Annual badminton tournament for multicultural families kicks off in Goyang

GOYANG, South Korea, Dec. 10 (Yonhap) -- An annual badminton tournament for multicultural families was held in Goyang, just northwest of Seoul, Saturday to strengthen ties and facilitate communication among the families through the sport.

Some 370 players and their families from across the country took part in the 2022 National Multicultural Family Badminton Tournament co-hosted by Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's No. 1 wire service, and the Goyang City Sports Council.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Goyang city government, the Korean Institute for Healthy Family and Yonhap News TV sponsored the event.

Yonhap has hosted the event every year since 2010 to promote harmony among families of diverse national and cultural backgrounds in an increasingly diversifying society.

"The tournament has been held without a hiatus despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic," Seong Ghi-hong, CEO and president of Yonhap News Agency, said in his congratulatory speech. "If it regains the enthusiasm shown at previous events and continues to gather more participants, its reputation as the country's leading festival of multicultural families will become more solid."

Vice Gender Equality Minister Lee Ki-soon said badminton is a popular sport that anyone can enjoy anytime and anywhere if they have rockets and a shuttlecock plus passion and will, even if they have language and cultural barriers.

"This event has played a major role in strengthening the health of multicultural families and bringing the local community together," she stressed.

sshim@yna.co.kr
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