Running 11,000 kms from Jeju Island to Vatican for world peace, 65yr old Korean cerebral infarction patient reaches India

NEW DELHI:  There are numerous reasons why the 65-year-old cerebral infarction patient Kang Myung-koo (강명구) shouldn’t run. There is only one reason why he is running the marathon. It’s for World Peace and the re-unification of South and North Korea. Kang has taken a decision to run 11000 km from the Jeju Island to Rome through 19 countries for 400 days that even a healthy young person would not have dared to imagine.

Having launched his mission on his feet along with a hand-kart in which he carries his luggage on October 1 in Jeju Island of peace in South Korea, Kang has been running through Cambodia, Thailand, Bangladesh, and now has entered India from Kolkata early this month. Pushing his kart along, Kang is reaching New Delhi on March 10 meandering through Bihar, and now is in Uttar Pradesh currently.

On his mission, Kang marathoners will cross 19 countries from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. His travel plan includes countries from Cambodia, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Greece, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, and finally Italy.

On September 28, 2023, the last day of the long journey, he plans to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican to deliver his wishes for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Currently in Uttar Pradesh, Kang’s travel plan includes Lucknow, Agra, and to New Delhi on March 10. While in Delhi, he plans to meet Korean Ambassador Chang Jae-bok, and the members of Federation of Korean Associations in India.

Later Kang would reach Dharamshala where he plans to meet Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama before leaving for Afghanistan on March 15.

Here is the video to see Kang running marathon in Indian cities: 강명구 평화마라톤 추진위원회 ver1더 뜨겁게! 더 간절하게 평화를 평화의 섬 제주에서 로마까지 11,000km 평화마라톤세계의 평화를 바라는 시민들의 마음을 모읍니다.youtube.com 

However, it was really tough for Kang as while crossing the borders of Cambodia and Thailand, the support group was also disbanded because it could not raise money. In Bangladesh, he suffered from dysentery and diarrhoea due to corona positive reactions.

Previously too Kang had ran 15,000 km-marathon from Gwangju to Dandong, China. And during this journey his toenails turned black and fell out.

“In order to peacefully resolve the atmosphere of tension between the North and the United States and the inter-Korean dialogue has been cut off since the breakdown of the North Korea-US summit in Hanoi in 2018, religious and peace leaders from around the world and Korean compatriots resolve mutual prosperity and peace. The purpose of the event was to create an international public opinion that could sign an end-of-war declaration and a peace treaty in 2023, the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement,” Kang told a Korean news agency.