Handball H-League Opens on the 15th... Vice Minister Kim Daehyun to Throw Ceremonial First Pitch

169 Matches Scheduled Across 7 Regions Nationwide Until May Next Year

The 2025-2026 Shinhan SOL-Bank Handball H-League will open on November 15 at the Handball Gymnasium in Olympic Park.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on November 14 that Second Vice Minister Kim Daehyun will attend the opening ceremony to deliver a congratulatory speech and throw the ceremonial first pitch, expressing support for the successful hosting of the tournament.

The H-League is South Korea's premier professional handball league, featuring 14 teams (6 men's teams and 8 women's teams). Last season, the league attracted a record-high total of 53,521 spectators, a 41% increase compared to the previous season. This year, a total of 169 games will be held across seven regions nationwide-Seoul, Incheon, Gwangmyeong, Cheongju, Gwangju, Busan, and Samcheok-until May 5 of next year.

Starting this year, handball has newly joined the Ministry's 'Sports Club Division (Promotion and Relegation League)' initiative. This program establishes a league structure where teams are promoted or relegated into upper and lower groups based on their performance in each sport, aiming to create a natural link between community sports and elite sports. This year, a total of 24.6 billion won in government funding is being provided for promotion and relegation leagues in 11 sports, including soccer and baseball. For handball, 875 million won has been allocated for purposes such as stadium rental, league administrators, referees, and staff allowances.

In addition, the Ministry is providing a total of 133 million won to four handball teams through the 'Workplace Sports Team' program, which supports sports teams operated by local governments, public institutions, and companies. This program offers funding for training equipment and competition participation fees to both newly established and existing teams. This year, a total of 16.3 billion won was allocated to 79 organizations (325 teams) out of 365 organizations (863 teams) operating workplace sports teams nationwide.

Vice Minister Kim Daehyun stated, "Handball is a sport of challenge and passion, remembered as 'the best moment of our lives.' The Ministry will continue to support handball so that it can become a sport embedded in everyday life."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.