‘국보센터’ 서장훈이 지난 15일 MBC 무릎팍 도사에 출연해 전 부인 오정연과의 이혼에 얽힌 이야기를 포함해 여러 소문에 대해 해명했다.
서장훈은 이날 방송에서 “지금 나오는 이혼에 대한 소문들이 모두 그 친구 (오정연)에게 안 좋은 이야기다. 그 친구를 나쁜 사람처럼 몰아가는데, 그런 부분은 바로 잡아야겠다고 생각한다”고 하면서 “그 친구는 누구에게 그런 이야기를 들어야 될 만한 사람이 아니다”고 설명했다.
서장훈은 이혼 사유에 대해 “성격이나 가치관의 차이 때문에 헤어진 것”이라며 오정연은 “소탈하고 좋은 사람”이라고 덧붙였다. 또한 그동안 이혼 소문에 대해 침묵했던 이유에 대해 “밝혀야 할 필요성을 못 느꼈다”면서 “내가 이러쿵저러쿵 하면 그 친구에게 피해가 될 것 같았다”고 설명했다.
그 외에도 서장훈 선수는 결병증이 있다는 소문에, “깔끔하고 예민하다”면서 결벽증까진 아니더라도 정리하는 습관이 있다고 말했다.
서장훈은 그 외에도 현역시절과 어린 시절에 대한 이야기를 풀어놓았다.
그는 자신이 중학교 시절 자신과 당시 후배였던 또 다른 농구스타 현주엽이 “무존재였다”고 해 주위를 놀라게 했다. 서장훈은 자신은 애매한 키, 현주엽은 과체중으로 팀내 비중이 적었다면서 “아무도 신경써주지 않았다”고 설명했다.
그는 “(농구부) 선후배 사이의 위계질서가 있지 않냐는 MC들의 질문에 “농구도 못하는데 무슨 위계가 있겠느냐. 나도 못하는데 뭐라고 하냐”고 답했다. 서장훈이 자신과 현주엽이 항상 의지했다면서 이후 자신의 키가 성장하고 현주엽의 살이 빠지면서 두 선수의 실력이 일취월장했다고 말했다.
이후 고등학교 시절 서장훈은 대학 진학 당시 많은 러브콜을 받았던 그는 “연세대는 여대생이 많았다. 여대생 비율이 높은 학교였다. 그 옆에 이화여대도 있고, 그때 느낀 게 ‘여기가 내가 갈 곳이다’였다”라고 말했다. 그는 이어 연세대학교의 높은 여학생 비율이 “100%는 아니지만 되게 중요한 비중을 차지했다”고 해 보는 이들의 웃음을 자아냈다.
또한 서장훈은 농구대잔치 시절인 1995년, 삼성전자와의 경기 도중 당한 부상에 대해서도 언급했다. 당시 그는 대학생임에도 탁월한 기량으로 많은 선배 선수들의 ‘육탄전’에 가까운 집중견제를 받았는데 이러던 와중에 부상을 당하게 된 것.
그는 “당시 경기에서 선배 선수의 팔꿈치에 목이 눌려 목이 꺾였다. 바닥에 떨어졌는데 팔이 마음대로 움직여지지 않더라”면서 운동을 못할 거라는 생각에 두려웠고 정신적으로 힘들었다고 말했다.
그는 처음에는 부상을 입힌 선수에 대한 원망도 있었지만, 격한 스포츠인 농구의 특성상 그런 일은 있을 수 있다며 “나중엔 모든 게 다 이해가 됐다”고 말했다. (코리아헤럴드)
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Basketball legend Seo talks about rumors, early life
Former South Korean basketball player Seo Jang-hoon on Thursday talked about a series of rumors -- namely one concerning his ex-wife Oh Jeong-yeon -- that had followed him around during his storied career.
Appearing on MBC talk show “Golden Fishery: Knee Guru,” the 39-year-old former center said that most of the rumors surrounding Oh were not true, adding that the former KBS announcer is “an easygoing and good person.”
“People had been telling stories ever since we got married. I thought they would go away soon, but instead they kept on growing,” Seo told the Knee Guru’s host Kang Ho-dong, another former star athlete.
When confronted on rumors of him being mysophobic, Seo answered that he likes to keep things clean but denied that he was pathologically obsessed with it. “When someone (like me) who is not good-looking is also dirty, that’s a real eyesore,” he jokingly added.
The former MVP talked about his earlier days as well.
Seo said that he, along with his former rival and close friend Hyun Ju-yup, were the worst players on his middle school team. This may have been because Seo had just changed from baseball spikes to sneakers.
“My height was mediocre and Ju-yup was fat. We were virtually non-entities,” he said. Seo eventually hit a growth spurt as a ninth grader and became one of the top middle school players in the country at 197 cm.
After annihilating just about every competition he faced in high school, Seo was keenly sought by top universities across the country. He was at crossroads between the nation’s top two most prestigious schools in basketball world: Yonsei University and Korea University.
The 207-centimeter prospect chose Yonsei, but the reasons behind it were rather unorthodox.
“Yonsei had a lot of girls. On top of that, Ewha Womans University was right next to it,” Seo said, while adding that he thought he would “have to do nothing but play basketball” if he went to Korea University. “I felt like this was a place for me.”
But Seo said that after attending all-boys schools for six years, the high percentage of girls was one of key reasons for choosing Yonsei.
In March, Seo announced that his retirement after 15 years in Korea Basketball League.
Dubbed “Goliath” for his on-court dominance, the two-time MVP and two-time champion is regarded one of the best players in the country’s history.
Seo was the first Korean center who combined size, strength and skills. He could run, jump, and hold his ground against other big men, but also had a soft shooter’s touch and a shooting range that extended beyond the arc.
He is the record holder for the most points and rebounds in KBL history with 13,231 points and 5,235 rebounds. The runners-ups in the respective categories, Choo Seung-gyeun and Johnny McDowell, have long left the league, making the two records virtually unreachable for years to come.
Seo is also duly noted for his contribution to the national squad. People still talk about his famous battle against supremely talented, 228-centimeter Yao Ming of China in 2002, which led South Korea to win the first Asian Games gold medal in 20 years.
His performances earned him another well-known nickname, “National Treasure.”
While Seo’s skills were never in question, he is among one of the most controversial figures in South Korean sports. In the entire course of his career, he was bashed for complaining to the referees too much, and Seo’s intimidating game face did not appeal to the fans either.
His three-pointers, while effective, also became a topic of dispute because some thought that he lacked the toughness required for post players.
By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)
