Female Basketball Team Founded with Outstanding Achievements by Lee Seongheon, Seodaemun District Mayor... Breaking Breaking Amateur Team Founded, Owen Seok, Dobong District Mayor, Shines Brightly
Seongheon Lee, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu, and Onseok Oh, Mayor of Dobong-gu, have had a shining year that brought smiles even in difficult times.
The reason is that the Seodaemun-gu Women’s Basketball Team, founded just a year ago, swept four national tournaments this year with an undefeated record, holding a car parade in the district to bring joy to the residents.
Onseok Oh, Mayor of Dobong-gu, also played an active role in improving the district’s image through the Dobong-gu Breaking Professional Team players, including Kim Hong-yeol (Hongten), who shone at the Paris Olympics.
Seodaemun-gu Women’s Basketball Team Wins Gold Medal by Defeating Gimcheon City Hall in the Finals of the 105th National Sports Festival
Firmly Establishes Itself as the Strongest Women’s Professional Basketball Team with an Undefeated Record in 12 Games Across 4 Tournaments This Year
Basketball Queen Park Chan-sook, Coach of Seodaemun-gu Women’s Basketball Team, Holds a Car Parade After 40 Years
Mayor Seongheon Lee: “Players Who Have Experienced Hardships United to Prove ‘It Can Be Done,’ Which Is Truly Moving”
The Seodaemun-gu Women’s Basketball Team has attracted attention by sweeping all four national tournaments in 2024 with an undefeated record, not losing a single game throughout the year.
Led by Coach Park Chan-sook, the Seodaemun-gu Women’s Basketball Team won the gold medal by defeating Gimcheon City Hall, representing Gyeongsangbuk-do, 55 to 38 in the finals of the women’s general basketball division at the 105th National Sports Festival held on October 17 at Samcheonpo Gymnasium in Sacheon-si, Gyeongnam.
Representing Seoul, the Seodaemun-gu Women’s Basketball Team advanced past the round of 11 by walkover, then defeated Gwangju University, representing Gwangju Metropolitan City, 60 to 37 in the quarterfinals on the 14th, and beat Sacheon City Hall, representing Gyeongsangnam-do, 57 to 39 in the semifinals on the 16th.
With this, the Seodaemun-gu Women’s Basketball Team has set a golden milestone of “12 consecutive undefeated wins across 4 tournaments” this year, including the 2024 National Professional Basketball Federation Tournament held in Gimcheon-si, Gyeongbuk in April, the tournament in Taebaek-si, Gangwon in June, and the 79th National Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships held in Yeonggwang-gun, Jeonnam in August.
The path to “undefeated wins in all 2024 tournaments” was not always smooth. The biggest hurdle was the match against Gimcheon City Hall at the National Professional Basketball Federation Tournament in April, where the team was trailing by 11 points but made a dramatic comeback in the final moments to win 47 to 46 by 1 point.
The Seodaemun-gu Women’s Basketball Team was founded in March last year. The team was formed by players who wanted to play basketball but had no team calling them or were released from existing teams and found it difficult to continue their careers. Legendary Korean women’s basketball coach Park Chan-sook was invited as the inaugural coach.
Coach Park Chan-sook actively expressed her will to revive the popularity of women’s basketball and to nurture younger players.
When the basketball team was launched in March last year, Park Chan-sook, a legend of Korean women’s basketball, declared her ambition: “I will take responsibility as an eternal basketball person to nurture the best basketball team so that players who desperately want to play basketball can realize their dreams.” She overcame the difficulties of the first year and fulfilled her promise just a year after the team’s founding.
Seodaemun-gu Mayor Seongheon Lee, who visited the games to cheer on the team, said, “It is even more moving that players who have experienced pain, such as early retirement from professional leagues or not being selected by professional teams after high school graduation, united tightly to prove that ‘it can be done.’ I hope players will emerge from this professional team to join pro teams in the future.”
He also expressed gratitude to the residents’ cheering squad who came to support the players. In fact, the enthusiastic cheers of Seodaemun-gu residents filling the gymnasium whenever the Seodaemun-gu team plays have become a hot topic in the basketball community.
There is growing interest in whether the comeback and challenge of the Seodaemun-gu Women’s Basketball Team players, who have experienced various hardships, will continue with a winning streak next year.
Park Chan-sook, current coach of the Seodaemun-gu Women’s Basketball Team and captain of the Korean women’s basketball team that won the silver medal at the 1984 LA Olympics, held a car parade again after 40 years.
Seongheon Lee, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu (third from the right), is shaking hands with residents while doing a car parade with Director Chansook Park and the players.
Coach Park Chan-sook and the players and coaching staff who won the 105th National Sports Festival participated in a car parade and welcome ceremony hosted by the district on October 25.
Fifteen people, including Coach Park, players, and coaches, rode in three vehicles and held a car parade for about an hour on major roads in Seodaemun-gu. Mayor Seongheon Lee also joined the parade.
The car parade route was approximately 11.5 km, starting from Seodaemun-gu Office Square, passing through Yujin Shopping Center, Independence Park, in front of Yonsei University, Yeonhui Intersection, in front of Seodaemun-gu Office, and ending at the Seodaemun-gu Soccer Field (San 26-157, Hong Eun-dong), where the district staff sports competition was held.
The welcome ceremony included the entrance and greeting of the players, screening of a basketball team video, awarding of gold medals and bouquets, speeches by Coach Park and the player representative, and commemorative photos.
Mayor Seongheon Lee emphasized, “The reason the team could achieve nationwide tournament victories just one year after gathering players who had faced difficulties in basketball was because the coach, players, coaches, and team staff all persevered with an ‘unbreakable spirit’ until the end.”
He added, “The success of the Seodaemun-gu Women’s Basketball Team is a story that resonates deeply with our society. No matter how tough reality is, I hope many people gain courage from the example of the women’s basketball team who kept their will and efforts to ultimately achieve their goals.”
Seodaemun-gu plans to continue paying great attention to promoting community sports as a welfare sector, recognizing that sports activities play a significant role in improving residents’ health and quality of life.
Onseok Oh, the Youngest Among 25 Seoul District Mayors, Establishes Breaking Professional Team to Improve the Image of ‘Young Dobong-gu’
Onseok Oh, Mayor of Dobong-gu, held a ‘Breaking One-Day Class’ on the 28th of last month at Seoninbong Hall on the 2nd floor of Dobong-gu Office.
News that all members of the Dobong-gu Breaking Professional Team, including Kim Hong-yeol (Hongten), who shone at the Paris Olympics, would serve as one-day instructors attracted nearly 100 people on site that day. Participants ranged from elementary school students to grandmothers in their 80s.
On that day, the entire team personally passed on their know-how. The players demonstrated techniques such as toprock, footwork, and freezes, teaching each move to the participants. The participants focused intently on every word and movement from Korea’s top athletes.
One participant said, “I was so excited and happy to see the players and learn directly from them. If there is another chance, I definitely want to participate again.” Another participant said, “I have a dream of becoming a breaking dancer and am working hard. Today’s event will be a great strength for my future journey.”
The day ended with each participant taking turns to showcase the moves they learned. The shy moves of children learning breaking for the first time, the flashy moves of b-boying hopefuls, and the remarkable moves of an ordinary office worker who used to breakdance behind the classroom in childhood were all displayed.
Dobong-gu residents participating in the Breaking One-Day Class. Participants ranged from their 20s to 80s, adding to the enthusiasm.
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