North Korean Defectors and Multicultural 'Soccer Festival' to Open... 2023 Yanggu Peace Cup Kicks Off on July 4

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] A 'football festival' for North Korean defectors and multicultural families who need help adapting to our society will be held.

The '2023 Yanggu Peace Cup North Korean Defectors & Multicultural Football Festival' will take place on July 4-5 at the Yanggu Sports Complex in Yanggu-gun, Gangwon-do. The preliminary matches will be held on the 4th, and the main matches on the 5th.

2023 Yanggu Peace Cup North Korean Defectors & Multicultural Soccer Festival Promotional Poster
Photo by SH Sports Agency

This tournament is held to support the adaptation of new and existing members of society, such as North Korean defectors and multicultural families, and for global social contribution. SH Sports Agency (CEO Moon Seong-hwan), which is dedicated to the development of Korean football and the establishment and support of football infrastructure for marginalized groups, is hosting and organizing the event. It is sponsored by Yanggu-gun, Yanggu-gun Sports Foundation, Pocheon Ginseng Agricultural Cooperative, Haha Mask, KBS Sports Arts Science Institute, Footballist, Sun Medical Center, Arcobaleno Wonju Branch, AIRDOME_SH, Gopchang Sanghoe, and Monggowangjuga.

Thirty-two teams of North Korean defectors and multicultural participants will compete. On the first day, the teams will be divided into eight groups for a round-robin group stage preliminary round. The top two teams from each group will advance to the main tournament on the following day, starting from the round of 16, then quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. The champion team will receive 2 million KRW, the runner-up 1.5 million KRW, third place 1 million KRW, fourth place 500,000 KRW, the fair play team 300,000 KRW, the best team 200,000 KRW, and the touching peace team 100,000 KRW in Yanggu Love gift certificates. Individual awards will include Best Coach, Outstanding Coach, Best Player, Outstanding Player, MVP, Top Scorer, Best Attacker, Best Midfielder, Best Defender, Best Goalkeeper, Best Goal, Fighting Spirit, and Respect awards.

Seo Heung-won, the mayor of Yanggu-gun, said, "I am very pleased that the tournament can be held in Yanggu, the geographic center of the country. I hope that the connection of sports, tourism, and regional development, as well as the revitalization of the local economy, will go beyond and that the beginning of harmony and peace will start in Yanggu-gun, the geographic center of the country, and widely inspire people."

Moon Seong-hwan, CEO of SH Sports Agency, said, "I sincerely thank Mayor Seo Heung-won and all the executives and staff of the Yanggu-gun Sports Foundation who have supported us in every way to hold this football festival for socially marginalized groups such as North Korean defectors and multicultural families. Through this event, I hope that harmony will be achieved not only between South and North Korea through sports but also globally as one. I also ask for your great interest in SH Agency’s social contribution sharing projects and other sports culture support projects for North Korean defectors and multicultural families."