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Friday 14 October 2011

Sport in South Korea

A taekwondo practitioner demonstrating
dollyo chagi technique.
The martial art taekwondo originated in Korea. In the 1950s and 1960s, modern rules were standardised and taekwondo became an official Olympic sport in 2000.Other Korean martial arts include taekkyeon, hapkido, tang soo do, kuk sool won, kumdo and subak.


Purple Arena
Football has traditionally been regarded as the most popular spectator sport in Korea. Recent polling indicates that a majority, 56.7%, of South Korean sports fans continue to self-identify as football fans, with baseball ranked second at 19.1% of respondents. However, the polling did not indicate the extent to which respondents follow both sports. Regular season K-league football matches televised nationally average 35% share of the television-watching audience. European football leagues are also televised and widely followed. The national football team became the first team in the Asian Football Confederation to reach the World Cup semi-finals in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which was jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan. The Korean Republic team (as it is known) has qualified for every World Cup since Mexico 1986, and has broken out of the group stage twice: first in 2002, and again in 2010, when it was defeated by Uruguay in the Round of 16.
Baseball was first introduced to Korea in 1905 and has since become an increasingly popular spectator sport, with some sources claiming it has surpassed football as the most popular sport in the country. Recent years have been characterized by increasing attendance and ticket prices for professional baseball games. The Korea Professional Baseball league, an 8 team circuit, was established in 1982. The South Korean national team finished third in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and second in the 2009 tournament. The team's 2009 final game against Japan was widely watched in Korea, with a large screen at Gwanghwamun crossing in Seoul broadcasting the game live. In the 2008 Summer Olympics, South Korea won the gold medal in baseball. Also in 1982, at the Baseball Worldcup, Korea won the gold medal. At the Guangzhou Asian Games, the Korean National Baseball team won the gold medal.
Seoul Olympic Stadium 1988


South Korea hosted the Asian Games in 1986 (Seoul), 2002 (Busan), and will host again in 2014 (Incheon). It also hosted the Winter Universiade in 1997, the Asian Winter Games in 1999 and the Summer Universiade in 2003. In 1988, South Korea hosted the Summer Olympics in Seoul, coming fourth with 12 gold medals, 10 silver medals and 11 bronze medals. South Korea regularly performs well in archery, shooting, table tennis, badminton, short track speed skating, handball, hockey, freestyle wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling, baseball, judo, taekwondo, speed skating, figure Skating, and weightlifting. The Seoul Olympic Museum is a museum in Seoul, South Korea, dedicated to the 1988 Summer Olympics. On July 6, 2011 Pyeongchang was chosen by the IOC to host the 2018 Winter Olympics.
South Korean athletes have shown skill in the Winter Olympics as well; after the 2010 Winter Olympics, South Korea, has won a total of 45 medals (23 gold, 14 silver, and 8 bronze). South Korea is especially strong in short track speed skating, however, ice hockey is emerging as Anyang Halla won their first ever Asia League Ice Hockey title in March 2010.
Seoul hosted a professional triathlon race, which is part of the International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Championship Series in May 2010.
In October 2010, South Korea hosted its first Formula One race at the Korean International Circuit in Yeongam, about 400 kilometres (250 mi) south of Seoul. In 2011, the South Korean city of Daegu will host the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Athletics


South Korea has three horse racing tracks of which Seoul Race Park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do is the biggest.

Popular sports
2008 K-League Winner, Suwon Samsung Bluewings.


Football is the most popular spectator sport in South Korea.[citation needed] South Korea, which competes internationally under the name of "Korea Republic", has qualified for eight FIFA World Cup finals including the most recent 2010 tournament (Asian record), and co-hosted the 2002 World Cup, finishing in 4th place. Also in 2010, the country's under-17 women's team won the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago, claiming South Korea's first-ever title in worldwide FIFA competition. The K-League is the oldest domestic professional football league in Asia. A huge number of tiny amateur football gatherings are active and immensely popular.
Baseball is very popular spectator sport in South Korea. It was introduced in 1905 by American missionaries and carries a strong following today. Professional teams owned by large conglomerates (chaebols) compete in the Korea Professional Baseball league. Korea won the Gold Medal in baseball at the 2008 Olympic Games. Korea is also a regular participant in the World Baseball Classic, and is considered one of the best baseball countries in international competition. Several Korean players have gone on to play in Major League Baseball.


Korean baseball player Kim Hyun-Soo in the outfield during
 2009 World Baseball Classic.


Another sport gaining popularity in South Korea is basketball. Professional basketball teams compete in the Korean Basketball League. Ice Hockey is slowly emerging as fans in Anyang city sees sell-out games for Anyang Halla hockey club. Anyang Halla became the first non-Japanese club to win championship title for Asia League Ice Hockey.
Popular throughout Asia, Badminton is played by many Koreans. Badminton nets can be found in many outdoor recreation parks. Korean players often reach the finals in regional and world championships. Bowling is a popular sport in South Korea, with many local leagues. Computerized systems are commonplace.




Seoul Olympic Stadium built for the 1988 Summer Olympics.
Fishing and hiking are common activities in South Korea. Fishing is popular in streams, rivers, and the oceans. There are arranged fishing tours. Hiking in the Korean mountains is very popular, and weekend after weekend popular areas fill with people.
Golf is very popular in South Korea. It is often thought that this is linked to the fact that golf is considered a status symbol. Membership in golf clubs in South Korea is considerably more expensive than in Japan or the US. South Korea is especially strong in women's golf; 47 Koreans play on the world's leading women's tour, the LPGA tour in the United States. The best-known Korean golfer is Pak Se-ri.
Scuba diving is popular on Jeju island.
Korea is home to a number of good downhill skiing slopes. Snowboarding was not allowed in most resorts until recently.
Rugby union is played to some degree in South Korea, with the Korean team being currently ranked 23rd out of around a hundred nations. Korea participated in the 2008 Asian Five Nations, the inaugural Asian Five Nations.
Table tennis is popular in South Korea. There are minor leagues in many universities.
E-sports have found a strong home in South Korea, StarCraft professional competition being the largest example of these.
Since 2010, South Korea has hosted the annual Formula One Korean Grand Prix in Yeongam. However, South Korea has yet to have a driver on the grid.




Major sport events


Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games were held in Seoul in 1988.
The Winter Olympic Games will be held in Pyeongchang in 2018.
North Korea and South Korea marched together in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, and were likely to do so again in 2008, however they did not. (See Sports in North Korea.)


FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was held in Korea and Japan with extreme success. More than 10 million Koreans came to the streets to support their team in the semifinals against Germany.



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