Contents Facts about Korea - Korea's fight against COVID-19 - Hallyu (Korean Wave) - Korean Food: Hansik - Tourism in Seoul - Traveling around the ...
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Contents
Facts about Korea
- Korea’s fight against COVID-19
- Hallyu (Korean Wave)
- Korean Food: Hansik
- Tourism in Seoul
- Traveling around the Pristine Jeju Island
- Busan City Tour
- Festivals in Korea (1)
- Festivals in Korea (2)
- Sports in Korea (New)
Sports
in Corea
How Korea Became a Sporting Powerhouse
Bangkok
Kim Yuna claimed a silver medal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
South Korea ranked 7th overall in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic
Winter Games. The country has shown great performances at
international competitions with top 10 finishes including 8th at the
2016 Rio Summer Olympics and 5th at the 2012 London Summer
Olympics.
Korea has also produced one of the best athletes in the world. Kim
Yuna continued to break world records in figure skating, a field
which used to be dominated by Western athletes. Choo Shin-soo is
also an active player in US Major League Baseball, while golfer Park
In-bee made the country proud by winning a gold medal at the
2016 Rio Olympics.
Choo Shin-soo (left) is an outfielder for the Major League Baseball team Texas Rangers. Son Heung-min (right) is a forward for the British Premier League club, Tottenham Hotspur. The most important factors behind South Korea’s transformation build their skills by accumulating a wealth of experience in domes- into a sporting powerhouse are the country’s large number of tic competitions. There are also professional sporting facilities de- sports lovers and efficient investment. The country strives to find dicated solely to the training of athletes selected for international promising young athletes, train them efficiently, and help them events such as the Olympic Games or the Asian Games.
National Sports Infrastructure
Soccer is one of Korea’s most popular sports. The K League chester United, Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min,
(Korea Professional Football League) runs from March to Nov- and Ki Sung-yueng at Newcastle United.
ember each year, with fierce competition among 12 regional
teams. Enthusiastic cheering by the Red Devils, the national Koreans also love playing soccer. Many South Korean soccer
team’s supporting group, is also a sight to behold. There are a lovers gather together early in the morning of a holiday to en-
number of South Korean footballers who have succeeded on joy the sport. The number of people who have joined grassroots
the global stage including Park Ji-sung, who played for Man- football teams stands at around 500,000 nationwide.
Chuncheon
Marathon. Held in
Chuncheon,
Gangwon-do every
October.
Olle Trail in Jeju. A
hiking course in
Jejudo Island “Olle”
is a local word from
the Jeju dialect that
refers to a narrow
path between a
thoroughfare and
the entrance of a
house. Ms. Seo
Myeong-suk, a
journalist, started
using the word for
mountain hiking
courses on the
island after drawing
inspiration from the
pilgrimage trail to
Santiago de
Compostela in
northern Spain.
The country’s sports infrastructure is solid and wide-ranging. ITaekwondo
According to the 2016 Sports White Paper published by the
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, there were 115,303 Originated in Korea, Taekwondo is a martial art of self-de-
sports clubs with 5,579,640 members, representing 10.8% of fence in which the competitors use both their hands and feet.
the total population. In ancient times, Koreans practiced Taekwondo as a mandatory
preparation for war.
The popularity of baseball in the country is no less than that
of football. There are a total of ten teams in the KBO league. With the passage of time, Taekwondo gradually became a
In 2017, some 8.4 million people visited stadiums to enjoy folk sport. In 1971, it was designated as Korea’s national sport.
professional baseball games. More Korean players making In 1973, the 1st World Taekwondo Championship were held
their way to Major League Baseball, including Los Angeles in Seoul and in 1980, the IOC adopted it as an official event of
Dodgers pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin, Texas Rangers right fielder the Olympic Games. It has grown into an international sport
Choo Shin-soo, and Colorado Rockies pitcher Oh Seung-hwan, with around 100 million participants globally.
have also helped boost people’s interest in the sport.
Over the past few years, the number of marathon clubs has Muju, Jeollabuk-do Province, where Taekwondowon was
increased drastically. In spring and fall, marathon competitions established, hosted the 2017 Muju WTF World Taekwondo
are held every weekend all over the country. An amateur ma- Championships.
rathon competition attracts thousands or even tens of thou-
sands of participants. More than 20,000 people, professionals Taekwondo stresses the importance of spiritual discipline
and amateurs, are taking part in major marathon events. and for this reason it enjoys popularity among both men and
women. The Korean government assists with the dispatching
As a mountainous country, Korea has an ideal environment of Taekwondo masters worldwide. Active UN Peacekeeping
for mountain climbers and hikers. There are many mountains Forces teach Taekwondo to local residents in disputed territo-
near large cities, enabling city dwellers to enjoy mountain ries, where they are stationed. In many parts of the world, Tae-
climbing and hiking conveniently. The country also has many kwondo is viewed as a symbol of Korea. As for its educational
popular rock climbing spots. effects associated with spiritual discipline and tenacity, Tae-
kwondo is emerging as an option for the treatment of young
people suffering from addictions.
A Taekwondo demonstration in Times Square, New York.
Joint inter-Korean women’s ice hockey team. Korea’s unified women’s ice hockey team at the 2018
PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics compete as one team under the Korean Unification Flag
gives hope for a world in which conflicts are peacefully
Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do Province, was selected as the resolved.” Thomas Bach, the president of the International
host city for the 2018 Winter Olympics after receiving a ma- Olympic Committee (IOC), also commented, “The Olympic
jority vote at the 123rd IOC Session held on July 6, 2011. It was Games of PyeongChang 2018 are the games of new hori-
South Korea’s third attempt. zons. We have seen how sport can make the world a better
place.”
The PyeongChang Olympics, which was held from February
9 to 25, 2018, was the largest Winter Games ever, drawing PyeongChang 2018 was also a cultural Olympiad where
2,920 participants from 92 countries including six nations the Hallyu and traditional culture harmoniously blended.
debuting in the Winter Olympics―Nigeria, Eritrea, Malaysia, During the Olympics, the country operated a total of 1,800
Singapore, Ecuador, and Kosovo. Three world records and cultural programs including K-pop concerts, traditional per-
twenty-five new Olympic records were set, thanks to the ex- formances, and video arts with some 960,000 people in
cellent ice quality. Ticket sales were also considered a success, attendance.
with some 1,080,000 tickets sold.
IOC President Thomas Bach praised the PyeongChang Ga-
PyeongChang was the first Olympics to adopt 5G techno- mes as “the best Winter Olympics ever,” and Toronto Star even
logy, 360° virtual reality (VR), glassless 3D, and holograms. It said, “The problem with PyeongChang is that there aren’t any
also utilised the Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile app. On problems.” In the overall medal standing, South Korea ranked
top of that, a total of 85 robots, including guides, food service, 7th with five gold, eight silver, and four bronze medals. The
and mannequin robots, were deployed to the venues, de- country earned medals not only from ice sports but also from
monstrating the country’s innovative prowess. CNN reported other categories like skeleton, bobsleigh, and curling, diver-
that “5G is helping make PyeongChang the most high-tech sifying its winter sports portfolio. At the Paralympics, South
Olympics ever.” Korea finished in 16th place, with a gold medal in a sitting
cross-country skiing event.
Above all, the PyeongChang Olympics will be remem-
bered by the world as the “Peace Olympics” that embodied South Korea became a country that has hosted both Sum-
the value and spirit of the Olympics. North Korea sent the mer and Winter Games, 30 years after the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
largest delegation ever to the Winter Games including 22 It also joined the club of those who have hosted the world’s
players, 229 cheerleaders, and 27 high-ranking officials. four biggest sporting competitions― the 1988 Summer Olym-
The two Koreas made a joint entrance and competed as pics, 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2011 International Association of
one team in the women’s hockey for the first time in Olym- Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships, and 2018
pic history. Pope Francis said, “The fact that both Koreas Winter Olympics.
(From top left, counter-clockwise)
1. Choi Min-jeong (Short Track). Choi took two gold medals with dominating races in the women’s 1,500 and 3,000m relay
despite getting disqualified from the 500m race.
2. Women’s curling. The five-member team of Kim Eun-jung, Kim Kyeong-ae, Kim Seon-yeong, Kim Yeong-mi, and Kim
Cho-hi received international attention with their stunning performance. The so-called Team Kim advanced to the finals
after beating traditionally strong teams and claimed a silver medal after losing to Sweden.
3. Yun Sung-bin (Skeleton). Yun became skeleton’s new king at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics as he won a gold
medal by the largest margin in any Olympic sliding race.
South and North Korean athletes jointly enter the opening ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
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