Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Launches
"Korea Sports Star Donation Relay"
to Promote the National Sports Museum
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 23rd that, in collaboration with the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, it will launch the "Korea Sports Star Donation Relay" to raise public interest in the National Sports Museum, which is scheduled to open in the second half of next year. The National Sports Museum will be established in Olympic Park, Songpa-gu, Seoul.
Jang Miran, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the first Korean female Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting, will be the first participant in the donation relay, donating a total of 88 personal items from her athlete days on this day.
The main donated items include her first Olympic medal, the silver medal from the 2004 Athens Olympics; the gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which was the first Olympic gold medal for Korean women's weightlifting; the bronze medal from the 2012 London Olympics; as well as all her Olympic medals, Asian Games medals, athlete uniforms imbued with passion, a weightlifting belt, and weightlifting shoes.
Jang Miran, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, will donate a total of 88 personal items from her athlete days, including the gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, to the National Sports Museum to be established in the Olympic Park, Songpa-gu, Seoul, in the second half of next year. Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
Vice Minister Jang recalls the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where she won the gold medal and set a world record, as an unforgettable event from her athletic career. She shared her unique feelings, mentioning that during training, she repeatedly wore down the heels of her weightlifting shoes, and fellow athletes and coaches used to joke that the shoes belonged in a museum. With this donation, she expressed that the shoes have truly become artifacts.
The donation relay will continue until the opening of the National Sports Museum, and it is expected that key figures in Korean sports history, including Olympic medalists, will participate. The Ministry plans to actively utilize the donated artifacts as sports culture content to be shared with the public.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation will begin full-scale promotion of the National Sports Museum, using the donation relay as an opportunity. The museum will be introduced through the official YouTube content "Jang Miran's Neighborhood Tour." This content will vividly guide viewers through the current status of the museum's construction, stories related to the artifacts donated by Vice Minister Jang, and various activities available near the museum, such as fitness certification and art exhibitions. On the National Sports Museum's YouTube channel, videos of the Korea Sports Star Donation Relay will be available. The official YouTube channel of the Korean government will also release a video highlighting the value of sports that connects the past and the future, in which Vice Minister Jang will make a special appearance.
Vice Minister Jang stated, "It is an honor to participate as the first runner in the donation relay. While these artifacts are personally meaningful to me, I believe it is even more important to share them with the public and pass on their value to the next generation. I hope that the donation relay will widely promote the opening of the National Sports Museum and that the museum will become a central space for conveying the history and inspiration of Korean sports. I encourage everyone to participate and show great interest."
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