On the 31st, the Korea Traditional Wrestling Association successfully held 'Street Wrestling Match' and 'Dano Wrestling Competition' at Sejong Lake Park and the National Folk Museum as part of the '2025 Bringing Traditional Wrestling.'
The 5th day of the lunar month is Dano, one of Korea's representative festivals, where traditional customs such as making Dano rice cakes, washing hair in changpo water, swinging, and enjoying wrestling have been passed down.
Dano was designated as 'Wrestling Day,' a legal commemorative day to honor the tradition and symbolism of wrestling on Jan. 17, 2012, marking the 14th occurrence this year. The Korea Traditional Wrestling Association prepared a wrestling experience venue for citizens to reflect on the significance of Dano and enjoy this meaningful festival.
The 'Street Wrestling Match' held at Sejong Lake Park began at 1 p.m. with an exciting demonstration by the Jungwon University wrestling team, followed by a 'Wrestling Experience Classroom' where citizens could learn and experience wrestling, receiving a warm response. After the experience, an 'Instant Wrestling Competition' with 16 teams in both men's and women's categories was held, showcasing intense competition.
On the same day, the 'Dano Wrestling Competition' held at the National Folk Museum of Korea also opened with a demonstration by the Yeonshin Middle School wrestling team. Following this, a 'Wrestling Experience Classroom' where citizens learned simple techniques took place, along with an 'Instant Wrestling Competition.' In a photo zone set up at the event venue, visitors, especially families, drew significant interest by trying on wrestling uniforms.
At both events, trophies and cash prizes were awarded to the winners, runners-up, and joint third places of the instant wrestling competition, while all participants received souvenirs, enhancing the significance of the events.
'2025 Bringing Traditional Wrestling' is an expansion project supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation established to provide opportunities for people to experience wrestling directly in various festivals across the country, including local festivals, universities, traditional markets, and beach festivals.
The '2025 Bringing Traditional Wrestling' event held at Sejong Lake Park and the National Folk Museum for Dano provided a meaningful time to savor the significance of the traditional festival and enjoy wrestling, Korea's unique traditional sport, in a more approachable manner.
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