Yeongam County Folk Ssireum Team 'Dominates' Mungyeong Jangsa Ssireum Tournament

Winning Triple Crowns... Proving to Be South Korea's Best Ssireum Team

The Yeongam-gun Folk Ssireum Team from Jeollanam-do once again secured a triple crown at the ‘2023 Mungyeong Jangsa Ssireum Tournament’ held in Mungyeong-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do.

According to the county on the 28th, under the leadership of coach Kim Ki-tae, Yeongam-gun Folk Ssireum Team’s champion Choi Seong-hwan defeated Park Min-gyo (Yongin Special City Office) 3 to 1 in the Hallasan class (under 105 kg), achieving his 11th personal Hallasan title.

Yeongam County Folk Ssireum Team
Photo by Yeongam County

On the final day of the tournament, the team defeated MG Saemaeul Geumgo 4 to 2 in the team finals held just before the Baekdu Jangsa championship match. Then, in the Baekdu class (under 140 kg) final, ssireum prodigy Kim Min-jae won 3 to 1 against his high school rival Choi Seong-min, earning his 4th personal championship and continuing the folk ssireum team’s ‘undefeated streak.’

With this, the Yeongam-gun Folk Ssireum Team has achieved a total of 68 victories (56 championships, 4 gold medals at the National Sports Festival, and 8 team championships), once again proving they are the top ssireum team in South Korea.

Coach Kim Ki-tae stated, “Since the Seollal Tournament, the players’ momentum has not waned, and the atmosphere has improved, maintaining their best condition. We will do our best to showcase our top skills to repay the support from the citizens of Yeongam-gun and serve as ambassadors for Yeongam-gun.”

Meanwhile, in the Geumgang class (under 90 kg), champion Choi Jeong-man narrowly finished as runner-up but showed excellent performance, raising expectations for the next tournament.