Legendary Park Shin-ja's bitter words I'm angry that I can't even go to the Olympics...What about Park Jeong? I couldn't play basketball when I was a player. I gave you a laugh
Aug 30, 2025
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Park Shin-ja, 84, a living legend of Korean basketball, was like 'Woman'. Park Jung was an outspoken, scary old man when evaluating Busan BNK coach (Park's nephew) even though he said he sometimes had difficulty moving due to the weight of the time.
Mrs. Park visited Korea to mark the 10th anniversary of the Park Shin-ja Cup and shone at the opening ceremony held at Sajik Indoor Gymnasium in Busan. This is his third visit to the Park Shin-ja Cup.
In particular, this year marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of the 2015 competition, and the meaning of the competition has grown as prestigious European teams participated for the first time.
Mrs. Park held a press conference before the opening of the competition at Sajik Indoor Gymnasium in Busan on the 30th. At the conference, Mrs. Park lamented the reality that Korean women's basketball has lost its international competitiveness and asked players and national team officials to give her a whiplash.
When I recall my nephew Park's days as a player, I thought, "Honestly, I was a bad basketball player," he said, jokingly giving a laugh.
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-How do you feel about visiting Busan.
▶Busan was the place where Namie's family and nine-year-old family fled during the Korean War in 1950. At that time, Busanjin was the place where the war broke out and arrived after a lot of hard work, such as walking, getting a truck, and changing to a freight train. At that time, my father went out to get a room, so he got a small room near the barn of a house and lived there. It will be difficult to find the house now then. However, I am always grateful to those who did a favor to the refugees at the time. That's why the impression of Busan is very good. I have occasionally come to Haeundae Beach for summer vacation in the past. At that time, I remembered the surrounding scenery and was surprised to go again this time. It's a forest of buildings. It feels like Busan will not fall no matter where Seoul is put out
-How have you been recently.
▶I can't run because I'm old, but I usually do walking. In Korea, golf is still a sport for the rich, but in my rural American neighborhood (Lord Island), I can use a nine-hole golf course at a very low price. He left Korea in 2013 and settled in the United States, but after his husband died in 2018, his daughter recommended him to play golf. Last year, I bought a one-year ticket for $690 and it's free on weekdays and free on Saturdays and Sundays depending on the time zone or you only have to pay $10. I work out and interact with people here. My friends in Seoul call me "Sangpalja."
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▶ (Smiling) If you criticize, (Jeong-eun) will not like it.... To be honest, Jung-eun was not good at basketball. He's a guard, but maybe because he's smart, he doesn't really hit his body. However, in basketball, there is a line and a MAC that can pass, and he looked at it well, and one day when Jung-eun was a player, a senior basketball player was in big trouble. Someone who is better at basketball than you came out, and it was Park Jung-eun. I've also met with a heat dissipation teacher, who said that Jung-eun is better at coaching than when she was a player.
-This is the 10th anniversary, and the U-girl international competition was held for the first time. I'm sure it'll be impressive.
▶There is something that I was most happy about as a basketball player in Busan. The president of the federation, the secretary general, and the chairman of BNK were so basketball enthusiasts. A few days ago, I was surprised when I went to a dinner party for the U-girl participants. Hundreds of children sat down and I went and cried without knowing. Korea also felt that it would be something when these players grow up in 10 years. I saw a spark this time. I'm so happy. Thank you for your interest in basketball.
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▶ (Before answering, Mrs. Park asked again if there was any Japanese Siram in the conference hall, and continued to respond with a relieved look when she said that there was no such thing.) It doesn't feel good to see our basketball lose to Japan. I actually hate losing. If reporters don't do well, please flog a lot. He gets scolded and has to practice more shooting. I was so angry because there was no Korean women's basketball at last year's Olympics. At our time, we couldn't go because there was no women's basketball event in the Olympics, and it was never because of our skills. Instead, he confidently participated in the world championships. At that time, he was eighth in the world championship for the first time, but he still remembers winning a silver medal in the next competition. I hope our players will try to win first place. I can't even go to the Olympics..., I want you to scold me. Why are you struggling at the Asian Games. Don't just say you're good at it, but you have to whip it so that your superiors will invest.
-You're in charge of a sit-down today, how did you prepare it.
▶I practiced a little earlier and the goalpost was high. It hit me under the rim at first and only got a few in. Practice reminds me of this. I was a practice fanatic. Even when I was in middle school, I didn't go home if I didn't get 10 free throws because I stayed after regular team training. Even when training in the athletes' village, there have been two or three free throws in 100 consecutive games. In particular, I was lucky, there were trainers and assistant coaches who picked up free throws. I'm always grateful to those people.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
