Seo Yun-Bok

Seo Yun-Bok was born to parents who ran a profitable produce company in Korea, but he lost his father in 1938 and his mother died in 1942. He was able to study at the University of Korea, where he learned to run distances. In May 1946 he won the 1st All-Korean marathon, and in September of that year won the marathon at the 1st Korean National Championships, and then in October won the title at the Korean National Sports Festival. Seo is best known for winning the 1947 Boston Marathon, recording a world best time of 2-25:39. He was able to participate because of donations from US servicemen stationed in Korea. After competing in the marathon at the 1948 London Olympics, Seo retired from competitive running in 1949.

Personal Best: Mar – 2-25:39 (1947).