The Korean National Sports Festival is an annual sports competition held in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
.
For a full week each October, about 20,000 athletes representing 16 cities and provinces throughout the country compete in about 40 separate sports. The site rotates among the major cities, including
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...
,
Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea ...
,
Daegu
Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea.
It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...
,
Gwangju
Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial offic ...
and
Incheon
Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...
. The 2005 festival was held in
Ulsan
Ulsan (), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighboring ...
and the 2009 festival in
Daejeon
Daejeon () is South Korea's fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of 1.5 million as of 2019. Located in the central-west region of South Korea alongside forested hills and the Geum River, the city is known both for its technology an ...
.
Competitions are held in High School, College, and Regular Divisions.
History
The current annual numbering originates from the 1920 All-Korea Baseball Series and the formation of the Korean Sports Festival (조선체육회). The
Japanese colonial government
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitutio ...
held a multi-sport competition in 1925, but the Korean Sports Festival first became a national multi-sport competition in 1934, with baseball, soccer, tennis, track and field, and basketball.
In 1938, the Korean Sports Festival was forcibly dissolved by the colonial government. The festival, numbered 26th, resumed upon the 1945 liberation of Korea. With the establishment of
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
in 1948, the event was renamed the "National Sports Festival," and individual competition was changed to competition among cities and provinces. The festival was cancelled in 1951, during the
Korean War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Korean War
, partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict
, image = Korean War Montage 2.png
, image_size = 300px
, caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...
.
List of Korean National Sports Festivals
Other national sports events
Related annual national sports events include:
* The Children's National Sports Festival
* The National Winter Sports Festival
* The National Sports Festival for the Handicapped
References
External links
Ministry of Culture & TourismSummary of Previous Festivals(in Korean)
History of the Festival(in Korean)
{{Festivals in South Korea
1920 establishments in Korea
Multi-sport events in South Korea
National multi-sport events
Recurring sporting events established in 1920
Annual events in South Korea
Sports festivals in South Korea
Autumn events in South Korea