The stadiums for the less popular sports at the National Games are often a "world of their own".
Only competition officials and athletes' families fill the stands.
However, the scene at the Naju Sports Park Inline Roller Stadium, where the roller skating event of the 104th Jeonnam National Games was held on Thursday, was a little different.
"Regular fans" who just wanted to enjoy the roller skating competition clapped and cheered throughout the stands, especially families with small children.
They said they had an "intuition" after the upset at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games. 카지노사이트777
In the 3,000-meter relay race in Hangzhou, the last South Korean runner, Chung Chul-won (Andong City Hall), was overtaken by a Chinese Taipei athlete who performed a "premature" ceremony just before crossing the finish line, and it was the ultimate "black comedy" that sports can produce.
The dramatic effect was heightened by the fact that two of the three members of the South Korean team, including Chung, had missed out on the privilege of military service.
For the South Korean athletes, who had to settle for a tearful silver medal instead of the gold they had hoped for, this is a tragedy that will never come back to haunt them. But, ironically, it's also given Korean roller skating a much-needed boost.
"I knew there was such a thing as roller skating, but I didn't realize it was a sport until I heard about the Chung Chul-won case," said Kim Mi-mi, 42, who brought her elementary school-aged children, who do short track as a hobby.
"I live in Gwangju, but I heard that Naju, which is nearby, was hosting the national roller game, so I came for the first time. I also learned for the first time that there is a roller stadium in Naju," he said, adding, "I think I will come again if the tournament is held here next time."
Fans are especially attracted to the game because it is difficult to predict the outcome until the last minute.
While it's rare to see a skater pull off a trick like Chung's, it's not uncommon for the positions to be reversed at the finish line.
By running behind the leader, the back of the pack gets less air resistance and saves energy. Then, as they approach the finish line, they explode to pull off the upset.
Compared to its closest cousin, short track, last-minute reversals are more common in roller skating.
In short track, the finish line is in the middle of the corner, but in roller skating, the finish line is at the beginning of the corner. This means that you're running a relatively longer straightaway at the end, and there's more room for reversals.
It also has a "rough" appeal because it's run on the ground.
It's not uncommon for athletes going full speed ahead to get tangled up and fall, leaving blood and torn flesh in their wake. Roller skating, like mixed martial arts, is a sport with a raw appeal.
When Yang Sun-ho (Eunpyeong-gu Office, Seoul) fell during the men's 10,000-meter race, he showed off his severely grazed right arm and said, "I have several stitches. It's nothing," he said with a smile.
Roller skating in Korea has been around for more than 40 years. But the sport's appeal is just beginning to be recognized.
"What Gok Chae-yi and Woo Hyo-sook couldn't do, Jung Chul-won has done as a living saint," laughed one unemployment team leader.
"I think there were many people who didn't even know that there was a roller competition because it was an 'unrecognized' sport beyond popularity," says Chung. "I made a mistake, but fortunately, many fans are thankfully interested in it. I hope it can be a stepping stone for roller to become a popular sport."