Advanced Civic Awareness and Expansion of Sports Infrastructure... Participating Athletes Showcase Their Best Skills
2024 Korea Open Badminton Championships, 2025 National Sports Festival Preparations Progressing Smoothly
Mokpo City is emerging as a premium sports city by successfully hosting national-level sports competitions for two consecutive years.
Following last year's National Sports Festival and National Para Games, the city also successfully held this year's National Youth Sports Festival and National Disabled Students Sports Festival. During the preparation for these events, Mokpo built the Mokpo Sports Complex, a certified Class 1 athletics stadium, and the Bandabi Sports Center, a cradle for disabled sports activities. Additionally, the city expanded its sports infrastructure by renovating the Mokpo Indoor Gymnasium and Swimming Pool, as well as the Mokpo International Football Center.
With the foundation established to host national competitions, this year Mokpo successfully hosted the 53rd National Athletics Championships and the 2024 Asian Athletics Throwing Championships, further enhancing its reputation as a premium sports city nationwide.
Mokpo Mayor Park Hong-ryul is awarding medals to athletes participating in the Asian Athletics Throwing Championships and taking photos. [Photo by Mokpo City]
Successful Hosting of National (Para) Sports Festival and National Youth (Disabled Students) Sports Festival.
For two years, the city worked diligently to successfully conduct large-scale national events. Various organizations and institutions such as Mokpo Police Station, Mokpo Fire Station, Mokpo Office of Education, Mokpo Sports Council, and Mokpo Disabled Sports Association joined forces to meticulously prepare all areas including traffic, parking, accommodation and restaurant management, emergency medical measures, event operations, and safety support.
As a result, for the first time since the opening of the port, the National (Para) Sports Festival and the National Youth (Disabled Students) Sports Festival, the grand festivals for Korea’s sports hopefuls, were held in Mokpo as the main host city for two consecutive years, achieving the largest scale in history.
During the festivals, various cultural and artistic events and festivals were held continuously, leading to full occupancy in lodging facilities and bustling restaurants, which brought significant vitality to the local economy.
Citizens also actively and voluntarily participated with mature civic awareness, laying the foundation for Mokpo to take a step forward as an advanced sports city.
Athletes participating in the National Track and Field Championships are giving their all on the track. [Photo by Mokpo City]
Emerging as the Nation’s Top Sports Mecca by Hosting International and National Competitions
This year, the prestigious 53rd National Athletics Championships were held. Over five days, about 1,500 athletes competed in 170 events, setting new records and engaging in intense competition.
Additionally, the 2024 Asian Athletics Throwing Championships, recognized as an international event last year, held its second edition this year with over 200 athletes from 20 countries participating over two days.
From August 27, the city is preparing to host the 2024 Korea Open Badminton Championships for six days, intensifying efforts to welcome top-tier badminton players from around the world.
Next year, the National Sports Festival will culminate in the National Sports for All Festival, marking the finale of a three-year sports extravaganza. The city plans to successfully complete this event as well, further proving its status as a premium sports city.
Fostering Workplace Sports Teams with Outstanding Skills in Football, Hockey, and More
The Mokpo workplace sports teams have consistently achieved top rankings in national competitions, enhancing Mokpo’s reputation as a sports city.
FC Mokpo won the runner-up position in the K3 League last year and earned a bronze medal at the 104th National Sports Festival. The hockey team also won a silver medal at the 104th National Sports Festival, while athlete Park Seo-jin secured a gold medal in the women’s hammer throw, achieving a five-year consecutive victory at the event. Athlete Jung So-eun won a bronze medal in the women’s shot put.
The city plans to revise ordinances to include provisions for recruiting excellent athletes and multi-year contracts, ensuring workplace sports teams can focus solely on training and achieve excellent results with full support.
The Kyung Hee University basketball team, which chose Mokpo as their training camp location, is currently training. [Photo by Mokpo City]
Recognized as the Optimal Training Site in the Southwestern Region of Jeollanam-do
Mokpo City is fully benefiting from hosting nationwide sports competitions. Since the end of last year, about 20,000 athletes have visited Mokpo for training camps, breaking previous records, and the city is on track to attract 30,000 visitors this year.
The city attributes this to improved sports facility conditions and the surge in training teams visiting Mokpo for competition preparation. Their stays have translated into local spending, greatly invigorating the regional economy.
Mokpo offers various incentives to visiting training teams, including discounts on public sports facility usage fees and support for cultural and tourism experience activities, and is preparing diverse support measures to attract even more teams.
Furthermore, the city actively promotes the hosting of competitions and training camps to sportspeople nationwide. Last month, it signed a business agreement with the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in sports, culture, education, and experiential tourism for youth between the two cities and provinces.
Mayor Park Hong-ryul stated, “The sports events held so far have been successfully completed with athletes continuously breaking records thanks to advanced civic awareness and well-equipped sports facilities. Moving forward, we will vigorously utilize the expanded sports infrastructure to attract nationwide competitions, various sports events, and training camps, advancing even more powerfully as the nation’s top sports mecca.”
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