Types of Leisure Programmes

There are many different kinds of leisure activities undertaken by the Koreans. Apart from the festivities, Koreans are also avid sports and outdoorsenthusiasts. Baseball, football andbasketball are among the most popular spectator sports in the country. Koreans enjoy practicing Taekwondo, as well as Ssireum, a form of wrestling that originates from Korea. As for recreational activities, StarCraft is enjoyed by many and is widespread, common and popular among Koreans.

i. Spectator Sports

Koreans love to watch sports and games as part of their part time. Thisis because they believe that it helps create a senseof togetherness and help in bonding within the community. Some of the most popular spectator sports include football, baseball and basketball. Although these sports are a result of foreign influence, it has helped to boost national pride and develop a cultural identity for Korea.

Here is a blogpost about how Korean idols showed their support for the Korean football team during FIFA World Cup 2010: http://popreviewsnow.blogspot.com/2010/05/kpop-conquers-world-cup.html

ii. Martial Arts

a. Taekwondo

Taekwondo is a modern martial-art thatoriginated from Korea, and is known for its special characteristics which include fast, high and spinning kicks. The term literally means the technique ofkicking and punching, but this martial art emphasizes more on kicks than punches. It has been in practice for centuries, dated back as early as 50 B.C. Taekwondo is a self-defense martial art, and is widely practiced in many countries around the world.

More information on Taekwondo can be found on the World Taekwondo Federation website (http://www.wtf.org/wtf_eng/main/main_eng.html), as well as this: http://www.barrel.net/

b. Ssireum

Ssireum is a form of wrestling that originates and can only be found in Korea. Traditionally, it is practiced as combat forself-defense and a part of rituals in the ancient tribal states. It is very similar to the Japanese’s Sumo wrestling. In modern day context, it is usually enjoyed as a folk sport and spectator sport.

Let me share a video I have found online about Ssireum with you.

You can also read more about Ssireum here: http://ynucc.yeungnam.ac.kr/~ssi/eindex.html

iii. Recreational Activities

One of the most common recreational activities undertaken by the Koreans is the playing of the computer game, StarCraft. Known as one of Korea’s national sport, StarCraft has many devoted fans and players in the high-tech South Korea. According to professional gamer Greg Fields, StarCraft’s popularity in Korea is because “It was in the middle of an economic recession and (StarCraft) was easy, cheap entertainment.” Another speculation, quoted from kotaku.com, was that “when Blizzard launched StarCraft in the late 1990s South Korea was building up its online infrastructure and creating the fastest internet in the world”. Because of its booming popularity, many gaming leagues for StarCraft held in Korea every year, such as the MBCgame Starleague. It is even enjoyed by top Korean entertainers, such as Super Junior’s KyuHyun, who is an avid fan of StarCraft.

You can read more about the StarCraft craze from these articles: http://kotaku.com/5595262/why-is-starcraft-so-popular-in-korea and http://articles.cnn.com/2010-07-27/tech/south.korea.starcraft_1_starcraft-ii-gaming-market-internet-cafes?_s=PM:TECH