sports

The 12th national folk sports contest of agricultural workers took place in Pyongyang.

More than 200 players selected from provinces (cities directly under the central authority) competed in four events of ssirum (Korean wrestling), Taekwon-Do, swinging and seesaw in the contest.

Taekwon-Do, the nation’s orthodox martial art, was most popular among the participants and spectators in the contest.

Team pattern drew the attention of the audience in the event, which was divided into the categories of team pattern, men's and women's individual pattern, power breaking and special technique.

Spectacular was the team pattern, in which dozens of players play in formations to show the features of their teams while ensuring the unity of action in the sport movements to exhibit their strength and vigour and which reminds spectators of who popular the national martial art is.

Power breaking and special technique were also a sight.

The spectators broke into thunderous applause as they saw the players smashing pine boards, bricks and glass bottles with their bare hands and knocking down three to four opponents single-handedly.

After seeing the power breaking and special technique matches, Rim Yong Sik, living in Othan-dong of Central District, said that they were exciting matches showing that Taekwon-Do is not merely a sports event, but an unarmed fighting method which played a part in defeating the aggressors from olden times.

Kangwon Province won first place, with South Phyongan Province finishing runner-up and North Hwanghae Province coming third in the Taekwon-Do event.

Ssirum, or Korean wrestling, matches were also thrilling.

Players, who competed in their strength and wisdom, grappling with each other by holding their thigh bands, were covered in sweat on their foreheads and backs. And the matches were so thrilling and nail-biting that the venue was filled with the sounds of cheers and gongs, drumbeats and applause of the audience.

It drew particular interest of the audience as the players of South Hamgyong Province were all farmers of the Raha Fruit Farm in Pukchong County.

An organizer of the contest said they had won third place in a national tournament in 2018, adding that the fact that employees of a farm took part in a sports event to represent the province and became one of three riders on the podium tells the Korean wrestling has become a part of their everyday life.

This time the players from the Raha Fruit Farm in Pukchong County, South Hamgyong Province, advanced one more step forward to be placed second in the event.

Players of Kangwon Province won first place in ssirum.

The venues of swinging and seesaw games played by women agricultural workers were also crowded with audience.

Women employees of the Jongbang Farm attracted special attention of the audience as members of a family participated as players in the swinging and seesaw games of the 12th national sports contests of agricultural workers.

Hwang Kum Ok and Song Il Gyong, employees of the Jongbang Farm in Sariwon City of North Hwanghae Province, are mother and daughter. They paired up to play the swinging games and showed exciting scenes. Hwang Un Bok, a nephew of Hwang Kum Ok, also competed in the seesaw games, performing spectacular stunts.

After the contest they said that they had all been strangers to sports, but they took part in the national event because they wanted to show the changed life of their family in the era when the countryside changes.

South Phyongan Province ranked first, with South Hamgyong and Kangwon provinces being placed second and third in the total team standings of the contest.