‘Wink Boy’ Lee Yong-dae (37), who graduated from Hwasun Elementary School, Hwasun Middle School, and Hwasun Technical High School, is the best sports star produced by Hwasun County, Jeollanam-do. In addition to Lee Yong-dae, several stars from Hwasun-gun include Kim Sun-bin of the professional baseball KIA Tigers and Lim Ae-ji, boxing bronze medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
However, Lee Yong-dae is the only player to have a gym named after him. In honor of Lee Yong-dae’s performance in winning the gold medal in badminton mixed doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Hwasun-gun built the ‘Yong-dae Lee Gymnasium’, which has 9 sides of international standards and 12 sides of domestic standards. Lee Yong-dae said, “Every time I go down to my hometown where my parents live, I feel so good when I see the gym with my name on it. It gives me pride and makes me want to work harder and live well.”
However, ‘Badminton Legend’ Lee Yong-dae may not have been born. These days, badminton is gaining great popularity not only as a daily sport but also as an elite sport, but when Lee Yong-dae was in elementary school, it was one of the most unpopular sports. The reason Lee Yong-dae picked up a badminton racket was because there was a badminton club at Hwasun Elementary School.
On the other hand, baseball was quite popular at the time. Lee Yong-dae’s father, knowing that his son had excellent athletic ability, tried to get him to play baseball. There were several prestigious baseball teams in Gwangju, not far from Hwasun. When I was in the 4th grade of elementary school, I actually almost transferred to Gwangju. Lee Yong-dae laughed, saying, “The coach convinced my parents that I was good at badminton. I’m not sure, but maybe if I had played baseball, I wouldn’t have been as good at badminton.”
Coincidentally, not long after, a baseball team was formed at Hwasun Elementary School. Kim Seon-bin, one year his junior, who had grown into a national team second baseman, joined the baseball team at that time. In this way, Lee Yong-dae grew into a badminton player, and Kim Seon-bin grew into a baseball player.
Lee Yong-dae’s path ahead was not rough. When I was in my third year of middle school, I was selected as the youngest member of the national team. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she won a gold medal in badminton mixed doubles with Lee Hyo-jung. Lee Yong-dae, who was 20 years old at the time, winked at the broadcast camera during the ceremony. With his handsome appearance and outstanding skills, he quickly became the nation’s younger brother. He added a bronze medal in men’s doubles at the 2012 London Olympics.
Lee Yong-dae was an unrivaled doubles player. Lee Yong-dae said, “When I started playing badminton, seniors like Park Joo-bong, Kim Moon-soo, Kim Dong-moon, and Ha Tae-kwon were my idols. They were all expert doubles players, so I wanted to become like them.”
His men’s doubles partner changed from Jeong Jae-seong to Ko Seong-hyeon and then to Yoo Yeon-ho. However, no matter who he was paired with, Lee Yong-dae always ranked first in the world. It stayed at the top for over 130 weeks. Yongdae Lee was also inducted into the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Hall of Fame last year.
Lee Yong-dae was not a flashy offensive player. He was strong in net play and defense. In particular, the opposing players had no choice but to shake their heads at the defense that blocked every attack. The opponent that many players most hated to meet was Lee Yong-dae. Lee Yong-dae’s defense-specific play was part of his effort to survive. Lee Yong-dae, who was relatively lacking in power, said, “I tried to focus on what I was good at. I practiced defense to counter the opponent’s strong smashing and the quick transition to attack.”
Legendary Japanese baseball star Ichiro Suzuki, who was inducted into the Major League Baseball (MLB) Hall of Fame, also made the most of his strengths and became a top star. Ichiro’s trademark during his active years were infield hits. Ichiro turned a hit that would have been an ordinary ground ball for any other batter into an infield hit. This is because he perfected his own batting method of running straight to first base as soon as he hits.
At the time, the New York Times, a leading American media outlet, asked Ichiro in an interview with Ichiro, asking a somewhat rude question, “Women like big hits like home runs. What do you think?” To this, Ichiro responded, “There is sexiness in infield hits, because technique is needed to hit infield hits.”
Lee Yong-dae also said, “Smashing looks flashy, but what’s sexier is defense. It’s hard to express in words the pleasure of using techniques such as hairpins, cross hairpins, and drop shots that go over the net.”
Lee Yong-dae, who is currently working as a playing coach for the Yonex badminton team, still trains with the players to resemble actual matches. His right palm is still full of blisters.
Instead, on my days off, I sometimes appear on sports entertainment programs. He was athletic and participated in soccer and golf shows. Recently, he has also appeared on volleyball entertainment shows.
However, the sport that I still find the most fun is badminton. Lee Yong-dae said, “As the rally continues for a long time, I become more and more out of breath. When that happens, dopamine bursts in and a great sense of happiness comes over me. Badminton is a sport that becomes more difficult and more interesting the more you play it.”
Lee Yong-dae, who dominated his era as the best player, dreams of becoming a badminton coach as well. Lee Yong-dae said, “The more you know about badminton, the more fun it is. I have a strong desire to pass on what I have learned to my juniors. If I get the chance, I would like to work as a coach for the national team.”
Players like Ahn Se-young, Seo Seung-jae, and Kim Won-ho, who are entering the heyday of Korean badminton, are a great source of motivation for him. Lee Yong-dae, who temporarily served as the national team leader during the All England Open in March, said, “Ahn Se-young is not lacking in all aspects, including ability, stamina, and technique. I wonder if a player like this will appear again.” He added, “The pair of Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho, who have emerged as the strongest men’s doubles team, is also getting closer and closer to perfection.”
Lee Yong-dae also established the ‘Lee Yong-dae Foundation’ to help youth athletes. The Yongdae Cup Dream Tree Championship has been held in Gangjin, Jeollanam-do for the past two years, and the 3rd competition will be held in Hapcheon, Gyeongnam in February next year. Until a few years ago, the Lee Yong-dae Cup inter-school badminton championship was also held.
Lee Yong-dae said, “When I was playing badminton when I was young, there was a competition called the Samsung Cup Final. I remember that the winning prize was 500,000 won, and it was a great motivation even for my young heart. Thanks to that, I was able to become the player I am now. As much as I received, I plan to give back through the foundation’s activities.”
Badminton is a sport that many people enjoy as a daily sport. Lee Yong-dae said, “Outdoors are good, but if possible, I would like you to experience playing indoors. If there is no wind, you can use various techniques and the lively hitting sound is better. If you take lessons, you will have more fun.”
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