As you probably know, rugby was first started in England, and about hundred years later,
it was first introduced to Korea in 1920. It was a very important sport for Koreans
because it was the only way to vent anger during Japan's colonial rule over the peninsula.
After that, rugby in Korea has achieved tremendous results and has grown very quickly.
Since the first rugby competition was held at the Asian games in 1998, Korea has won a
total of 4 gold medals and one silver medal. This feat is made even more impressive,
given that Korea's resources are much smaller than those of Japan.
However, after the 2002 Asian games, the Koreas rugby leaders failed to shift interest in rugby to the next generation. As a result, Korean rugby was weakened due to the lack of players, coaches, teams, and referees. So although Korea used to be the only Asian country that was a
threat to Japan, this no longer became the case. In 2003, the catastrophic decline led to a score difference of 83 points.
However, recently, rugby has begun to draw new interest among Koreans thanks to
financial support from foreign companies and a five-year plan for its development in
Korea. These are the goals for the future of rugby in Korea.
The first dream is to expand rugby across Korea as well as the rest of Asia in the hopes
that it will finally allow it to become an Olympic sport and be enjoyed by people from
all parts of Korea and Asia.
Korea's second dream is to ultimately participate in the Rugby World Cup. Up until now
Japan has been the only participating country representing Asia. In the 2007 Rugby
World Cup, we saw the very first Korean player participate; but he was also
unfortunately a member of another nation's team.
We can draw a brief, but strong parallel between the history of soccer in Korea and the
future of rugby here. Korea first participated in the Soccer World Cup in 1954. The
results were nine to nil and seven to nil. And yet, about 50 years later, Korea hosted the
soccer world cup and advanced to the semi finals. The belief is that Korea's
participation in the rugby world cup could be the same kind of ignition needed for
strong growth in participation and interest.
For these goals to be accomplished, Korea needs a strong national team, better facilities,
coaches, and players, and more participation and media exposure.
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