GOYANG, South Korea, An annual badminton tournament for multicultural families, hosted by Yonhap News Agency, South Korea’s key newswire, was held Saturday to strengthen ties and facilitate communication among the families through the sport.
The 2023 National Multicultural Family Badminton Tournament took place at Goyang Gym in the city of Goyang, just north of Seoul, involving some 500 players and their families across the country. This year’s tournament was also co-hosted with the Goyang City Sports Council.
This photo, taken Dec. 16, 2023, shows players taking part in the 2023 National Multicultural Family Badminton Tournament at Goyang Gym in the city of Goyang, just north of Seoul.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Goyang city government, the Korean Institute for Healthy Family and Yonhap News TV sponsored the event.
Yonhap has hosted the event since 2010 to promote harmony among families of diverse national and cultural backgrounds in an increasingly diversifying society.
“The tournament has been held every year without a hiatus even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic due to the participants’ passion,” Seong Ghi-hong, CEO and president of Yonhap News Agency, said in his congratulatory speech.
“I hope that this year all the players will be able to strut their skills without getting hurt and their families will have good memories,” he said.
Gender Equality Minister Kim Hyun-sook said in a welcoming speech read by a senior ministry official that the government will set up various policies to help multicultural families grow and live in a harmonious society.
Four-time Olympic pistol shooting champion Jin Jong-oh, co-president of the organizing committee for the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics, said if people share their favorite exercise as a hobby, they can form a bond beyond language barriers.
“Badminton is a sport that anyone can enjoy anytime and anywhere if they have rackets and a shuttlecock. It is the best sport showing elite sports and sports for all can go in tandem,” Jin said in a congratulatory message.
Source: Yonhap News Agency