KPC3449: The 100th Anniversary of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee

The Republic of Korea has established itself as a sports powerhouse, coming in fourth in the 1988 Summer Olympic Games as well as the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and hosted mega sporting events including the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, FINA World Championships, and World Athletics Championships. This year marks the 100th year since the foundation of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC), which has played a critical role in helping Korea write this remarkable sports history. Honoring its 100th anniversary, Korea Post issues the commemorative stamp 100th Anniversary of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee.

At a time when Japan shifted its direction from military rule to cultural hegemony after the March 1st Movement, Joseon athletes, of which many student studying abroad in Tokyo, began to unit. Finally on July 13, 1920, around 90 stakeholders came together at Central Church in Insa-dong and launched the Joseon Sports Society. In just three months since its foundation, the Joseon Sports Society successfully held the 1st Joseon Baseball Competition, which is the origin of today`s National Sports Festival. It gradually positioned itself in the country with the hosting of the 1st Joseon Football Competition and Joseon Tennis Competition in the next year. By 1925, the Joseon Sports Society began to host competitions in various sporting events such as baseball, football, tennis, and track and field, thereby fully establishing its framework and serving as a linchpin for sports stakeholders in Joseon. The Joseon Sports Society was disbanded after merging into the Joseon Sports Association in July 1938, but it was restored after the country`s liberation and renamed after the country`s new name to the Korea Sport Council on September 3, 1948.

Despite difficult times, sports developed in the country, providing great energy and joy to Koreans. Many Korean athletes gave hope to its citizens, such as marathoner Sohn Kee-chung, the first Korean albeit as a member of the Japanese delegation to win a gold Olympic medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, and wrestler Yang Jung-mo, the first Korean to win a gold Olympic medal after the foundation of the Republic of Korea at the 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal. Subsequently, Korea has not only successfully hosted the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, but also performed remarkably in various sports disciplines. Furthermore, Korea successfully held the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, confirm its global standing in the world.

This commemorative stamp for the 100th anniversary of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee includes images of three sports disciplines hosted in the early days of the Joseon Sports Society: baseball, football and tennis. From athletes in blue, red and white representing the symbol of Taegeuk and Koreans as `the people of white clothes,` you can see the value of modern sports, which served as a symbol against imperial Japan 100 years ago. We hope this commemorative stamp provides an opportunity to reflect on 100 years of proud history of sports in Korea.