“The conversion of Sangdong High School to a baseball school will be an opportunity for the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province to develop together.”
As Yeongwol Sangdong High School, which is in danger of closing amid the depopulation crisis in the abandoned mining area, promotes the conversion of the country’s first public baseball school, Lee Un-sik, chairman of the Yeongwol Sangdong Baseball School Establishment Promotion Committee, asked for residents’ interest in the school. After the Yeongwol Sangdong Baseball High School Establishment Promotion Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Promotion Committee) and the Gangwon Minjoo Ilbo held a business agreement ceremony at the Gangwon Minjoo Ilbo’s small conference room on March 26, Lee Un-sik, chairman of the Promotion Committee, gave an interview to this newspaper.
In the 1970s, Sangdong’s mines were the largest producers of tungsten in the East, a symbol of Korea’s modernization.
However, the tungsten industry in Sangdong lost its strength in the 1980s due to price competition with China and finally closed in 1994.
Naturally, Sangdong High School had a total of 3437 graduates until last year, but this year there was only one, and there were no new students for the second year in a row, leaving only three third-year students at the beginning of the semester.
In order to overcome the crisis of the school’s closure, the residents of Sangdong-eup, school alumni, and other local residents are trying to convert the school into the first baseball school in Korea. On April 10, the Sangdong Baseball High School Establishment Promotion Committee held a launching ceremony at the alma mater’s gymnasium, and on April 9, they plan to hold the ‘Founding Ceremony of Yeongwol Sangdong High School Baseball Club and Proclamation of Establishment of Yeongwol Sangdong Baseball High School’ at the alma mater’s gymnasium.
“As 14 students transferred to Sangdong High School, which is the requirement for starting a baseball team, we are in a position to start a baseball team,” said Lee. “We plan to hold a proclamation ceremony to convert to a baseball high school along with the founding ceremony.”
Regarding plans after the proclamation ceremony, he said, “The support of Yeongwol County and the provincial education department is essential in the future.” “Our promotion committee and various baseball associations, including the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Baseball and Softball Association, will work together to obtain a budget for the second half of the year or the next year from the county government.”
Finally, Lee asked for the interest of the residents to help Yeongwol develop into a baseball mecca, including the conversion of the baseball stadium, which is not only the first in Korea but the first in the world. “As a baseball mecca, there are conditions to utilize the highlands for training. “If the administration and education authorities promote a system that allows people to build baseball fields here and experience baseball, it could be an opportunity for the entire Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province to develop together,” he said. “To do so, we need a lot of interest from the residents of the province and especially the people of Yeongwol. 안전카지노사이트