Yeongam County Folk Ssireum Team, Soaring Like a Blue Dragon with the County Residents

Player Signing and Send-off Ceremony: 'The Ssireum Team Belongs to the Residents and Fans'

Five Players Including An Seong-min Jangsa Join, Scholarship and Sports Promotion Fund Donated

The Yeongam-gun Folk Ssireum Team announced the departure of the Cheonhajangsa wrestlers for today and tomorrow in front of the people of Yeongam-gun.

According to the county, the Yeongam-gun Folk Ssireum Team (coach Kim Ki-tae) held a player induction ceremony and departure ceremony at Yeongam County Office on the 31st, attended by about 300 Yeongam residents, expressing their determination to soar like a blue dragon with the energy of the moonlight of Wolchulsan Mountain in the year of Gapjin.

This event was the first time the Yeongam Ssireum Team introduced newly recruited players and declared their ambitions for the year in front of the residents. Under the slogan “The owners of the Ssireum team are the residents and fans,” the 8th elected Yeongam-gun administration decided to increase various public engagements such as departure ceremonies, fan meetings, and training ground openings to help the Yeongam Folk Ssireum Team build self-sustainability on a solid support base, and this event marked the beginning of that effort.

Yeongam Folk Ssireum Team's coach Kim Ki-tae (center) is giving a greeting speech at the 2024 player induction ceremony and send-off ceremony.
[Photo by Yeongam-gun]

The event welcomed the newly inducted players and held a departure ceremony announcing participation in this year’s competitions, including the ‘2024 Taean Seollal Jangsa Ssireum Tournament.’

The newly joined jangsa wrestlers are An Seong-min and Lee Dong-hyeok in the Sobaek class, Lee Eun-su in the Taebaek class, and Jo Yun-ho and Yoo Hwan in the Geumgang class.

An Seong-min, who specializes in Deulbaejigi, graduated from Neungin High School and Dong-A University, and placed 2nd in the lightweight division of the 77th National Ssireum Championship.

Lee Dong-hyeok, who excels in Japchae-gi, graduated from Songgok High School and Inha University, and took 1st place in the lightweight division of the National City and Province University Competition.

Lee Eun-su, born in 2005 and the youngest member of the team, is a strong technical ssireum wrestler who graduated from Gyeongnam Information High School and won the gold medal in the Yongjang division of the high school category at the 104th National Sports Festival.

Jo Yun-ho, a master of Bitchanggeori and Andari, born in 2001, graduated from Bupyeong High School and Jeonju University, and dominated the Yongjang division of the university category at the 37th National City and Province Competition.

Yoo Hwan, a specialist in Deulbaejigi and Japchae-gi, graduated from Bupyeong High School, Dong-A University, and the Jeju Provincial Office Ssireum Team, and won the gold medal in the Yongjang division of the general category at the 104th National Sports Festival.

Led by coach Kim Ki-tae, the team of 17 wrestlers has won a total of 81 titles since its founding in 2017, including 65 jangsa titles, 6 gold medals at the National Sports Festival, and 10 team championships.

Furthermore, through TV appearances, promotion of local specialties, and social contribution activities, the team has gained great support from the people of Yeongam-gun and established itself as an important regional asset with a friendly image.

At the departure ceremony, the Yeongam-gun Folk Ssireum Team donated 10 million won in scholarships to the Yeongam-gun Future Education Foundation to repay the support of the residents.

Also, jangsa Choi Jeong-man donated 5 million won collected through the “Love Japchae-gi” campaign, where he saves 100,000 won each time he wins with his specialty Japchae-gi, as a sports promotion donation.

Governor Woo Seung-hee stated, “The owners of the Yeongam-gun Folk Ssireum Team are the residents and fans of Yeongam-gun. Starting this year, we will create many opportunities for the team, residents, and fans to come together and make the team more beloved.”

Vice President Bae Hyun-seon of the Korea Ssireum Association, Song Jin-ho, chairman of the Jeonnam Sports Council, and other ssireum officials attended the induction and departure ceremonies to offer their congratulations.

The Yeongam-gun Folk Ssireum Team will participate in the Seollal Jangsa Ssireum Tournament held in Taean-gun, Chungnam Province, from the 7th to the 12th of next month. The performances of the Yeongam jangsa wrestlers can be seen on KBS N SPORTS starting from the 8th of next month.

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