*This content was translated by AI.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Choi Hwi-young) announced that it has selected 23 competitions to be held in 13 cities and provinces, including the 2026 Gangneung World Masters Table Tennis Championship, the 2026 ISU Short Track World Tour Fourth, the 2026 World Squash Team Championship, and the 2026 Tour de Gyeongnam 2026, to strengthen regional sports competitiveness and boost regional vitality by hosting regional-led international competitions.
The 'Project to Support International Games Hosted by Local Governments' is a project to select competitive and excellent competitions among international competitions held by local governments across the country and support up to 1.8 billion won in operating expenses. The government's budget for 2026 is 7 billion won, a 17% increase from 2025 (6 billion won). Through this project, local governments attract and host excellent competitions to revitalize the local economy and local sports, and athletes are gaining experience in international competitions and improving their performance based on the advantages of domestic hosting. The targets for support in 2026 were selected through screening, focusing on the plan to host the international competition, its capacity to host it, and the ripple effect of the region.
Looking at the results of the selection, "2026 Seoul Marathon," "2026 Tongyeong World Triathlon Cup," and "2026 Daegu Marathon" were selected as support targets in succession following the previous year. The Seoul Marathon, the highest-grade competition (platinum label) of the World Athletics Federation, held the first marathon expo in Korea at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in conjunction with the competition from next year to revitalize related industries and expand the participation of hobbyists.
The 2026 Gangneung World Masters Table Tennis Championships, which will be held at Gangneung Olympic Park in June next year, received high marks for revitalizing the local economy as it is a daily sports competition involving about 4,000 people, including hobbyists and retirees from more than 100 countries around the world. Local governments that have steadily invested in such events as Hongcheon's 3x3 basketball, Siheung's surfing, Yecheon's track and field, and Gyeyang's archery have also received good reviews. The "2026 South Coast Cup International Yacht Competition," a long-distance cruiser race sailing along the southern coast of South Jeolla Province, South Gyeongsang Province, and Busan, and the "2026 Tour de Gyeongnam 2026," an international road cycling competition promoted by five cities and counties in South Gyeongsang Province, are also expected to diversify their sports and increase their regional tourism departments.
The selected local governments are expected to expand the influx of domestic and foreign athletes and visitors, promote international sports exchanges, and expand the base of domestic sports through the hosting of international competitions in the future. This project will serve as an opportunity to spread the regional-led model for hosting specialized international competitions beyond large sports events. In the future, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to give additional points to world championships for each event and expand continuous support for differentiated international competitions that take advantage of regional characteristics.
In order to strengthen local governments' ability to host and host international competitions, the "Observer Program" will also be held in 2026 to provide a place for local government officials and sports organizations to observe excellent international competitions in Korea and share secrets to host and host competitions. Last year, local government officials and sports organizations attended the "2025 U.S.-China Asian Athletics Championships," the "2025 Gwangalli International Women's Beach Volleyball Championships," and the "2025 Suwon Victor Korea Open Badminton Championships" and shared secrets to attract, host and operate the competitions.
Lim Young-ah, a sports cooperation officer at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, "We will continue to support excellent international competitions held by local governments to strengthen Korea's sports competitiveness," adding, "We will actively support local governments to promote the region at home and abroad by branding unique sports."
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*This content was translated by AI.
