Your Seollal schedule: A full moon of sports to catch this Lunar New Year

Home > Sports > Olympic Sports

print dictionary print

Your Seollal schedule: A full moon of sports to catch this Lunar New Year

Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min celebrates scoring during the Premier League match against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium in London on Jan. 15. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min celebrates scoring during the Premier League match against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium in London on Jan. 15. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

 
This year’s extended Lunar New Year break, running from Saturday to Jan. 30, gives Koreans a chance to relax and enjoy some well-deserved rest, as well as indulge in entertainment that often gets pushed aside in busy schedules.
 

Related Article

 
For sports enthusiasts, this is the perfect time to catch live action both locally and internationally, instead of relying on highlights that only show glimpses of the games.
 
European football fans are in luck, as the break coincides with exciting domestic league matches leading up to the Champions League fixtures at the end of the holiday.
 
The V League will also be in full flow, as fans can watch the thrilling race for the top spot between league leaders Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders and defending champions Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate.
 
Golf fans who can’t make it to the course as they are at family gatherings can instead enjoy PGA and LPGA tournaments, featuring top golfers from around the world.
 
For those interested in traditional Korean sports, a ssireum (Korean wrestling) contest will be held in Taean County, South Chungcheong, from Friday through the end of the holiday on Jan.30. 
 
 
European football  



European football clubs with Korean players will continue their busy schedules in the ongoing 2024-25 season, with several matches set for Saturday or Sunday morning, Korea time.
 
Kim Min-jae’s Bayern Munich will play SC Freiburg on Saturday, looking to extend their formidable run that has put them at the top of the Bundesliga table. If he plays again, it will be an opportunity to assess the impact the Korean center-back has on Bayern’s defense, which has conceded the fewest goals in the league, with just 15 conceded in 18 matches. 
 
Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae, right, vies for the ball during the UEFA Champions League match against Feyenoord at Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands on Jan. 22. [AFP/YONHAP]

Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae, right, vies for the ball during the UEFA Champions League match against Feyenoord at Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands on Jan. 22. [AFP/YONHAP]

 
Lee Jae-sung’s Mainz will also kick off their match against VfB Stuttgart at the same time. Lee has been in fine form, contributing five goals and four assists in 17 league appearances.
 
In France, Lee Kang-in’s Paris Saint-Germain will face Reims on Saturday, aiming to extend their unbeaten league run, which has featured 14 wins and four draws so far.
 
Across the English Channel, Hwang Hee-chan’s Wolverhampton Wanderers will look to break their three-game losing streak in the league when they play Arsenal on Saturday.   
 
Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Hwang Hee-chan, left, in action during the Premier League match against Nottingham Forest at Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton, England on Jan. 6. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Hwang Hee-chan, left, in action during the Premier League match against Nottingham Forest at Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton, England on Jan. 6. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

 
Up in Scotland, Yang Hyun-jun’s Celtic will take on Dundee on the same day. This match follows his first goal of the season against Dundee on Jan. 14.
 
The following day, Son Heung-min’s Tottenham Hotspur will meet Leicester City amid their struggles, which have dropped the London side to 15th place.
 
Kim Ji-soo’s Brentford will face Crystal Palace on the same day, providing the 20-year-old defender a chance to feature again after his Premier League debut last month and his second appearance on Jan. 1.


Over in Germany, Jeong Woo-yeong’s Union Berlin will play St. Pauli on Sunday, following his exclusion from the team during the clash against Lee Jae-sung’s Mainz on Jan. 19. 
 
Midweek action will soon follow for some teams, with PSG facing VfB Stuttgart on Jan. 29 in their final Champions League group-stage match. 
 
Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lee Kang-in controls the ball during the UEFA Champions League match against Manchester City at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Jan. 22. [AP/YONHAP]

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lee Kang-in controls the ball during the UEFA Champions League match against Manchester City at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Jan. 22. [AP/YONHAP]

 
Bayern will also play their last Champions League match against Slovan Bratislava on the same day, as will Hwang In-beom’s Feyenoord, who will meet Lille.
 
Celtic will have their final Champions League match against Aston Villa.


Finally, another UEFA game awaits football fans on the last day of the break, with Tottenham playing Elfsborg in their final Europa League group-stage match on Jan. 30. 
 
 
V League  
 
A number of volleyball games are also scheduled throughout the break.
 
The Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders celebrate after a 3-1 win over the Hwaseong IBK Altos at Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon on Jan. 21. [NEWS1]

The Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders celebrate after a 3-1 win over the Hwaseong IBK Altos at Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon on Jan. 21. [NEWS1]

 
The competitive race for the regular season title is heating up, with only three points separating league leaders Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders from second-place Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate as of press time Thursday.  
 
Hillstate cannot afford to lose Saturday’s game against the Pink Spiders, as third-place Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks have been surging with a 12-game winning streak.
 
The Red Sparks will look to continue their momentum after impressive performances against the improved Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers on Sunday.  
 
The Peppers, no longer a bottom-dweller, have secured the most wins in their history in a single season with eight and currently sit in fifth place on the seven-team table.
 
A series of games will follow, with the final match between the Red Sparks and Pink Spiders wrapping up the break on Jan. 30. 
 
 
PGA, LPGA and TGL  
 
The ongoing PGA tournament, the Farmers Insurance Open, will conclude on Saturday, but another competition, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, awaits top golfers on Jan. 30.
 
The 2025 LPGA season will also tee off on Jan. 30 with the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, where fans can watch as players vie for the title of champion of champions. The opening tournament features winners from the previous two seasons.
 
As if the two tours weren't enough, golf fans can also tune in to a different style of golf with the inaugural TGL League — a new competition played at the purpose-built SoFi Center in Florida, where contenders compete using advanced screen golf and a stadium short course.   
 
Competitors from the Bay Golf Club and New York Golf Club walk on the green during the inaugural match of the TGL at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida on Jan. 7. [AP/YONHAP]

Competitors from the Bay Golf Club and New York Golf Club walk on the green during the inaugural match of the TGL at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida on Jan. 7. [AP/YONHAP]

 
The Jupiter Links Golf Club, home to Korean PGA star Tom Kim, will return to the SoFi Center for a match against Boston Common Golf on Jan. 27.
 
The rosters for the match have yet to be announced, but if Kim plays, it will mark his TGL debut, as he skipped Jupiter Links' first match last week.   
 
 
Ssireum and more  
 
Korean traditional sport ssireum is popular during this break. A full week of ssireum tournaments will take place from Friday through Jan. 30 in Taean County, South Chungcheong.
 
Jung Jong-jin, right, competes in the men's 90-kilogram ssireum contest in Goseong County, South Gyeongsang on Sept. 16, 2024. [YONHAP]

Jung Jong-jin, right, competes in the men's 90-kilogram ssireum contest in Goseong County, South Gyeongsang on Sept. 16, 2024. [YONHAP]

 
Starting with preliminaries on Friday, each weight class contest will feature quarterfinals through finals all in a single day.
 
The 72-kilogram contest will take place on Saturday, followed by the 80-kilogram on Sunday, 90-kilogram on Monday, 105-kilogram on Tuesday and 140-kilogram on Wednesday. The women’s contest on Jan. 30 will wrap up the entire tournament.
 
All the action will be available for viewing on KBS 1TV and KBSN Sports.  
 
The preceding events are just small pieces in the wider sports world. Various sporting events will continue across the globe, including one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments, the Australian Open.
 
The ongoing competition will culminate with both the men’s and women’s finals on Sunday.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]
Log in to Twitter or Facebook account to connect
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
help-image Social comment?
s
lock icon

To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.

Standards Board Policy (0/250자)