"Manners Are Also Skill"... Seocho-gu Father Center to Host the '1st Manner Baduk King Tournament'

Scheduled for the 7th of next month, applications accepted on the website until the 23rd of this month
‘Best Manner King’ to be selected and specially awarded

Seocho-gu, Seoul (Mayor Jeon Seong-su) plans to hold the "1st Manner Baduk King" tournament at the "Seocho-gu Father Center" on the 7th of next month, and is accepting participants until the 23rd of this month.

The individual competition is divided by rank into ▲Beginner Group (30 kyu~22 kyu) ▲Intermediate Group (21 kyu~16 kyu) ▲Advanced Group (15 kyu~10 kyu) ▲Researcher Group (9 kyu~4 kyu) ▲Professional Player Group (3 kyu~3 dan). The team competition is a team match with 6 teams of 3 members each. When forming teams, there is a skill level restriction to ensure an even distribution of ranks among team members.

The prize money for the individual competition is 100,000 KRW for the winner, 80,000 KRW for the runner-up, and 50,000 KRW for third place. The winning team in the team competition will receive 300,000 KRW, and the runner-up will receive 240,000 KRW. Anyone aged 8 or older with a rank from 30 kyu to 3 dan can participate regardless of their place of residence, and applications can be submitted through the Seocho-gu Father Center website until the 23rd of this month. The participation fee is 20,000 KRW for the individual competition and 60,000 KRW per team for the team competition.

The tournament, held at the Bangbae Open Culture Center, aims to support fathers' hobbies while also emphasizing presenting a respectable image of fathers. Ha-rim Lee, director of the Seocho-gu Father Center, said, "Since places where Baduk is played tend to be male-dominated spaces, people tend to pay less attention to their attire," adding, "This tournament will be conducted with a minimum level of manners and respect toward opponents." To this end, the participant who shows the best manners and is neatly dressed will be selected as the "Best Manner King" and receive a special award.

The Seocho-gu Father Center is the nation's first happiness healing space created for fathers. It opened in 2016 with the aim of helping fathers, who have been running fiercely and busily in modern society, to recover their body and mind and find true life balance and happiness.

Various rest and learning programs are offered here, with the Baduk program being especially popular since its first launch last year.

Mayor Jeon Seong-su said, "Baduk is an immersive sport where one can focus on each move and reflect inwardly," and added, "Through this Manner Baduk King tournament, I hope it will be a calm healing time to enjoy a Baduk culture of mutual respect and manners beyond winning and losing."