South Korea's 100th National Sports Festival kicks off in the coming hours.
First held in 1920,... the festival has grown into the country's biggest nationwide annual sports competition.
We thought we'd take sneak peek at this year's festival, which is back in Seoul,... where it all began a century ago.
Kan Hyeong-woo went to check it out... and filed this report.
Last month, the torch for the 100th National Sports Festival was lit on South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo.
The torch has been traveling around the nation since then,... with a record 11-hundred torch bearers taking part, carrying the torch a combined distance of 2019 kilometers.
"The National Sports Festival is our biggest and has the most historic meaning. I hope it can continue to grow for the next 100 years and I hope this year's event can positively contribute to Seoul's joint bid with Pyeongyang for the 2032 Summer Olympics."
From this Friday through next Thursday,... some 30-thousand athletes will be competing in a total of 47 different sports at 72 venues in Seoul and other parts of the nation.
And for the first time in the history of the National Sports Festival,... there is a global sports festival prepared for foreigners living in Seoul.
Some 4-hundred foreign residents from 39 countries are set to compete in seven different sports on the sidelines of the main event.
After the week-long sports festival,... the 39th National Para Games will also be held from October 15th to October 19th.
"As the venue for the first National Sports Festival back in 1920,... Seoul looks to serve as the starting point for the next century of South Korean sport by hosting the 100th National Sports Festival this year. Kan Hyeong-woo, Arirang News."