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.