With the 20th Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and the 5th Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games set to begin in September, the South Korean government has initiated preparations to support its athletes.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced the formation of a joint preparation team involving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Unification, Anti-Terrorism Center, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Korean Sports Council, and the Korea Paralympic Committee. The first meeting will be held on the 30th.
The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will take place from September 19 to October 4, featuring over 15,000 participants from 45 countries. South Korea plans to send more than 1,100 athletes across 41 sports. The Asian Para Games will follow from October 18 to 24, with around 4,000 participants from 45 countries, and South Korea is expected to compete in 18 sports with about 300 athletes.
During the initial meeting, the team will comprehensively assess the preparation status and support measures to ensure the athletes' performance and safety. Notably, the event will be held across five cooperative zones, including Aichi, Tokyo, and Shizuoka, and will be divided into five areas within Aichi Prefecture, such as Nagoya and Chita. Instead of a single athletes' village, accommodations will be spread across containers, cruise ships, and hotels, prompting the preparation team to discuss detailed administrative and medical support based on these regional hubs.
Given the anticipated high attendance from the public, the government plans to establish a crisis management and response system to ensure safety during the event.
Additionally, the government aims to promote tourism and sports exchanges through the event. The Ministry of Culture will operate a Korea House near Nagoya Port at 'Live Nagoya' to showcase K-Culture and K-Sports, capitalizing on the strong interest in Korean culture in Japan. On October 20, during the Asian Para Games, a sports exchange event titled 'Korea Night' will be held, attended by national Paralympic committees and the Asian Paralympic Committee.
Kang Dae-geum, a sports cooperation officer at the Ministry of Culture, stated, "We plan to systematically support the national team to ensure they can fully demonstrate their capabilities at the Asian Games and Para Games, while also allowing our citizens to safely enjoy the events by proactively addressing potential issues in collaboration with relevant agencies."
On July 2, the Korean Sports Council began implementing measures to protect the rights of its athletes, distributing guidelines on advertising appearances (Rule 40) and competition uniforms and equipment (Rule 50) for those participating in the Asian Games.
The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) adheres to the principles of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Olympic Charter to protect the commercial value and official sponsorship rights of the Asian Games while ensuring the rights of participants. Consequently, the Sports Council has provided guidelines to help athletes, coaches, sports organizations, sponsors, and non-sponsors comply with complex international regulations.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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