Seoul’s delegation secured a third-place finish at the 107th National Sports Festival in Jeju Island, collecting 109 gold medals amid a total haul of 343 medals across 50 sports. Seoul’s delegation—comprising 1,480 athletes and 676 officials—relied on deep victories in niche and team events to cement their position on the podium with 54,186 total points.
Seoul Wins Six Overall Discipline Titles
Dominance in specific disciplines anchored Seoul’s overall standing. Mountain climbing and basketball each captured their fourth overall championship during the competition held from October 16 to October 22. Fencing and finswimming also successfully defended their titles, claiming top honors for the second straight year. Modern pentathlon and taekwondo rounded out the city’s six overall discipline titles.
Meanwhile, swimming, badminton, and archery pushed Seoul into runner-up territory in nine additional events. The breadth of participation extended to the Seoul City Hall corporate athletic teams, where competitors across 18 sports contributed 46 medals—including 17 gold, 14 silver, and 15 bronze.
The Multiple Gold Medalists
Individual standout performances drove the medal count, producing 26 multi-medalists. Lee Won of Seoul Physical Education High School secured four gold medals in women’s under-18 swimming. Another 21 athletes claimed two gold medals apiece.
The closing day of competition showed the depth of the youth swimming pool at the Jeju venues. Won Jun touched the wall in 4 minutes, 18.75 seconds to win the men’s under-18 400-meter individual medley in record-breaking fashion. Lee In-seo of Gyeonggi High School followed closely to take the silver medal with a time of 4 minutes, 19.72 seconds. Both times established new festival benchmarks.
Seoul Sports Council Plans to Expand Training Support
Kang Tae-seon, president of the Seoul Sports Council, pointed to sustained preparation as the catalyst for the city’s standing. Mountain climbing and basketball securing four consecutive overall championships alongside 26 multi-medalists is a performance achieved through the hard work of our athletes and coaches,
Kang said. He added that the council intends to expand training environment improvements and refine support systems tailored to the specific needs of each sport.
Questions Remaining in Seoul Athletics
Despite the confirmed medal counts and multi-sport titles, the specific budget allocations and facility upgrades promised by municipal sports authorities for the upcoming training cycle remain unannounced. It is also unclear how the Seoul City Hall corporate teams will adjust their roster compositions ahead of the next national competition cycle.
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