By The Archaeologist Editor Group
A Corinthian helmet from Greek antiquity that is on display by itself in a room of the nation's National Museum is considered a national treasure of Korea.
The middle of a room at the National Museum of Korea is occupied by a distinct display. It is a bronze helmet that has nothing in common with the helmets used by the armies of the previous dynasties in the nation. In reality, he had to travel a long way and make several stops before arriving in the dimly illuminated museum hall.
It was discovered in Ancient Olympia and is a Corinthian soldier's helmet from the 6th century BC, possibly from the time when the tyrant Periander ruled in Corinth. Even though the show itself is great, its diversity when compared to the other exhibitions is much more striking.
The National Museum of Korea also displays artifacts from Mesopotamia, Central Asia, India, China, Japan, and the Greco-Roman era, in addition to items from prior Korean dynasties. Yet once more, this helmet shines out because the museum has set aside a whole area where it is the focal point. In fact, Korea has designated this Greek helmet as its 904th national treasure. How did we get here, though?
The Olympic Games of 1936
We won't have to go all the way back to the 6th century BC in ancient Corinth, as at that time, this helmet would have likely been one of many similar ones worn by common soldiers. The helmet was apparently given to Zeus as a gift, maybe following some success in the Olympic Games, when it was found in the Temple of Zeus at Olympia in 1875.
However, we will return to 1936, when Berlin was holding the 11th modern-era Olympic Games and Adolf Hitler had discovered the ideal occasion to advance his ideologies.
Spyros Louis sat in the stands and observed as the competitors warmed up for the Marathon. The selected Corinthian helmet from the sixth century BC was to be given as a present to the winner, as stated in the announcement.
The Argentine Juan Carlos Zambala, who had also triumphed at the 1932 Olympics, was the gold medal favorite among the 56 competitors, but he passed out at the 32nd kilometer of the marathon. He was being pursued by the Korean runner Son Gi-Jeong, who eventually overtook him and, after 10 kilometers, cut the finish line to win the gold medal and set a world record. Nevertheless, when he turned to the winner's table, he saw Son Kitei's name instead of his own. Japan, which had forcibly conquered Korea a few years prior and forced Korean sportsmen to appear as Japanese and compete with the Japanese sun sign on their uniforms, gave him that moniker. In addition, he "translated" their names into Japanese and forbade them from speaking Korean. Son and his fellow Korean teammate Nam Sung-yong, who finished third and went under the Japanese name Soryo Nan, were unable to fully enjoy their triumph since they were required to identify as Japanese.
A photograph of the moment the African-American competitors stepped onto the podium to accept their medals and a photograph of their raised fist salute in 1968 both went down in history. As the Japanese national song is playing, Sean and Nam are seen with their heads down and gazing down at their feet. Sean has carefully hidden the Japanese sun, which is visible on Nam's shirt, by holding the oak branch that was awarded to the winner in front of him. Nam would later recall that he was envious of his partner at the time, not only because he had won the gold medal but also because he had been able to conceal the Japanese flag's emblems behind the oak. They both stated that their silence and bowed heads were a way to show their protest against Japan's authoritarian occupation of Korea.
Even while he was in Berlin, Son made an effort to explain to all journalists why he didn't want to be regarded as Japanese. When signing an autograph, he sometimes drew a little illustration of his native nation of Korea next to his name in Korean characters. He repeatedly tried to tell reporters that he was Korean and not Japanese after the game, but they never mentioned it in their broadcasts. Newspapers in Son's home country of Korea obscured the Japanese flag in his pictures. Son's image was shown on the top page of the Korean newspaper Dong-A Ilbo, which is still in operation today, on August 25. The Japanese flag had been removed. Dong-A Ilbo was abruptly shut down by the Japanese government for nine months after it arrested and tortured eight of its journalists.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was under pressure from the Japanese Olympic Committee to forbid Sean from receiving the Corinthian helmet. Sean never received the helmet because, according to the IOC, an athlete cannot be given access to a historic site. The helmet was instead delivered to Berlin's Charlottenburg Museum, where it stayed for 50 years.
A soldier becomes a hero
Finally, it was agreed to deliver the helmet to the guy it was intended for on the 50th anniversary (1986) of Sean's marathon triumph. In reality, the Greek newspaper Vradini is said to have contributed to the pressure to give Sean the helmet in old publications. By that time, Korea had been freed from Japanese rule and split into North and South following a bloody civil war.
A short time later, in 1994, Son presented the helmet to the National Museum of South Korea in Seoul, and the Korean government designated it as the 904th national treasure of the nation. The only Western exhibit to have this honorary designation to this day is the Corinthian helmet from the sixth century, which is why it stands alone in space.
Son's name may not be well-known in the West, but his compatriots instantly hailed him as a hero of the nation that had endured the Japanese occupation. When Korea was liberated from Japanese, American, and Soviet occupation 14 years after Berlin, Son was named head coach of the Korean marathon team. His players were the first to wear jerseys with Korean emblems. Athlete Ham Ki-yong took first place in the 1950 Boston Marathon race. For an additional 42 years, he kept mentoring Korean marathon runners.
He was also invited to a gathering in 1986 in Culver City, California, where his name and nationality were changed to Korean and the monument bearing the names of all the Marathon winners was unveiled. Two years later, in front of 80,000 spectators who applauded him standing, Sean was the athlete who carried the Olympic flame into the 1988 Seoul Olympics, where he lit it and announced the games' beginning.
He had claimed, just before he passed away in 2002, that
"The Japanese were able to prevent our musicians from playing our songs. They succeeded in silencing our language speakers and stopping our singers. They were unable to stop me from running, though."
