Park Min-gyu (24, Yongin City Hall), who had suffered seven consecutive defeats to his rival Kim Mu-ho (23, Ulju County Hall) amid the latter's undefeated streak this season, finally broke through the wall on his eighth try.

Facing the aggressive Kim with an equally aggressive approach, Park pushed forward and ultimately snapped his seven-match losing streak against his rival.

Park defeated Kim 3-1 in the final (a best-of-five series) for the Halla division (105kg or under) at the Withusvile 2026 Goesan Chuseok Jangsa Ssireum Tournament held at the Goesan Culture and Sports Center in North Chungcheong Province on October 10.

This marks his first top finish in about 10 months since the Mungyeong Omija Tournament last December, bringing him his 10th career Halla Jangsa title.

In a phone interview with Yonhap News on October 12, Park said, "Winning this time gave me the same feeling I had when I won my first Jangsa title. I've regained my confidence, so I think I can do even better in the next tournament."

Kim is the undisputed powerhouse of the Halla division, having swept seven consecutive tournaments since last year's Chuseok event.

Until the semifinals of this tournament, he maintained a perfect 27-match winning streak in individual matches this season.

This is the most consecutive individual wins in folk wrestling recorded since official records began being digitized in 2019.

Though labeled rivals, Park had consistently fallen short whenever he faced Kim.

Beginning with the semifinals at the Yuseong Hot Springs Tournament in May of last year, he suffered seven straight losses in folk wrestling head-to-head matches.

However, this time was different.

Park raised his center of gravity slightly, pushed his opponent forward, and gripped the satba.

He met the aggressive Kim with aggression of his own.

After claiming the first round with a leg trip (bijanggeori) to seize the initiative, Park was taken down by Kim's signature belt-lift throw (deulbaejigi) in the second round, allowing a 1-1 tie.

The turning point of the match was the third round, which he won after a rematch.

After taking the third round with a push-out (milachigi), Park secured the championship by winning the fourth round with a side-twist throw (chadoligi).

As the match ended, Park let out a loud roar toward his family and fans who came to cheer him on.

It seemed to release all the stress that had built up over time.

He explained, "Mu-ho is a very difficult opponent to grip because of his great strength and fast speed. His posture has changed a lot compared to before, and his attacking timing is very accurate."

He added, "Whenever I faced Mu-ho in the past, I used to think, 'What if I lose?' and 'What if this technique doesn't work?' This time, I thought, 'Since I'm going to lose anyway, let's just try being aggressive.'"

Having regained his confidence by defeating his previously dominant rival in the final, Park's dreams have grown bigger.

His immediate determination is to claim the top spot in the Halla division at both the remaining Uiseong League Tournament and the Cheonha Jangsa Tournament this year.

He stated, "Originally, my goal was to win 10 Jangsa titles before retirement, but since I've achieved it at a relatively early age, I plan to set my sights higher. I want to challenge myself for 30 wins."

(Photo: Provided by the Korea Ssireum Association, Yonhap News)