KOREAN NET

Korean American community is brimming with excitement as the 22nd Korean American National Sports Festival will be held in New York on June 23. The Korean American National Sports Festival has been postponed for several years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For New York, this is the first time in 40 years to host the festival this summer. The New York Organizing Committee for the 22nd Korean American National Sports Festival was established in Flushing, NY and Kwak Woo-Cheon and Lee Seok-Chan were appointed as joint chairpersons. Honorary President Ki-heung Lee and President of Korean Sports Association in USA are also working with the committee for successful event. According to the committee, they are expecting approximately 6,000 participants as of now.

Festival Poster

Korea Sports Association in USA was founded as a U.S. branch of the Korean Sports & Olympic Committee in July 1972 and since then, it became an association and has 30 branches all around the United States. Korea Sports Association in USA also send Korean American athletes to the annual Korean National Sports Festival.

With less than 100 days left until the opening, the committee held a press conference to announce that they are closing a contract with New York’s Nassau County for the use of stadiums for over 20 categories of sports and already secured dormitory with the occupancy of 1,500.

Under the slogan of “An Unifying Sports Event in the United States at the heart of a State of Dreams, New York,” this sports event will be held from June 23rd to 25th. Athletes from 32 regions including LA, Chicago, Washington DC, and San Francisco will be competing in 22 categories. Competitions include: archery, badminton, baseball, softball, soccer, bowling, golf, kendo, jokgu, marathon, shooting, basketball, ssireum (traditional Korean wrestling), swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, track & field, and ice hockey.

Inauguration ceremony of the 2022 Organizing Committee (Source: Korean American National Sports Festival)

This year’s Korean American National Sports Festival is the first since the 20th festival held in Seattle back in 2019. The objective is for unity and cohesion of Korean American community and to promote healthy lifestyle through sports.
For the first time in its history, this year’s festival will have participation from Korean living abroad in Europe, Asia, and South America to broaden its horizon to global participation. Korea’s Chungnam Sports Association which signed a MOU with New York Sports Association has also applied to participate in this year’s festival.

KISS USA, a Korean American owned company based in New York sponsored 500,000 USD as a main sponsor for the event; other sponsors include Samsung, Korean Air, Hana Financial Group and other big and small enterprises owned by Korean Americans based in New York and New Jersey. Another thing to note is a torch relay from Los Angeles to New York over the course of one month - this transcontinental event is expecting to draw crowds. The committee also is in preparation of publishing a white paper to record the history and significance of the Korean American National Sports Festival to set an example for future events. White Paper Publication Committee is helmed by Professor Kyu-soo Chung from Kennesaw State University based in Atlanta, GA. This committee is planning on publication by the end of this year. Also the committee announced that volunteers and staff members for the event will be of second and third generation immigrants, further boosting the significance of the festival.

Festival torch relay (Source: Korean American National Sports Festival)

The opening act will be held in Nassau Coliseum, a long island venue with 15,000 seats on June 23. There will be a performance by a K-pop group. There are other cultural events planned as well. Among them is a Korean food event where patrons can enjoy Korean food that are currently very popular.

Taking advantage of the location of New York, the website for the festival will have New York’s popular tourist attraction information for athletes and staffs visiting New York so that all participants can enjoy their visits to where it was once dubbed the capital of the world. Dongbu Tour, a Korean-owned tourism company, will provide information on night sight of Manhattan and Broadway musicals among other things.

Chairperson Kwak requested support from the Korean government during President Yoon Seok-yeol’s visit to New York; South Korean president responded positively to the proposal, prompting an expectation of support from the South Korean government.

New York's politicians are also promising to sponsor this festival. Governor Kathy Hochul sent a message, hoping that “this event serves as an opportunity to create unity and sense of community among Korean Americans,” and Mayor Eric Adams of New York City sent a message saying: “This event, held in New York City, can inspire New Yorkers greatly.”