Korean Event Expected Give Local Economy a Boom
March 14, 2011|By ocregister
FULLERTON – Hotels and other local businesses will get a boost when the Korean-American National Sports Festival comes to town in June.
An estimated 6,000 to 8,000 delegates are expected in Fullerton for the 16th festival, held every two years and this year on June 22-24, said Ted Kim, an event organizer. Organizers project that the visitors will fill some 2,500 hotel rooms.
Fullerton was chosen for the 2011 festival for its increasingly large concentration of Korean-Americans and access to sporting facilities at Cal State Fullerton. Previous host cities include Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Events will feature soccer to squash. Youth and adults will also compete in such sports as golf, basketball, track and field, badminton and baseball. Officials are looking to secure venues for cultural events.
It is the largest Korean-American festival in the country, and this year’s event is expected to bring a healthy crowd because Los Angeles and Orange County have the first and second, respectfully, largest populations of residents with Korean ethnicity in the United States, Kim said. [From: OCRegister.com]
Sixteenth Annual Korean American National Sports Festival
The Korean American Sports Council of the USA and the Korean American Sports Council of Orange County have selected Fullerton as the site for the 16th annual Korean American National Sports Festival. Fullerton was chosen because it has the second largest Korean population outside Korea, behind Los Angeles, according to Ted Kim of the Korean American Sports Council of Orange County. The festival is scheduled for June 22 – 26 and aims to provide Korean Americans with an opportunity to come together and build a foundation for present and future Korean Americans.
The games consist of 20 sports, including golf, basketball, wrestling, volleyball, badminton, bowling, swimming, baseball, judo, track and field, soccer, table tennis, tae kwan do, tennis and squash. The games will take place at Cal State Fullerton, Independence Park, Plummer Auditorium and Downtown Fullerton Museum Plaza. Thousands of Korean Americans from around Orange County are expected to participate. The festival takes place every two years. Past locations for the festival include New York, Chicago, Dallas and San Francisco. The councils expect about 8,000 athletes between ages 15 and 80 from all over the United States to attend. [From: FullertonStories.com]