The esports tournament of the 55th National Youth Sports Festival concluded on the 24th at the Busan Esports Arena.

In the first-ever individual esports event at the festival, played in FC Online, Hong Seok-woo (a third-year student at Gangneung Middle School in Gangwon) defeated Choi Yeon-woo (a third-year student at Asan Middle School in South Chungcheong) 3-0 to take the title. In the team event, South Chungcheong defeated Jeju 3-0, allowing Choi Yeon-woo to bounce back from his individual runner-up finish.

With esports adopted as an official event for the National Youth Sports Festival starting in 2026, this marks a significant turning point in the integration of esports into the institutional sports system.

Experts suggest that this adoption provides an institutional foundation to address the limitations student athletes have faced, such as the difficulty of balancing athletic activities with academics and the uncertainty of career paths after their playing days.

Furthermore, the participation of these athletes will be officially recorded in the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee's competition record system and can be used for career and academic advancement, including in school records. The Korea e-Sports Association plans to use this introduction to the festival to continuously promote school esports and the integration of esports into the institutional sports framework.

Kim Young-man, president of the Korea e-Sports Association, stated, "The historic first e-sports tournament at the 55th National Youth Sports Festival has successfully concluded at the Busan e-Sports Arena."

By participating as an official event in this year's festival, e-sports has taken a historic first step toward becoming a recognized sport. This achievement comes 10 years after e-sports was first introduced as an amateur event at the National Sports Festival for two years starting in 2014. Furthermore, the participation of student athletes in this tournament is now officially registered in the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee's competition record system, allowing it to be used for academic and career advancement, including in student records.

This marks the creation of a path where the efforts of students dreaming of a career in esports can lead to tangible academic and career outcomes. Moving forward, the association will spare no effort in integrating esports into schools and the institutional sports system, and in fostering a school esports ecosystem. We will also do our utmost to ensure that esports becomes an official event at the National Sports Festival in the near future.