Yeongam-gun Folk Ssireum Team Sweeps 3 Weight Classes at Seollal Jangsa Ssireum Tournament

Jang Sung-woo Baekdu Jangsa, Oh Chang-rok Halla Jangsa, Heo Seon-haeng Taebaek Jangsa Crowned

Yeongam-gun Folk Ssireum Team Achieves Grand Slam with First Taebaek Jangsa

Halla Jangsa champion Oh Chang-rok, who won his 7th personal career title (Photo by Yeongam-gun)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] The Jeonnam Yeongam-gun Folk Ssireum Team achieved a brilliant feat by winning the titles in three weight classes?Baekdu Jangsa, Hallasan Jangsa, and Taebaek Jangsa?at the ‘2021 Seollal Jangsa Ssireum Tournament’ hosted by the Korea Ssireum Association and organized by the Hapcheon-gun Ssireum Association.

According to Yeongam-gun on the 16th, at the year’s first tournament held from the 10th to the 15th at the Hapcheon-gun Citizens Gymnasium in Gyeongsangnam-do, the Yeongam-gun Folk Ssireum Team once again proved to be the strongest team on the sandpit by securing the top spot in three weight classes.

In the Taebaek Jangsa final held on the 11th, Heo Seon-haeng, newly recruited to the Yeongam-gun Folk Ssireum Team this year, defeated the rising powerhouse Ulsan-gun Office’s No Beom-su 2-1 in the semifinals, and then dramatically won 3-2 against Suwon City Office’s Moon Jun-seok in the championship match with dazzling techniques, earning his second personal Taebaek Jangsa title.

Also, on the third day of the tournament, the 13th, in the Hallasan Jangsa final, Oh Chang-rok easily defeated Yongin Baekok Rice’s Woo Hyung-won 3-1, securing his seventh personal championship and establishing himself as the absolute strongman in the Hallasan division.

On the fourth day, the 14th, Jang Sung-woo, who holds the Cheonhajangsa title for two consecutive times, showed overwhelming skill superiority by defeating the experienced Ulsan-gun Office’s Jeong Kyung-jin 3-1, claiming the Baekdu Jangsa title once again.

Players Heo Seon-haeng, Oh Chang-rok, and Jang Sung-woo impressed ssireum fans nationwide by demonstrating the essence of dynamic and spectacular technical ssireum based on their outstanding skills. Through this, they also effectively promoted local specialties such as the attractive Maeryeok Hanwoo beef and Dalmagi rice, imprinting these excellent agricultural, livestock, and specialty products of Yeongam-gun in viewers’ minds and fulfilling their role as regional ambassadors.

Meanwhile, the Yeongam-gun Folk Ssireum Team strengthened its roster by newly recruiting Heo Seon-haeng, an idol star in the Taebaek division, and Kim Jin-ho in the Geumgang division. They are expanding Yeongam’s brand power through appearances on entertainment shows such as ‘Boss, Your Ears Are Donkey Ears’ and participation in various folk ssireum tournaments, alongside promoting county administration.

Thus, since its founding in 2017, the Yeongam-gun Folk Ssireum Team has rewritten the history of Korean ssireum by achieving a grand total of 39 championships, including 34 Jangsa titles?two of which are Cheonhajangsa?two gold medals at the National Sports Festival, and three team championships up to this tournament.

Jeon Dong-pyeong, Governor of Yeongam-gun, stated, “The Yeongam-gun Folk Ssireum Team has proven once again that it is the absolute powerhouse in the ssireum world by achieving a grand slam, winning championships in all weight classes from Taebaek to Baekdu within four years of its founding.” He added, “We will spare no effort to help the Yeongam-gun Folk Ssireum Team widely promote Korean ssireum and the name of Yeongam-gun.”

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