Hyundai Motor Group, a proud supporter of Korean archery, celebrates the sport’s 60th anniversary and embarks on a new challenge toward becoming a global leader in archery for the next century.
On December 1, Hyundai Motor Group announced that it hosted the ‘2023 Korean Archery 60th Anniversary Event’ at the Grand Walkerhill Seoul Hotel in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, under the auspices of the Korea Archery Association.
Korean archery has its roots since 1963, marked by its membership in the International Archery Federation, and saw rapid development with the establishment of the Korea Archery Association in 1983. Over the last 60 years, Korean archery has achieved remarkable results on the world stage, bringing joy to the nation.
The event was designed to reflect on the glorious journey of Korean archery, share future visions, and unite all those who have dedicated themselves to the sport.
The ‘2023 Korean Archery 60th Anniversary Event’ was attended by Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung (who is also the President of the Korea Archery Association), KOC Chairman Lee Gi-hun, IOC member Kim Jae-yeol, and other officials from related organizations, as well as modern department store group chairman Jung Ji-sun among others. About 400 former and current athletes representing Korean archery, elders in the sport, domestic and international leaders, and sponsors also participated. World Archery Federation President Ugur Erdener delivered a video congratulation celebrating 60 years of Korean archery.
Chairman Euisun Chung opened his welcoming remarks by expressing deep gratitude to everyone who has dedicated themselves to the development of Korean archery over the past 60 years, and called for applause for archery enthusiasts.
“Gathered here today to reflect on the journey of Korean archery and to envision its future as we celebrate the 60th anniversary,” said Chairman Chung, stressing that “in the medium to long term, our archery community must continue to strive to connect more with the public and ponder how archery can contribute to our society.”
He further stated, “The Korea Archery Association will lead innovation based on fairness and transparency, earning the trust and love of the public while fulfilling its societal role responsibly.”
During the event, the Korea Archery Association presented a special commendation plaque to Honorary Chairman Chung Mong-koo in appreciation of his dedication to Korean archery, featuring major photographs taken during his tenure. Honorary Chairman Chung Mong-koo, who assumed the presidency of the Korea Archery Association in 1985, laid the groundwork for Korean archery to become the best in the world, expanding its grassroots participation, nurturing talent, and localizing equipment. He currently serves as the honorary chairman of the Korea Archery Association.
Recognition awards and gratitude plaques were presented to archers who significantly contributed to Korean archery, including educational instructor late Seok Bong-geun, who began promoting archery in Korea in the late 1950s, as well as past medalists and coaches like Kim Jin-ho, Seo Hyang-soon, and Kim Soo-nyung.
The event also shared a future blueprint for Korean archery towards its centenary.
On this milestone anniversary, the Korea Archery Association introduced the slogan ‘Aim Higher, Shoot Together’ with the vision of establishing an archery culture where everyone can grow happily and healthily.
This slogan encapsulates the meaning of striving for excellence while fostering a culture of participation and enjoyment in archery. To achieve this, the Korea Archery Association plans to enhance grassroots sports participation, specialize domestic competitions, and strengthen international competitiveness through continuous innovation.
The association aims to expand public development assistance targeted at countries where archery has been slow to develop, considering sending Korean coaches and providing equipment to African nations starting next year beyond Asia.
Most importantly, the focus will be on thoroughly preparing for the upcoming Paris Olympics next year. Efforts are being made systematically through advance research trips and training camps to achieve ten consecutive wins in the women’s team event and to dominate all events. There is also a commitment to successfully host the 2024 Yecheon Archery World Cup and the 2025 Gwangju World Championships.
As the chair company of the Korea Archery Association, Hyundai Motor Group plans to continue supporting the association’s future innovations and ensuring that Korean archery remains loved by the public while playing a significant role on the global stage. The group continues to set records for the longest sponsorship of a single-sport organization in Korea.
Chairman Euisun Chung, as the President of the Archery Association, envisions various efforts towards popularizing archery and nurturing global talent for the future development of Korean archery.
Thus far, Korean archery has produced outstanding athletes through a transparent and systematic system, achieving top results in international competitions like the Olympics. The view is that it is now imperative for archery to position itself as a popular sport that everyone can enjoy.
This recurring emphasis from Chairman Euisun Chung during the event—to keep making efforts to bring our archery community closer to the public, earn their trust and affection, and fulfill its societal role accordingly—is a testament to this vision.
To achieve this, the Korea Archery Association is launching a project to include archery in school physical education classes. This initiative aims to familiarize children and youth with archery as a lifestyle sport from a young age.
Since last year, some middle schools have been conducting archery classes, and starting next year, there are plans to gradually expand this to elementary schools, incorporating archery into after-school programs and PE classes across the country.
To ensure that general citizens learning archery at clubs can enjoy the sport with more excitement, the association aims to enhance recreational sports competitions. Currently, two general public archery competitions are held annually.
Chairman Euisun Chung is also keenly focused on nurturing global archery talent. The association plans to support the training of not only archers but also international referees and coaches, expanding exchanges between countries to elevate the status of Korean archery further.
Plans are in place to expedite the introduction of new technologies. At the suggestion of Chairman Euisun Chung, Hyundai Motor Group has successfully integrated R&D technologies like AI, computer vision, and 3D printing into archery training and equipment since the 2016 Rio Olympics, yielding significant results. The intention is to further enhance performance by applying advanced technologies.
Chairman Euisun Chung, who was appointed as the chairman of the Korea Archery Association in 2005, has significantly contributed to stabilizing the association’s finances, improving performance through sports science, and structuring a system to nurture excellent athletes, all aimed at elevating Korean archery to the highest level in the world.
A systematic training development system has been established for youth from early childhood stages, and the country has produced numerous leaders in international archery organizations, thereby enhancing the international stature of Korean archery in sports diplomacy.
To nurture promising young archers, the association established a youth representative team at the elementary school level in 2013, providing equipment and training support, and offering some equipment for free to elementary and middle schools. This led to the establishment of a structured athlete development system ranging from ‘Youth Representatives (Elementary) – Youth Representatives (U16) – Candidate Athletes (U19) – National Team Reserve (U21) – National Team’.
Chairman Euisun Chung personally visited elementary schools to observe the training conditions of young athletes and discussed support methods with coaches while encouraging young competitors during elementary school archery competitions.
The Korea Archery Association is also actively pursuing international sports organization involvement to amplify Korean archery’s influence globally. Chairman Euisun Chung has consecutively served as President of the Asian Archery Federation, and officials from the archery association, including Vice President Han Gyu-hyung and former national team members, are actively engaged in key committees of the World Archery Federation such as regulations, charters, and technical committees. This has contributed to enhancing Korean archery’s leverage in international sports diplomacy.
As President of the Asian Archery Federation, Chairman Euisun Chung has been recognized for supporting countries with difficult economic conditions by providing budget and equipment for athlete development, while also conducting various development programs such as dispatching roaming instructors and holding coaching seminars, fostering the growth of archery in Asia.
Hyundai Motor Group also supports the World Archery Federation, serving as a title sponsor for both the Archery World Cup and World Archery Championships, playing a critical role in the advancement of global archery sports.
Most importantly, Chairman Euisun Chung has ensured that the Korea Archery Association operates as a transparent organization with principles upheld. Within the Korea Archery Association, there are no unreasonable practices or unfair selection of athletes due to influence or personal relationships; national team members are rigorously selected solely based on competition results. Athletes are chosen based on current performance rather than past achievements, and coaching staff are recruited through an open and transparent process.
Additionally, the ‘Hyundai Motor Group Chung Mong-koo Korean Archery Tournament’, the largest archery competition in the country, is held annually, along with the establishment of recreational sports competitions and community engagement programs like archery classrooms led by medalists to boost public interest in archery.
Based on the contributions of Chairman Euisun Chung and the extensive support from Hyundai Motor Group, the Korea Archery Association has substantially improved archery performance through administrative and educational systemization and scientific training methods, becoming an advanced sports organization with specialized administrative power and diplomatic capabilities.
Throughout 60 years of dedication from archers, Korean archery has recorded unprecedented achievements, such as ‘the first women’s team event nine consecutive victories at the Olympics’, ‘the first sweep of all events at the Olympics’, and ‘the first triple gold medalist at the Summer Olympics’, solidifying its status as the world’s strongest.
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr