Ssireum : a new lease of life

Abstract

I grew up in a poor family and they promised me bread and milk if I trained to be a pro-Ssireum player,” said Mr Lee. He is now a Ssireum coach at Uiseong Middle School, a team located in the distant countryside three hours away from Seoul. It is also the only school that has some monetary support from the government for Ssireum programs. On weekdays, he stays with the students in the three-room dormitory. Ssireum, or Korean traditional wrestling, dates back to 57 BC to 668 AD, or the Three Kingdoms period. It has a long history in Korea but is a relatively unknown sport on the international stage, as compared to Korean-dominated sports like Taekwondo, archery or ice-skating. It is also often confused with Japan’s sumo wrestling, even though the two are hardly alike — physicals hits and slaps are not allowed in Ssireum. Student works from GO-FAR 2017.