Archery Legend Kim Jin-ho's Archery Range Where Kim Je-deok Trained, Will an Archery Range Named After Him Also Be Established?

Archery Mecca Gyeongbuk Yecheon Sees Kim Je-deok's 'Gold Wind'... Gyeongbuk Ilgo Archery Range to Be Completed Next Year

Tokyo Olympic archery gold medalist Kim Je-deok. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The Kim Je-deok wave is rising strongly in Yecheon, Gyeongbuk, which is becoming the ‘Mecca’ of Korean archery training.

Immediately, the construction of an archery range at Gyeongbuk Ilgo High School, where Tokyo Olympic double gold medalist Kim Je-deok is currently enrolled, is being expedited.

Originally, there was a plan to build an archery range on campus when Kim Je-deok entered the school. However, due to budget securing and preparation issues, the project had been stalled, but it has now accelerated like an arrow shot from Kim Je-deok’s bowstring.

Until now, Kim Je-deok had to travel daily to Jin-ho International Archery Range, located more than 10 km away from the school, for training.

The training ground where Kim honed his skills to seize gold in Tokyo was named after Kim Jin-ho, a female archery legend from Yecheon.

The archery range to be built at Gyeongbuk Ilgo High School has not yet been named, but Kim Je-deok and junior archers at the school will be able to aim at targets at the ‘Kim Je-deok Archery Range,’ which will be completed next year, without having to travel far for training.

The Gyeongbuk Provincial Office of Education, energized by Kim’s victory, is putting great effort into the construction project. Last November, the Gyeongbuk Office of Education purchased a 3,097㎡ site in Yecheon County’s neighborhood park area on the eastern boundary of the school for about 500 million KRW to build the archery range at Gyeongbuk Ilgo High School in Homyeong-myeon, Yecheon County.

After the design work is completed, the specific project cost will be calculated, and construction is planned to start early next year and be completed by October. If the budget is secured quickly, the construction schedule may be advanced.

Yecheon County is also expected to contribute about 400 to 500 million KRW toward the archery range construction.

Currently, among schools in the Gyeongbuk region, 12 schools have dedicated archery training facilities: 5 in Yecheon, 4 in Gyeongju, and 3 in Gyeongsan.

Once the Gyeongbuk Ilgo archery range is built, Yecheon will be able to more clearly wave the name of the ‘Mecca of Archery.’

Just as the Jin-ho International Archery Range was established to honor Kim Jin-ho, who won 11 gold medals at the World Championships and Asian Games and is from Yecheon, there is interest in whether the Gyeongbuk Ilgo archery range will also bear the name of Olympic double gold medalist Kim Je-deok.

A Gyeongbuk Office of Education official said, “Kim Je-deok has recharged the region with new vitality and become a great source of pride,” adding, “Various discussions are ongoing about the name of the archery training center, but nothing has been finalized yet.”

Whatever name is given, Kim Je-deok’s gold is breathing new life into Yecheon, the hometown of archery.

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