The 104th edition of the National Sports Games will be held in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, from March 13-19.
A record number of 29,955 athletes (28,477 from 17 provinces and 1,478 from overseas Korean athletic organizations) will compete for medals in 49 events.
Competition will take place at 70 venues, including the main venue, Mokpo Sports Complex.
National athletes who competed in the 19th Asian Games, which concluded in Hangzhou, China, on Aug. 8, will compete in the national championships for the honor of their hometowns and teams.
The Korean Sports Federation will designate as "Prime Events" those events where the national team is expected to compete and where new records and multi-award winners are expected to be created to capture the public's attention.
Swimming and diving's Woo Haram, badminton's Seo Seung-jae and Gong Hee-yong, archery's Lee Im-hyun and An An, swimming's Hwang Sun-woo and Kim Woo-min, and gymnastics' Yeo Seo-jung are all prime events.
The NOC will post the schedule of the prime events on the NOC website and the 104th National Games website.
The opening ceremony, which kicks off at 6:20 p.m. on Aug. 13 at the Mokpo Sports Complex, will be held under the theme of "Ungbihara Jeollanam-do.
Jeonnam Province to light torch at Manisan Chamseongdansi National Stadium
The official torch lighting ceremony for the 104th National Games is being held at Manisan Chamseongdan in Ganghwa-gun, Incheon, on Wednesday morning.
This year's National Games, which will open on Oct. 13, will be held in 70 venues in 22 cities and counties in Jeollanam-do, centered on Mokpo, and will feature 49 sports.
At the opening ceremony, the torch, which was lit at Manisan Mountain in Ganghwa Province on the 3rd and traveled a total of 433 kilometers, will be ignited to signal the start of the competition.
It will express how Jeollanam-do is becoming the center of future industries through media and musical performances, showcasing the sounds and dances of Jeollanam-do and converging advanced technologies such as drones and lasers.
The closing ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. on the 19th at the same venue, and both the opening and closing ceremonies will be broadcast live on KBS 1TV, the host broadcaster.
104th National Games Poster
At the Games, the Korea Olympic Committee will carry out ESG campaigns for "eco-friendly operation" (Environment), "safe competition" (Social), and "fair competition" (Governance).
The use of plastic is prohibited, and to ensure fair competition, videos of the games will be taken and permanent referees will be assigned. 19가이드03