National Events
The National Sports Festival, one of the nation's premier sports events, takes
place in autumn and winter. The Sports Festival, hosted by different provincial
cities every year, aims at promoting local athletic activities. The Sports Festival
was inaugurated in 1920, the same year the Korea Sports Council was founded.
Far from being a mere athletic competition, the festival has grown into a comprehensive
function of sports and cultural events.
The main National Sports Festival, held in early fall, has developed into an
Olympic-like event; over 20,000 athletes, representing seven metropolitan cities
and nine provinces, and Korean residents abroad, compete in more than 30 events.
The annual National Sports Festival offers an opportunity for national athletes
to upgrade their calibre through tough competition.
The Winter National Sports Festival is similar to the Winter Olympic Games in
terms of format. Four events - skating, skiing, biathlon and ice hockey - are
held every year.
There is another annual sports event called National Youth Sports Festival which
has been held since 1972, giving young athletes the opportunity to enhance their
athletic talents. About 15,000 young athletes from across the country participate
in 14 events in the elementary school category, and 26 events in the middle
school division. The youth festival is usually hosted by the city which had
hosted the latest National Sports Festival.
Since 1989, one year after the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, the World Koreans Festival
has been held every year to strengthen the solidarity of ethnic Koreans living
abroad. North Koreans are invited to the games which are aimed at promoting
harmonious atmosphere between overseas Koreans with people in the homeland in
preparation for the eventual peaceful reunification of Korea.