Social media posts by runners sharing workout records in memory of a woman who died after collapsing near the finish of a Seoul half-marathon have prompted debate in South Korea over whether such posts are an appropriate way to mourn her.
Yoo Ji-won, a graduate student at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and a running influencer, collapsed during the 2026 Seoul Race half-marathon on Oct. 11, about 500 meters from the finish.
She was taken to a hospital, where she later died. Her cause of death has not been publicly disclosed.
In the days after her death, some runners posted their own workout distances and times on social media under labels such as “memorial run” and “mourning run.”
One user who said they had long followed Yoo posted a 10-kilometer run in her memory. Another runner wrote, “Yoo Ji-won, we’ll run the remaining 500 meters for you,” referring to the distance Yoo had left to the finish line.
The runner also shared an activity log showing a 25.01-kilometer run completed in two hours and 29 minutes, saying the post expressed condolences from the perspectives of both a runner and a parent.
However, the posts drew criticism from people who questioned whether running was an appropriate way to commemorate someone who had died during a race. Some also accused runners of using Yoo’s death to draw attention to their own athletic achievements.
“I understand running in someone’s memory, but posting the results online seems to diminish the meaning of the tribute,” one commenter wrote.
“It’s like going to a shooting range to mourn victims of gun violence,” another comment read.
Others defended the memorial runs, saying people express grief in different ways and that sharing a workout log does not necessarily make a tribute insincere.
“They may simply have wanted to remember her while running,” one commenter wrote. Another argued that an unfamiliar form of mourning should not automatically be dismissed as insincere.
seungku99@heraldcorp.com
