Workplace Sports Teams Enter Their Prime... Rapid Rise as a Sports Mecca
Building a Solid Fan Base Rooted in the Local Community
Victories on the Field Lead to Regional Economic Growth
Expanding Sports Infrastructure to Become a Sports City
A Signal for Local Economic Revitalization: "Yangpyeong Sarang Gift Certificate"
Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province (Governor Jeon Jin-seon) is rapidly emerging as a sports mecca with the workplace sports teams continuously delivering victorious results.
Player Park Kwon-ik at the 55th Chairman's National Jangsa Ssireum Championship in 2025. Photo by Yangpyeong-gun
According to Yangpyeong-gun on the 18th, the county plans to continue fostering a virtuous cycle of community solidarity through sports by hosting judo training camps, implementing regional education cooperation programs, and organizing matches inviting local residents.
The Yangpyeong-gun Office Ssireum Team announced a renaissance of the Yangpyeong-gun Office Ssireum Team by achieving excellent results at the '55th Chairman's National Ssireum Championship' held on the 8th at the Mungyeong Indoor Gymnasium in Mungyeong-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do.
Since its establishment in 2012, the Yangpyeong-gun Office Ssireum Team has achieved outstanding results, including one Cheonhajangsa title, four Baekdujangsa titles, three Hallajangsa titles, and five Taebaekjangsa titles, firmly establishing itself as the ace of the Korean ssireum scene. In particular, Yangpyeong-gun has enhanced the skills of its athletes through excellent talent discovery, athlete development, and systematic training programs, earning a reputation as the "cradle of Korean ssireum."
In addition, the county has promoted sports marketing, creating positive ripple effects such as regional promotion through sports and revitalization of the local economy. A representative example is when a Yangpyeong-gun ssireum athlete appeared on an entertainment program in 2019, which helped revive the sport and promote both the Yangpyeong-gun Office Ssireum Team and Yangpyeong-gun. Since then, the sports teams have participated in various festivals and events within the county, serving as communication channels with residents and contributing to increased local interest in ssireum and the community.
Now, the Yangpyeong-gun Office Ssireum Team dreams of a new leap for traditional sports. They are exploring various measures not only to continue athlete development and achievements but also to foster a healthy sports culture and strengthen ties with the local community.
In particular, they plan to operate various programs to cultivate a healthy sports culture through ssireum and enable local residents to lead healthy lives through sports. The plan is to promote ssireum beyond just a sport to contribute to community harmony and health improvement. They will also raise awareness of ssireum's appeal and provide opportunities for local residents to participate through ssireum experience classes, hosting regional competitions, and cooperation programs with schools.
Recently, the phrase "Real Yangpyeong" has been spreading in the domestic judo community. This nickname was given because of the outstanding team and the Yangpyeong-gun Office Judo Team's performance in all 15 judo competitions they participated in last year, comparable to the Spanish football team Real Madrid. Since its establishment in 2010, the Yangpyeong-gun Office Workplace Sports Judo Team has led Korean judo by producing eight national team athletes and achieving excellent results in numerous competitions.
Especially, Kim Min-jong (+100kg) and Kim Won-jin (-60kg), who participated in the 2024 Paris Olympics, contributed to South Korea's bronze medal in the team event. Kim Min-jong also won an individual silver medal, establishing himself as an icon of Korean judo beyond Yangpyeong. This medal was a remarkable achievement in the heavyweight category, the first in 39 years since Cho Yong-chul, president of the Korea Judo Association, won a bronze medal at the 1984 LA Olympics.
Yangpyeong-gun has promoted local economic revitalization through the operation of the judo team. In particular, the national team training camp, initiated in 2018, attracted domestic corporate teams and youth teams to Yangpyeong, helping to revive the stagnant local economy and contributing to residents' perception of economic recovery. In 2024, the scale of training camps expanded to include overseas teams such as Mongolia, achieving the dual effect of skill improvement and economic recovery. Additionally, the county held street cheering events for the 2024 Paris Olympic judo matches featuring Yangpyeong-gun Office athletes Kim Min-jong and Kim Won-jin, greatly contributing to local economic revitalization and community harmony.
Now, the Yangpyeong-gun Office Judo Team is preparing for a vigorous leap forward as the undisputed center of Korean judo and a global judo powerhouse. They are expected to enhance athletes' skills by actively participating in domestic and international competitions and raise the prestige of Yangpyeong-gun. Furthermore, the team plans to nurture judo talent by linking with local youth players and support Yangpyeong-gun's position as a global judo hub through the continuous hosting of the prestigious "Yangpyeong Mongyang Cup National Judo Competition."
Yangpyeong FC (Club Owner Jeon Jin-seon, Chairman Lee Tae-young, Director Choi Jong-yeol) expressed bold ambitions by winning 2-1 against Gangneung Citizen Football Club in the 2025 home opener held on the 1st at the Mulmalgeun Yangpyeong Sports Complex.
Founded in 2016, Yangpyeong FC has participated in the K4 League since 2017 and achieved outstanding results, including finishing second (runner-up) in the 2022 K4 League, successfully earning promotion to the K3 League. In particular, Yangpyeong FC successfully settled in the highly competitive K3 League by finishing 10th in 2024 and announced the beginning of Yangpyeong-gun's sports revival by winning the men's soccer general division (2nd division) at the 69th Gyeonggi Province Sports Festival held in Seongnam.
Yangpyeong FC has also played a significant role in community integration and development by emphasizing local interest and participation. Last season, they invited multi-child families, multicultural families, and residents of facilities for the disabled to matches, lowering the barriers to the soccer stadium. They also invited Danwol Middle School's girls' soccer team, a local youth team, providing growth opportunities for young players. Additionally, they designated "Eup/Myeon Days" for home games, inviting residents from those districts, and surpassed 10,000 cumulative spectators annually.
Now, Yangpyeong FC is preparing for a new leap forward with grand goals for the 2025 Eulsa year. Their objectives include finishing 7th in the 2025 season, achieving 15,000 cumulative spectators through MOUs with government-affiliated organizations, coaching soccer clubs for leaders and players, and strengthening ties with the local community to induce a virtuous cycle of sports clubs' impact on the region.
Yangpyeong-gun is improving various facilities with the goal of enhancing residents' health and revitalizing sports through expanding sports infrastructure. In particular, they plan to link sports infrastructure to local economic revitalization by issuing the branch-type local currency "Yangpyeong Sarang Gift Certificate."
To address the shortage and aging of sports facilities, Yangpyeong-gun plans to invest about 20 billion KRW by 2027 to improve various sports infrastructures and expand new facilities. The county is constructing the Yangpyeong Comprehensive Sports Center and public sports facilities (park golf courses, futsal fields, etc.) to promote residents' participation in sports and activate the local sports culture.
Additionally, to prevent existing sports facilities from aging, the county invests 2 billion KRW annually to maintain and manage comprehensive sports facilities and public sports facilities. Going forward, the county plans to expand outdoor exercise facilities reflecting rural characteristics and build small-scale sports facilities in underserved myeon (township) areas to expand resident participation sports programs.
Yangpyeong-gun issued the "Yangpyeong Sarang Gift Certificate" earlier this year to revitalize the local economy through sports infrastructure expansion. After revising the basic aspects of local currency in the second half of last year, from mid-February this year, visitors can receive partial refunds in Yangpyeong Sarang Gift Certificates at Yangpyeong Park Golf Course.
Visitors and residents can use the gift certificates like cash at local small businesses after visiting Yangpyeong tourist sites. Local small business owners can exchange the gift certificates for cash at 33 financial institutions within the county, including Nonghyup, Saemaeul Geumgo, Shinhan Credit Union, and the Forestry Cooperative.
Currently, the number of affiliated stores accepting the gift certificates reaches about 700, including restaurants, cafes, and retail stores, with plans to expand to 1,000 stores by the end of the year. To increase user convenience, the county plans to continue discussions on distributing gift certificates at local experience villages, various sports events, and leisure facilities.
In line with this, the "Yangpyeong Park Golf Course," the largest of its kind nationwide, introduced an online reservation system (Yangpyeong Toktok) to enable more convenient bookings. Last year, it attracted about 158,000 visitors, with numbers increasing annually.
Jeon Jin-seon, Governor of Yangpyeong-gun, said, "Yangpyeong is recently experiencing population growth and vibrant local energy. We will gradually develop sports marketing projects and use this as a great opportunity to promote the charm of Yangpyeong as a sports city nationwide." He added, "Yangpyeong is an attractive place suitable for enjoying sports and healing. We will do our best to create a Yangpyeong that people want to visit again."
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