Suwon Uman Elementary School Wrestling Club Carries Forward the History of Elementary Ssireum
[News S=Reporter Lee Min-jung] There is an elementary school wrestling club that is committed to training during winter break, disregarding the holidays, to carry forward the history of elementary ssireum.
Founded in 1996, the "Uman Elementary School (Principal Lee Song-mi) Wrestling Club" is the only elementary school wrestling club operating in Suwon, and despite its small roster of just six members, it sweats blood and tears daily for the inheritance and development of ssireum, our traditional martial art.
In particular, utilizing the long winter break period through training camps and intensive training sessions, these young ssireum hopefuls are honing their techniques and skills and preparing for a new leap forward in 2026, the Year of the Red Horse, growing stronger.
The reason Uman Elementary is putting all its efforts into operating the wrestling club is that it aims to ensure students do not merely learn wrestling techniques through ssireum, but also build physical strength and provide the driving force for a happy school life, according to school officials.
To this end, Uman Elementary has recruited excellent full-time wrestling instructors to improve the skills of its wrestling athletes and equipped a dedicated wrestling facility with modern facilities for safe and professional training. It has also provided support for expenses necessary for training and competition participation.
Moreover, in addition to Uman Elementary students, the school is receiving great response by operating ssireum classes linked to physical education curriculum for students from nearby schools to experience ssireum.
As a result, the Uman Elementary Wrestling Club consistently participated in national-scale ssireum competitions last year and achieved significant results.
The achievements are backed by outstanding results: 1st place in the 3rd Korea Sports Council President's Cup National Champion Wrestling Competition, 1st place in the 26th Jeungpyeong Ginseng Cup National Champion Wrestling Competition, 1st and 3rd place in the 2nd Goesan Organic Farm Champion Cup National Champion Wrestling Competition, and 2nd place in the 79th National Wrestling Championship.
Among these, athlete Go Ga-on (6th grade) demonstrated outstanding athletic performance by sweeping three national wrestling competitions last season. Go Ga-on joined the wrestling club in 4th grade and, as a result of consistent training, displayed her accumulated skills without reserve. In May last year, she was selected as the 1st place winner in the Yongsa division and was selected as a Gyeonggi Province representative to compete in the National Youth Sports Festival.
Athlete Kang Min-wook (5th grade) said, "I built confidence through consistent wrestling training and competition participation," and expressed a firm resolve, stating, "I want to promote ssireum, a traditional folk sport, and inherit Suwon's wrestling history as a city of traditional martial arts." Kim Tae-jun (3rd grade), the youngest member of the wrestling club, said, "Training with my seniors allows me to learn wrestling techniques, and technical competitions are also fun."
Principal Lee Song-mi of Uman Elementary said, "Through ssireum, our traditional martial art, we will carry forward the spirit of our nation, and we will work to ensure that more students become interested in and participate in ssireum so that it becomes established as a recreational sport."