엄복동 嚴福童
Cyclist known in the colonial period as the "Bicycle King"
| Life | 1892 ~ 1951 |
| Era | 일제강점기 |
| Clan | 영월 엄씨 |
Life & career
Eom Bok-dong (嚴福童, 1892-1951) was a cyclist who was a star for ordinary Koreans in the colonial period, of the Yeongwol clan. Wikipedia says he was born in Ojangbang, Hanseong (today central Seoul); only his father's name Seon-yang and his mother's surname Kim are known. He learned to ride as a delivery clerk at the Ilmi Sanghoe bicycle shop in Jinwi (now Pyeongtaek), Gyeonggi.
A 1910 race win is recorded, and he won at the bicycle race held on 13 April 1913 by the Gyeongseong Ilbo and Maeil Sinmun at the Yongsan parade ground. At the 1922 Gyeongseong citizens' sports meet all-Joseon cycling race, when his win looked likely, a Japanese referee stopped the race saying night was falling, and Eom is said to have run to the stand and broken the winner's flag in protest. This made him a hero to Koreans, and he was popular enough to have a popular song with his name. He is said to have won the 10,000 m at the all-Joseon men's and women's cycling meet in 1932 at age 40.
His final years are unclear. He received a prison sentence in 1926 on a charge of selling stolen goods, was booked in 1950 for bicycle theft and released with suspended prosecution, and his death year is given as 1951 or 1952 (on a statue plaque). Accounts of his death vary, including death in a bombing during the Korean War, and the article settles on none. The Rudge-Whitworth bicycle he is said to have used was designated Registered Cultural Heritage No. 466 in 2010, and a statue erected in 1986 stands in Nogyang-dong, Uijeongbu.
Where the Records Differ
His death year is given as 20 July 1951 and as 20 July 1952 on the statue plaque. His place of death is also unsettled, with accounts of a bombing near Dongducheon and of drifting without a home. The statement that he retired in 1929 is flagged as needing a source.
Commemoration
The Korea Cycling Federation held the Eom Bok-dong Cup national cycling meet from 1977 to 1999. The bicycle said to be his is described as the oldest surviving bicycle in Korea.