Ssireum, a spectacle: Korean folk wrestling’s past, present and future

설날하면 민속! 민속하면 씨름! 씨름의 부활을 향해 Korean folk wrestling, or ssireum, may not be what it once was... but with new momentum, the sport is evolving. It is shaping up to garner greater global recognition. Han Seong-woo zooms in on the traditional sport that... has SO MUCH MORE to give. Strong, tough and brimming with confidence. Ssireum wrestlers have walked the Korean Peninsula since ancient times and when the sport went professional during its golden era in the 1980s and early 90s, they were idolized. “In the 80s, the legendary Lee Man-ki would win popularity contests among all pro athletes by a landslide. That’s how big ssireum was.“ But thirty plus years into the present, Korean folk wrestling’s public appeal has waned... losing out to other sports. That trend might soon change, though, with ssireum currently going through a resurgence. “Ssireum, unlike the public image surrounding it, is not exclusively a clash of heavyweight titans. Like the two battling behind me at the 2022 Seollal Jangsa Ssireum Champion