Every nation has its own culture and traditions that have been formed and consolidated through history. Korean nation has been well known to the world for their strong character and high spirit of unity since time immemorial. The excellent national character of Koreans who have strong united force is reflected in national athletics that has been inherited and developed through generations as it is.
Chairman
"The national character embodies the spirit of national independence and the cultural traditions of a nation, which constitute a precious wealth of the country and nation and an important asset for the building of socialism."
National athletics shows a nation's disposition and character, emotion and tastes in a concentrated way.
Korean nation's spirit of unity reflected in national athletics can be found in their enjoying team sports such as a tug of war that requires the strong united force and collective spirit.
A tug of war, the typical event of Koreans' national athletics, has thousands of years of history and traditions.
A historical writing Rimhaphilgi says that a tug of war is an ancient practice in the days of Koryo(Koguryo) and Silla, which shows that it prevailed over the Three States on the Korean Peninsula. A tug of war can be attended by many people simultaneously irrespective of time, place and age and is a typical event requiring the unity of a group and consistency in their action, thus truthfully reflecting the special character of Koreans who value unity.
Korean people who have strong united force from ancient times have enjoyed playing at a tug of war that demonstrates the might of a group with the attendance of many people. On folk festivals such as the 15th of the first month by lunar calendar was held a tug of war across the country in a grand way, which was said to be a thrilling scene to see.
At that time, it took place between two villages and before the match, each village had to prepare a heavy rope twisted together thickly of rice straw or arrowroot on which were tied many small cords at the intervals of one metre. It cost a lot of time and labour to make such rope, so the whole villagers put their strength and wisdom together and displayed high level of united force and cooperative spirit.
A tug of war was not a simple sports contest but a sharp competition between two groups' united force and spiritual strength. The group that lacked spiritual strength and united force and whose members' strength, breath and posture were not the same as one failed to win the game.
In this way, the events of national athletics such as a tug of war requiring the group's high level of united force and consistency in action are associated with the excellent traditions and disposition of Korean nation who are strong in their united force.
Korean nation's spirit of unity reflected in national athletics can also be expressed in which the process of playing matches served as the one to strength the collective cohesion and promote the amity of groups.
Ssirum(Korean wrestling) can be cited as the typical example.
Ssirum is an event of national athletics inherent in Korea in which two wrestlers in thigh band employ strength and skill to tumble the opponent down.
As seen by the mural paintings from the period of Koguryo such as mural paintings of Ssirum, Korean wrestling was a developed event of national athletics that took on all aspects of a sports event.
Koreans would do the exciting wrestling at the edge of a field or on the sandy soil by a river and on the grass at a break time when they had rice-transplanting, weeding and harvesting.
The interesting information of Ssirum is a Korean picture "Ssirum" drawn by Kim Hong Do, a great artist in the 18th century. In the centre is the lifelike portrait of a sturdy wrestler trying to throw the opponent to the ground with an excellent skill of a body-twist throw and the opponent trying hard to escape from the crisis. Also, the individual images of people who cheered their wrestler to victory vividly show their sound and optimistic way of life as well as the high spirit of unity.
Korean wrestling with a long history played an important role not only in developing perseverance and fortitude, strength and wisdom among people but also in promoting amity and achieve unity among families, villages and members of the community.
On several occasions such as folk festivals when Ssirum took place, neighbors and villagers of wrestlers, to say nothing of their families, showed their good faith in a several way and encouraged them to win the match.
When a lot of people, without distinction of age or sex, gather together and the match takes place, it is worthy of seeing the wrestlers rival each other in strength and skill employing a variety of Ssirum skills and yet it is also conspicuous to see people watching the match with great excitement and joyfully surrounding their wrestler to congratulate him on having won the match enthusiastically, all of which creates a thrilling sight of Ssirum.
Through this course, close ties of trust and cooperation are formed among people, which leads to harmony and unity of a collective.
Japanese imperialists who occupied Korea in the last century made frantic efforts to eliminate national athletics, including a tug of war and Ssirum, saying that they were the "dangerous games" to cultivate the Koreans' united force and anti-Japanese spirit.
In June 1922, when 40 thousand people had a tug of war in Jinju as an ancestral practice, Japanese police came there to disperse a crowd mercilessly, which happened in other areas.
Korean national athletics that was suffering from the vicious colonial rule of Japanese imperialists ushered in a new history of its development after the country's liberation under the wise leadership of President
Although there were a great number of problems to be solved urgently under the complex situation after liberation, the President gave a precious instruction relating to the development of national athletics of the country on September 20, Juche 34(1945), the following day after his triumphal return.
Saying that the development of national athletics Koreans liked was extremely repressed by the Japanese policy of obliterating national culture, he instructed that physical culture should be developed on a mass basis, especially national athletics Koreans enjoyed be promoted and developed, including Ssirum, swinging, seesawing, a tug of war and archery, in order to develop the country's physical culture and improve the people's bodily strength.
Korean national athletics took a deep hold upon the life of Korean people under the wise guidance of the great leaders who valued national character and carried forward it during the whole period of their revolutionary leadership. Korean people are enjoying national athletics such as Ssirum and a tug of war and further strengthening their force of unity.
Today, Korean national athletics associated with the national spirit of unity is being further promoted and in full bloom under the noble intention and wise leadership of the respected Comrade
