On the 9th, Minister Park Bo-gyun of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (hereinafter Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) held the “4th Korea-Japan-China Sports Ministers’ Meeting” with Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Keiko Nagaoka and China’s Deputy Director General Zhou Jinchang. Discussed ways to spread the Olympic spirit and build a sustainable sports environment based on the experience of hosting the event, and announced the ‘2023 Seoul Joint Declaration’, which suggested a new direction for sports exchange. The meeting, hosted by Korea, was held as a video conference in consideration of each country’s response to COVID-19.
The three countries of Korea, Japan, and China adopted the “PyeongChang Declaration,” “Tokyo Plan of Action,” and “Beijing Joint Statement,” respectively, through three meetings since the launch of the “Korea-Japan-China Sports Ministers’ Meeting” in 2016. , and are continuing to cooperate closely through sports. The ‘2023 Seoul Joint Declaration’ consists of ▲ spreading the Olympic spirit for future generations, ▲ solidarity for sustainable sports development that encompasses the disabled, the elderly, underdeveloped countries, and the environment, ▲ professional sports, anti-doping, daily sports, and sports industries. Strengthening cooperation is the main content.
In his keynote speech, Minister Park Bo-gyun said, “This meeting is the first ministerial meeting to be held after the relay Olympics in the three countries. . He also said, “Now is the time to expand new horizons in sports exchange in Northeast Asia.” “Based on the unifying power of sports, the three countries should become leading countries that will lead the international community sports field in the post-COVID-19 era.” Emphasized.
◆ Reinforcement of trilateral cooperation for successful hosting of the ‘2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics’
Representatives from the three countries agreed that the goal of the Olympic Movement is to build a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sports activities. Accordingly, it was agreed to establish a trilateral consultative channel to disseminate the assets of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic and Paralympic Games, the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games to future generations and continue to cooperate.
In particular, Minister Park said that next year’s ‘2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics’ will showcase ‘a world united through K-culture and sports’, so that youth athletes from Korea, Japan, and China can actively participate and compete in good faith together. He asked for interest and support from Japan and China. In response, representatives from Japan and China said that they expect this event to be a rich cultural Olympics with a variety of events, including the ‘2022 Hangzhou Asian Games’ to be held this year and the ’25th Tokyo Summer Olympics’ to be held in 2025. He said that we will work together to make each event a success.
◆ Discussion on expanding sports exchanges among the three countries through the ‘Korea-Japan-China Sports Festival for All’ Opinions were gathered. Currently, sports exchanges for daily life are separated into Korea-Japan (’97~) and Korea-China (’01~), and are conducted in the form of inviting and dispatching delegations from both countries every year. failed to proceed
Minister Park said, “I hope that the three countries’ exchanges focused on professional sports will be further expanded to the field of sports for everyday life,” and suggested that the exchanges for sports for everyday life, which had been divided into Korea, Japan and Korea, be integrated and reorganized into the “Korea-Japan-China 안전놀이터Sports Festival for All”. Suggested. As Japan and China agreed on the proposal, they plan to change from next year at the earliest to an international exchange program for daily life sports in which all three countries participate from the invitation/dispatch method of the two countries, and to rotate and hold the event among the three countries
◆ Realization of a green, underdog-friendly sports environment that creates environmental and social values
At this meeting, the environmental and social values of sports, which were not seen in the previous three meetings, were emphasized. These values, which are also specified in the Olympic Charter of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), have recently received high attention from the international sports community. Many countries are introducing eco-friendly elements to international competitions, and are working to eliminate the blind spots in sports for the socially underprivileged, such as the elderly and the disabled.
* ▲ ‘All human beings should be able to engage in sports activities within the spirit of the Olympics without any discrimination’, ▲ ‘Support and encourage responsible interest in environmental issues, promote sustainable development in sports, and follow these principles “We need to ensure that the Olympic Games can be held,
” Minister Park said, “We need a new sports paradigm suitable for the post-COVID-19 era.” .” In addition, Minister Park shared with representatives of the two countries the sustainability strategy of the ‘2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics’, the ‘Oullim Sports Festival’ and the ‘Bandabi Sports Center’, examples of K-sports policies that everyone enjoys together. Accordingly, the representatives of the three countries agreed to cooperate together for ▲ research on establishing an environment-friendly sports development system, ▲ creation of a culture of enjoying sports for the disabled, ▲ development of sports programs to promote the health of the elderly, and ▲ establishment of support strategies for underdeveloped countries.
Based on the contents discussed at this meeting, the three countries will hold a manager-level meeting to regularly check the implementation status of the ‘2023 Seoul Joint Declaration’. The next meeting, the ‘5th Korea-Japan-China Sports Ministers’ Meeting’, is scheduled to be held in Japan next year.