South Korea - soon a new member of UNIF!
Great success for UNIF! After an impressive appearance of South Korean team at last year's Futnet World Championships, during their official visit in Czech Republic last month, Korean officials applied for UNIF membership!
From left to right: UNIF Vice-President Kamil Klenik, UNIF General Secretary Zuzana Vinanska, President of Korea Jokgu Association Song Young Woo, General Secretary Kim Han Hoe and President of American Korea Jokgu Association Mr Hong Ki Young
Jokgu is a national sport in Korea with about 4 million players, regularly broadcasted on TV and supported and recognised by the National Olympic Committee. These are just a few facts that highlight the significance of the visit of Korean officials in the Czech Republic on 17-21 May.
During their visit, Mr Song Young Woo, President, and Mr Kim Han Hoe, General Secretary of Korea Jokgu Association and Mr Hong Ki Young, President of American Korea Jokgu Association, met in Nymburk with UNIF officials to discuss further international collaboration. UNIF was represented by its Vice-President Mr Kamil Klenik, General Secretary Ms Zuzana Vinanska and Head of Technical Committee Mr Vlastimil Stehlik. Also present was EFTA General Secretary Mr Jiri Sladek.
Historic signing of Agreement on collaboration
An agreement on collaboration was signed and, to our joy, the Korean representatives expressed their interest to join UNIF as a Full Member as soon as possible. They signed UNIF Ethical Charter and after submitting the relevant documents and subject to vote by all UNIF members, they will be admitted as a Full Member, with the right to a seat on the Executive Committee.
Opening of men's Extraliga match between Cesky Brod and Karlovy Vary
During the rest of the visit, the Korean officials were invited to see some matches of the top Czech leagues (men, women as well as juniors). They also had a chance to do some sightseeing in Prague and to try out some typical Czech cuisine. The informal part of the visit allowed time for an interesting exchange of information on jokgu and futnet, rules, history, current trends as well as for building and strengthening important personal relations between jokgu and futnet officials.
Korean officials enjoyed both - top Czech futnet as well as beer
This visit marks a historic milestone in the development of futnet worldwide and proves that thanks to our commitment and hard work, UNIF is viewed as a strong and trustworthy partner.