A competitor focuses on the baking event at the 42nd National Skills Competition for People with Disabilities, held at Gangneung Speed Skating Arena in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, on Tuesday. [Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities]
A competitor focuses on the baking event at the 42nd National Skills Competition for People with Disabilities, held at Gangneung Speed Skating Arena in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, on Tuesday. [Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities]

South Korea will hold national team selection trials for the 11th International Abilympics, set to take place in Finland next year. Having claimed the overall title seven consecutive times, the country will look to extend that streak to eight with the athletes chosen through this process.

The Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities announced Tuesday that the trials will run Wednesday through Friday at four venues, including the Ilsan Vocational Competency Development Institute.

A total of 53 competitors will contest 12 trades — food carving, hairdressing, basket making, photography, cooking, welding, embroidery, confectionery, baking, computer information and communications, cake decorating, and fashion and design — competing for a spot on the national team. Food carving is among the trades not held at domestic competitions.

The top scorer in each trade will earn the right to represent South Korea at the 11th International Abilympics in Helsinki, Finland, in May next year.

Separately, national team selection for 18 trades held at the national championships — including furniture making, mechanical drafting CAD, nail care, data processing, woodcraft, visual design, web design and development, and computer programming — will take place alongside the 43rd National Competition in Busan in 2026.

South Korea will therefore field a national team across 30 trades at the international competition, with athletes competing against skilled participants from around the world.

The International Abilympics was launched to mark the International Year of Disabled Persons, designated by the UN in 1981. The event is held every four years to improve the vocational skills of people with disabilities, promote their employment and raise awareness of their professional capabilities.

South Korea has established itself as a dominant force at the International Abilympics, winning the overall title at seven consecutive editions — from the 4th through the 10th, held in France in 2023. A victory in Helsinki next year would give the country an eighth straight overall championship.


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