Sports

Sports

 

 

 

South Korea’s favorite sports are very similar to our own

Here is a small list of favorite Korean Sports

• Baseball

  Baseball was first introduced to Korea in 1905 by an American missionary named Phillip Gillette
  and has since become the most popular spectator sport in South Korea. The first South Korean professional sports
  league was the Korea Baseball Association, established in 1982. During the 2006 World Baseball Classic, South Korea
  reached the final four before losing to Japan. Prior to that final match, the South Korean team was the only undefeated
  team, and had beaten Japan twice and the United States once.

• Taekwondo

  Taekwondo, a popular martial art, originated in Korea. Taekwondo roughly translates to the
  way of punching and kicking, although it is sometimes translated as the way of the hands and feet. It became
  standard military training in South Korea, and in 1961 the rules were standardized and Taekwondo became an official
  Olympic sport in 2000. Taekwondo in the military is an integral part in the Korean land forces. Other Korean martial
  arts include subak and taekkyeon.

• Soccer

  Since the 1960s, South Korea has emerged as a major football power in Asia and is historically
  the most successful Asian football team, having participated in eight consecutive and nine overall FIFA World Cup
  tournaments, the most for any Asian country. Despite initially going through five World Cup tournaments without winning
  a match, South Korea became the first and currently only Asian team to reach the semi-final stages when they co-hosted
  the 2002 tournament with Japan.

• Short Track Skating

  During the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin the South Korean short track team dominated
  their event, taking home six of the eight gold medals available as well as three silvers and one bronze. Skaters
  Ahn Hyun Soo and Jin Sun-Yu were the second and third persons in the Games to win three gold medals.

• Major League Gaming

  Video games take on a sport-like presentation in South Korea, the most popular of
  which being Starcraft. Although not recognized as a sport in its own right, the professional leagues are televised
  through channels such as MBC Game and OnGameNet with announcers, professional players and big-name sponsors such as
  Adidas. The three major professional Starcraft leagues are Proleague, MSL and OSL. See StarCraft professional
  competition for more information.

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Created By:

Delaney Patch

Argyle Midlle School

South Korean Sports

Wikipedia