the highest among the contenders.

On his second, less challenging routine, he made a flawless landing and sealed his gold medal with 16.600 points.

“After the first landing, I thought I would be in trouble,” Yang said. “But before the second try, I felt light as a feather. Everything went perfectly.”