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Giving Up Permanent Jobs at Major Corporations... Why They Went All-In on the Taegeuk Mark

Published : Sep 17, 2026 11:33 AM

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○ [News Story] The 2026 Asian Games, "We Are National Athletes Too" (Broadcasted on September 5, 2026)

National athletes in "teqball," which has been adopted as an official event for the first time in this Asian Games, are also preparing for the competition in challenging environments. Three male athletes share a single hotel room as their quarters, and lacking a dedicated training facility, they rent a jokgu court to practice. Having even quit their jobs to stake everything on training and competing, the infrastructure to support their challenge is still insufficient. While they wear the same Taegeuk mark on their chests, the training environments given to athletes vary greatly by sport. The "every-man-for-himself" struggle for athletes, who must endure solely on the pride of being a national representative, continues.

Reported by Jung Jun-hyung | Produced by Kim Da-yeon | Video by Won Jin-hee | Produced by SBS Digital News