Youth sports exchanges held in Korea and Japan

The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee successfully concluded the 30th Korea-Japan Youth Sports Exchange in Daejeon. Held from the 2nd to the 7th, the event brought together 434 participants, including 216 athletes from Japan's Mie and Hyogo prefectures, to participate in joint training and matches across five disciplines: football, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, and badminton.

Following this event, a Korean delegation is scheduled to visit Mie Prefecture, Japan, from the 16th to the 21st of this month to continue cultural and sporting exchanges. This annual program, active since 1997, aims to foster friendship and mutual understanding between elementary and middle school students of both nations.

Separately, Gyeongju has announced the kickoff of the 2026 Hwarangdaegi National Youth Football Tournament. Scheduled from the 28th of this month to the 12th of next month, the tournament is expected to host approximately 15,000 participants, including 800 teams from across South Korea. The city is preparing various facilities and traffic measures to support the event, which will be followed by an international youth football tournament in October involving teams from seven different countries.