*This content was translated by AI.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Choi Hwi-young) held a contest for the "2026 Senior Sports Lecture Program Support Project" for local governments and selected 13 cities and 54 projects.
The Senior Sports Lecture Program Support Project" is a public offering project that selects and supports excellent projects when local governments plan and propose sports lectures that reflect the demands of local seniors' sports and programs and regional characteristics." The target of support shall be centered on the elderly aged 65 or older, but applications can be made up to those aged 50 or older, and generational integration programs can also be operated. The contest was divided into the first in December last year and the second in March this year, and 54 projects were finally selected by reviewing 69 plans submitted by 13 cities and provinces. The selected project will be funded by state funds for three years from 2026 to 2028, and 7.5 billion won will be invested this year. The financial resources shall be provided with a ratio of 5 to 5 for national and local expenses, but Seoul will provide a ratio of 3 to 7. In consideration of the interest and continuous demand of local sites, additional public offerings will be held for local governments in early April.
Looking at the projects selected in the first and second contests, the Busan Sports Big Challenge was well-received for suggesting a virtuous cycle structure in which the elderly learn sports in sports lectures and participate in participation (challenge) programs and receive rewards at the competition. The "Hongcheon Strong Baekse Integrated Sports Support Project" was well received by the judges for presenting an integrated sports model that selects the disabled and basic living recipients first and operates the program with the non-disabled. The "Blooming With Namwon Movement" project received positive reviews for faithfully carrying out preliminary planning based on the analysis of the local population status and the survey on the preference of sports activities for the elderly. The "Youth Uiseong from now on" project was well received for collecting a small participation fee and presenting a long-term plan to convert and operate it into a sports club by signing an agreement with local related agencies after the project is over.
This project focused on three directions to substantially expand participation in sports for the elderly.
First, it plans to lower the participation threshold by actively discovering and supplying elderly preference programs suitable for local conditions and easing the cost burden. This reflects the results of the 2025 National Sports Survey, which cited "absence of programs of interest (44.8%)" and "lack of money (28.5%)" as the biggest reasons for the elderly over 70 years of age without experience in sports lectures and classes.
Second, local governments directly planned and supplied local programs with actual demand so that senior citizens can participate more conveniently in close proximity. This method is intended to compensate for the lack of on-site experience due to lack of use or inconvenience in application, issuance and use procedures for the "elderly sports gift certificate" support project, which was promoted with the supplementary budget in 2025.
Third, we establish a system to verify policy effects with data. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to allow selected local governments to measure their physical strength at the National Physical Fitness Certification Center before and after participating in the program to analyze the effects of physical strength changes and health improvement, and expand and reorganize them into specialized sports projects for the elderly in the future.
Kim Dae-hyun, the second vice minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, "The participation of senior citizens in sports is playing a major role in enhancing the vitality of the community. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will expand the program so that senior citizens can participate in sports activities near their homes without any burden, and will objectively check the changes in physical strength before and after participating in the program to promote effective policies based on data."
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*This content was translated by AI.
