The hoop used during the opening ceremony of the 1988 Seoul Olympics [Provided by the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation]
The hoop used during the opening ceremony of the 1988 Seoul Olympics [Provided by the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation]

The National Sports Museum, dedicated to the history and defining moments of Korean sports, opened Thursday at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Seoul Olympic Sports Promotion Foundation held an opening ceremony attended by Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young, figures from the sports and cultural communities, and donors of sports heritage items — about 150 people in all.

The country's first national museum devoted to sports was established to systematically collect and preserve the nation's sports heritage and to use it for exhibition, education and research.

The facility spans two below-ground floors and four above-ground floors, housing a special exhibition hall, a permanent gallery, storage vaults and a rooftop garden. Its collection holds about 70,000 sports-related items.

Highlights include the gold medal won by Suh Yun-bok at the 1947 Boston Marathon, the soccer cleats of Kim Yong-sik — a pioneer of Korean football — the competition uniform worn by Yang Jung-mo, South Korea's first Olympic gold medalist, and the torch and opening-ceremony hoop from the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

To mark the opening, a stamp tour for about 200 members of the public will be held Saturday. Interactive events for general visitors — including a "My Record Card" station and a "Greatest Moments Studio" — have also been prepared.

"I hope the National Sports Museum will become a space where the nation and future generations can share the challenges and emotions embedded in our precious sports heritage," Culture Minister Choi said.


yjc@heraldcorp.com