College career At
Korea University, Chun was a member of the dominant "Tiger Corps" which included
Hyun Joo-yup, future KBL Rookie of the Year
Shin Ki-sung and future
KBL regular season MVP Kim Byung-chul. His time at Korea University coincided with what is often retrospectively dubbed the "golden era" of domestic college basketball. He and his teammates, as well as their counterparts from traditional athletic
rivals
Yonsei University, enjoyed a level of popularity similar to that of
idol singers and A-list actors/actresses due to their skills and good looks. Together with Hyun and
Yonsei University's
Lee Sang-min,
Moon Kyung-eun and
Woo Ji-won among others, they were collectively dubbed "Oppa Troupe" (오빠부대) by the media.
Professional career Chun began his career in 1996 and is among the last generation of players who began their careers during the semi-professional era; the professional league (
Korean Basketball League) was founded a year later. He and his college teammate Kim Byung-chul joined the newly founded
Daegu-based amateur team of
Tongyang Confectionery, which has since moved to
Goyang and is now
Goyang Orion Orions after the company rebranding. When the KBL was founded, Chun stayed with the team. During his first season in the newly founded professional league, he averaged 23.10 points, which was unheard of for a domestic player especially with the presence of foreign import players with larger and taller physiques. In between his routine duties with the Forest Service, he trained in the nearest gym by himself with amateur players. Tongyang were unable to find suitable replacements as he and Kim had enlisted at the same time as several other key players and the mid-table team finished the
1998–99 season at the bottom of the league table. Chun was discharged ahead of the 1999–00 season. His assignment turned out to be a blessing in disguise as he was discharged earlier than his counterparts who joined the Sangmu team. During his brief time at KCC, he was best remembered for an incident during a January game against
Seoul Samsung Thunders. He was intentionally struck in the face by Park Sung-hoon but the referee failed to call the foul and Park scored a lay-up immediately afterwards. The referee still did not blow the whistle even though Chun's face was visibly bloodied. Chun's teammate
Jung Jae-kun, incensed by the lack of action from the referee and other match officials, retaliated by elbowing Park in the face so hard that Park sustained a broken tooth and jaw and had to be stretchered off. However, Jung was only whistled for a
technical foul rather than a more serious
flagrant foul, which would have warranted
ejection. In 2003, Chun joined
Seoul SK Knights. The 2007–08 season was forgettable as he was mostly on the bench or unavailable due to injuries. With his contract ending that season, he chose to retire rather than join another team or renegotiate another contract. His number 13 jersey was
retired by the Knights.
National team Chun's versatility meant that he was registered as a center or forward in different competitions. He was part of the squad at the
1996 Atlanta Olympics and a key member of the
1997 ABC Championship-winning team, being named
tournament MVP. While completing his military service, he and
Woo Ji-won were expected to participate in the
1998 Asian Games but
Korean Basketball Association's request was turned down by the government agency overseeing their service term. Chun was recalled to the squad for the
2002 Asian Games, where he played as a forward due to
Seo Jang-hoon and rookie
Kim Joo-sung being preferred as the main centers. During the
final against a dominant
China led by
Yao Ming, he and
Hyun Joo-yup both scored more than 20 points in a tight game, earning themselves the nickname "China Killers". The Koreans managed to climb back from behind to win 102–100 in
overtime; it was their first gold in men's basketball at the Asian Games in two decades. ==Coaching career==