"Universities United by Youthful Energy"... Yongin City Hosts the Inaugural Clean University Sports Festival

Over 300 Students from Kangnam, Kyung Hee, Dankook, Yongin, and Hankuk Universities Participate
A Stage for Competition and Unity with Soccer, Strategic Tug-of-War, and Youth Policy Quiz
Mayor Lee Sangil: "First University Sports Festival Initiated by Youth Proposals... More Participation and Support to Come Next Year"

University students in Yongin gathered for a festival that encouraged communication and unity beyond campus boundaries through sports and youth policies.

Lee Sangil, mayor of Yongin Special City, is delivering a greeting at the Yongin Clean University Sports Festival held on the 4th at Yongin Arpia. Provided by Yongin City

Yongin Special City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Sangil) announced on September 5 that it hosted the “2026 Yongin Clean University Sports Festival for Youth Policy” at the Yongin Arpia soccer field in Suji District on the previous day, with participation from five local universities.

This was the inaugural edition of the festival. Student teams representing Kangnam University, Kyung Hee University’s International Campus, Dankook University’s Jukjeon Campus, Yongin University, and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies’ Global Campus competed. More than 300 people, including Yongin Mayor Lee Sangil; Jang Jeongsun, chair of the Yongin City Council; city council members; university presidents and vice-presidents; and other officials also attended.

The event was organized to introduce the city’s youth policies to students and to provide a platform for exchange and unity among local universities. The idea was adopted by the city after being proposed at the 5th Yongin Youth Policy Network’s policy proposal contest in July last year, with a budget of 20 million won allocated for its implementation.

Since April, the city had recruited participating universities and held four meetings with university officials. Match categories, schedules, and safety management measures for the venue were discussed collaboratively, encouraging active student participation in city governance.

In his opening remarks, Mayor Lee stated, “We are operating the ‘Yongin Youth Policy Network’ system to incorporate outstanding, youth-oriented policies into city administration. Last year, we received an excellent proposal to create a venue where students could share friendship and express themselves through athletic activities. Based on that, we initiated the ‘2026 Yongin Clean University Sports Festival’ this year. I thank the representatives of the five universities for joining us, and the city will provide even greater support to have more universities participate in the future.”

In the main events, students competed for their schools’ honor in soccer, strategic tug-of-war, a youth policy quiz competition, and cheerleading performances, engaging in spirited but friendly rivalry.

In the soccer finals, Yongin University faced Dankook University. Both teams displayed fast passing and aggressive pressure, but the match remained undecided even after extra time. Yongin University eventually claimed victory in the penalty shootout and lifted the inaugural championship trophy. In the strategic tug-of-war, where teamwork and judgement determined the outcome, Yongin University also came out on top by defeating Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

In the youth policy quiz competition, 20 questions covered five areas: jobs, housing, education, welfare and culture, and participation and rights. The top prize went to Jeong Minseok, a mathematics education student at Dankook University. Between each contest, university cheering squads performed, further enhancing the festive mood.

Yongin City plans to continue expanding the event so that students can learn about youth policies, rights, and participation methods in an enjoyable and accessible way.

Participants of the Yongin Clean University Sports Festival held on the 4th at Yongin Arpia are taking a commemorative photo. Provided by Yongin City

A city official commented, “Through sports, students gained an understanding of each other’s campuses and cultures and experienced a sense of regional community. We aim to broaden opportunities for youth to go beyond simply being the subject of policy—to participate directly and make their voices heard.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.