Wonju Gymnasium is an

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

Wonju Wonju () is the most populous city in Gangwon Province, South Korea. The city is located approximately east of Seoul. Wonju was the site of three crucial battles during the Korean War. Geography Wonju sits at the southwestern corner of Gangw ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. It is the home arena of the

Wonju DB Promy The Wonju DB Promy is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League (KBL), located in the city of Wonju. From its founding in 1996, the team has always been based in its home province of Gangwon. It has the rare distinction of ...

of the Korean Basketball League. The complex includes above-ground and basement parking space as well as the team's training facilities and clubhouse, which is connected to the arena via a special underground walkway. Prior to the opening of the Wonju Gymnasium, Wonju DB Promy had played at the outdated and much-maligned Chiak Gymnasium and did not have its own dedicated training ground and facilities. Its players infamously had to work out at local neighborhood gyms. The lack of funding from the pre-

Dongbu Insurance DB Insurance Co, Ltd. (), formerly Hankook Automobile Insurance (), is a South Korean insurance company. It is headquartered in Seoul and was established in 1963. The fire insurance group division of the company controls a large portion of the Sout ...

era meant that the Chiak Gymnasium was never renovated to meet modern-day standards despite drawing some of the biggest game-day crowds among the KBL teams. The Wonju municipal government agreed to invest

₩ The won sign , is a currency symbol. It represents the South Korean won, the North Korean won and, unofficially, the old Korean won. Appearance Its appearance is "W" (the first letter of "Won") with a horizontal strike going through the cent ...

5 billion into the construction of a new purpose-built arena. It opened in time for the 2013–14 season.

Events

In addition to basketball, Wonju Gymnasium has been used for concerts and other large-scale events during the off-season. It hosted the

4th APAN Star Awards The 4th APAN Star Awards () ceremony was held on November 28, 2015, at Wonju Gymnasium in Wonju, Gangwon Province and was broadcast live on MBC Every 1 and V Live. Lee Hwi-jae, Kim Sung-joo, Lee Hoon and T-ara's Park So-yeon were the ho ...

and several

Road Fighting Championship Road Fighting Championship (Road FC; ) is a South Korean-based mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion which was officially launched in 2010. Prior to December 2016, Road FC had held 52 events in three countries - South Korea, Japan, and China. Abou ...

events. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the arena doubled as a testing site for local residents.

References

External Links

Wonju Gymnasium
— Wonju City Facilities Management Corporation {{coord, 37, 20, 20.9, N, 127, 56, 31.1, E, region:KR_type:landmark, display=title Basketball venues in South Korea Indoor arenas in South Korea Wonju DB Promy