Organizing Committee Sets Up Stadium in Front of Former Jeonnam Provincial Office
Finals and Major Events Scheduled Through the 12th
Netherlands Wins First Mixed Team Gold on the 7th
The special competition venue at 5·18 Democracy Square in front of the old Jeonnam Provincial Office in Dong-gu, Gwangju, where the gold medal finals for individual, team, and mixed events in compound and recurve categories of the Archery Championships are held. Photo by Kim Wanjung
At the special stadium set up at the former Jeonnam Provincial Office, the final site of resistance during the 5·18 Democratization Movement, top archers from Korea and around the world are competing for medals. As an international event held at a sacred site of democratization, it is raising global awareness of the historical significance and message of peace embodied by the 5·18 Democratization Movement.
According to the 2025 World Archery Championships Organizing Committee and Gwangju City on September 8, the gold medal finals for individual, team, and mixed events in both compound and recurve categories are being held at the special stadium at 5·18 Democracy Square in front of the former Jeonnam Provincial Office. The competition, which began the previous day and will continue until the 12th, spans a record six days. The organizing committee installed the special stadium at the site that served as the final stronghold of the citizen militia in May 1980 and as the setting for Han Kang's Nobel Prize-winning novel "Human Acts."
The city selected 5·18 Democracy Square, a location of historical significance, as the venue for the finals to promote the event's theme, "Resonance of Peace," to the world. The spectator area accommodates 800 seats, with dedicated wheelchair spaces at the front to enhance accessibility for people with disabilities.
In the compound mixed team final held at the special stadium the previous day, the Netherlands' Mike Schloesser and Sanne de Laat defeated India's Rishabh Yadav and Jyothi Surekha Vennam by a score of 157 to 155, winning the gold medal by a two-point margin. This marked the first gold medal of the Gwangju World Archery Championships and the first medal awarded at an international event at 5·18 Democracy Square, the symbol of Korean democracy. Later in the afternoon, the compound men's individual final is scheduled to take place.
The former Jeonnam Provincial Office was the birthplace of the resistance in May 1980, where university students and citizens gathered to hold the National Democratic Rally, aspiring for democracy, peace, and human rights in the face of the new military regime's oppression. The citizen militia set up situation rooms here to resist the brutal violence of the martial law forces, and on the early morning of May 27, 1980, many of them lost their lives when the martial law army launched its final assault on the building.
The special stadium is surrounded by the former Jeonnam Provincial Office, Sangmugwan Hall, the fountain, and Jeonil Building 245. With the shooting range at the center, the former provincial office stands to the right and Jeonil Building 245 to the left. Some citizens even climbed Jeonil Building to get a view of the archery field.
The organizing committee plans to showcase Gwangju as a city where sports, culture, and history converge to the world by holding the finals at the special stadium.
An official from the organizing committee stated, "After visiting 5·18 Democracy Square dozens of times and much deliberation, we decided to build the finals stadium here. The World Archery Federation has a tradition of holding finals at the most symbolic location in the host city," adding, "Democracy Square is rich in historical significance and symbolism, making it the most suitable venue for this championship's finals."
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