Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young visits the AG site in Japan to attend the opening ceremony and support Korea House

*This content was translated by AI.

Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young (62) heads to Jeong Bu (CEO) for the '2026 Aichi-Nagoya Summer Asian Games' to launch full-scale sports diplomacy and on-site encouragement.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) announced on the 18th that Choi Hwi-yeong (Minister) will visit Nagoya, Japan from the 18th to the 19th for two days to cheer for the South Korean delegation and expand exchanges with the international sports community.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Choi Hwi-yeong (Minister) held a bilateral meeting with Junichi Kawai, Director General of the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs, at the Nagoya site on the 18th to discuss measures to activate cooperation and exchanges in the sports sector between the two countries.

Following this, Choi (Minister) will attend the opening ceremony of 'Korea House,' set up by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Olympic Committee near the athletes' village at Nagoya Port's 'Lives Nagoya.' On that day, more than 10 International Olympic Committee (IOC) members, senior officials from the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), and leaders of National Olympic Committees (NOCs) from various countries were in attendance. Choi (Minister) focused on direct exchanges with them to promote the international status of Korean culture and sports.

The opening of Korea House at a Summer Asian Games is only the second time since the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games. This Korea House will operate until October 3, the day before the closing ceremony of the tournament, featuring exhibitions of official team uniforms, photo zones, experience zones for archery, basketball, and golf, and group cheering events for major competitions. A dedicated rest area for athletes, coaches, and their families has also been prepared.

Support from relevant institutional investors in culture, tourism, and sports continues. The National Museum Culture Foundation will showcase over 70 types of museum product brand 'MU:DS' and commemorative items co-created with the Korean Olympic Committee. The Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) will operate a K-street food sales and cooking experience booth. The Korea Tourism Organization will host a talk show featuring KARA member Kang Ji-young to promote tourism in small cities in the Chungcheong region (Cheongju, Gongju, Buyeo). In addition, a demonstration performance by the Hwasun University of Science and Technology taekwondo team from the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation and promotional activities by the 2027 Chungcheong Universiade Organizing Committee will also take place.

On the second day of his visit, the 19th, Choi (Minister) plans to attend the official opening ceremony of the 2026 Nagoya Asian Games and a reception hosted by the organizing committee to cheer for the Taegeuk warriors dispatched in a delegation of 1,052 athletes across 41 sports events. The main delegation arrived in Japan via Incheon International Airport on the 17th.

Choi Hwi-yeong (Minister) stated, "We will cheer as hard as possible so that the sweat and efforts of our athletes who have trained silently for a long time can bear valuable fruit at the competition venue," and added, "We hope that Korea House becomes a key hub that elevates the status of Korean sports and provides solid support for our delegation."

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*This content was translated by AI.