Harbin's golden heat to Gangwon-do! The Gangwon Winter Sports Festival opens today
Feb 18, 2025
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Sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (hereinafter referred to as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism), hosted by the Korea Sports Association (Chairman Kim Oh-young), and organized by Gangwon State (Governor Kim Jin-tae), Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Office of Education (Superintendent Shin Kyung-ho), and Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Sports Association (Chairman Yang Hee-gu), the Winter Sports Festival is a living history of South Korea's winter sports, which began with the first All Joseon Ice Sports Competition in 1925. The 106th Winter Sports Festival will be held at Pyeongchang Yongpyeong Resort, Alpensia Resort, Gangneung Hockey Center, and Gangneung Curling Center with 4,278 athletes from 17 cities and provinces nationwide. The speed skating event will be held at Taeneung International Ice Rink in Seoul, and the mountain skiing event will be held at Cheongsong Ice Climbing Stadium in North Gyeongsang Province.
Yoo In-chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism (hereinafter referred to as Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism), will attend the opening ceremony at Yongpyeong Resort in Pyeongchang, Gangwon State, at 5 p.m. on the 18th to encourage the team.
At the opening ceremony, 'Special Gangwon Winter, Korea Unites!We support the sports future of Korea, which has established itself as a representative winter sports powerhouse in Asia, and the passion of the athletes. In addition, this competition continues the legacy of the Winter Olympics as a domestic winter sports competition to be held in Gangwon-do following the '2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics' and the '2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics'. In addition, Russian naturalized player Ekaterina Evakumova, who won two medals along with the first gold medal ever in the biathlon at the 2025 Harbin Winter Asian Games, and Abemariya, a multicultural family player, will participate. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism expected that the participation of athletes from various backgrounds will contribute to the formation of a culture of respect for diversity and inclusion, adding to the meaning of the festival as one sport. All games are free of charge, and detailed information such as the schedule and location of each event can be found on the official website.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yoo In-chon said, `The efforts you have accumulated so far are the foundation for driving the development of winter sports in Korea. I hope that your sweat and passion will bear fruit and lead to a targeted achievement. "The sports spirit that the athletes will show will be hope and emotion to the Korean people, and I will support the athletes' passion with the people. At the same time, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will work together to reform the sports world and develop winter sports with the president-elect of Yoo Seung Min of the Korea Sports Association to improve the welfare support system for athletes and support career after retirement" conveyed his will.
Reporter Jeon Young-ji, sky4us@sportschosun.com .
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
