The Korea Basketball Development Institute, which organizes migrant youth basketball teams, is taking on a new challenge. This time, it is a mothers' basketball team made up of migrant women.
Cheon Soo-gil, director of the Korea Basketball Development Institute, and about 20 migrant women will begin training for the first time on Wednesday. Chun, a former basketball player, founded the institute in 2005 to support sports activities for various socially marginalized groups.
Cheon, who has been focusing on migrant youth for the past 10 years, decided to start the Motheres Basketball Team in July. The inspiration was the story of the Ansan migrant women's volleyball team, which was featured in Hankyoreh's "Crossing Boundaries with Sports in the Migrant Era" program. 카지노사이트가이드
After reading the story of migrant women playing volleyball, Chun realized that "basketball mothers, who had been considered only as protectors of their children, were also subjects of sports."
Kim Yoo-yeon, a member of the 2008 Beijing Olympics shooting team, also joined the team. Kim plans to teach the basketball team how to stretch. "I'm worried about playing basketball at the age of 40, which I never thought I could do because I'm only 153 cm tall, but I'm also very excited about the idea of creating a dream team with mothers from multicultural families," Kim said, adding, "It's always a wonderful and happy experience to be united through sports."
In an era where sports are increasingly commercialized and politicized, Chun and her fellow migrant women stand out. They provide a concrete model of how sports can be used to create a space for interaction and unity. In fact, France, New Zealand, and the United States are among the countries where governments and businesses are supporting the inclusion of migrants through sports. Chun has received support from Hana Tour, children's clothing company Pastel World, and Yeongdeungpo-gu Office.
However, there is a catch. There is still limited thinking about the social role of sports in Korea, and support for sports for migrants is still poor. There is also a lack of facilities such as gymnasiums, and children now have to live with the anxiety that they may not be able to use a gym at any time. The government is indifferent, the economy is struggling, and sponsorship from local governments and companies is dwindling.
But their dream still persists. In a world where the weakest can exercise to their heart's content, everyone can breathe happily. That's why I'm cheering for the "layup" of Warden Chen and the migrant women.