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We met Dean Kim Byung-sun in person on the afternoon of February 2nd at the Dean’s Office of the Faculty of Mass Studies at Jeju Halla University and conducted an interview.While at the Korea Racing Authority, I focused solely on managing horse racing products, but after coming down to Jeju and teaching students, I have come to see the horse industry’s origins in production, development, and training, and I am working even harder to promote the growth of related industries. Our country’s horse industry still has weak foundational aspects such as capital strength and workforce quality, and in particular, demand generation is weak.It is necessary to break away from the traditional methods that have been upheld for generations, adopt a new perspective, and introduce new approaches. The existing method cannot meet the demand.
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 08:33 AM
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Meanwhile, Kim Byung-hong, head of People Who Like Horse Racing, is scheduled to hold a discussion with Shin Woo-chul, owner of Busan Gyeongnam Racecourse, on Sunday, June 10 at LetsRun Park Pukyong, under the theme The Horse Racing Industry from the Perspective of Owners and Customers. The reporting team planned this interview as a special feature to commemorate the journal’s launch in June, intending to focus on the current situation, the past and present of the horse racing industry, and its future.
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 08:32 AM
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We met Dean Kim Byung-sun in person on the afternoon of February 2nd at the Dean’s Office of the Faculty of Mass Studies at Jeju Halla University and conducted an interview.While at the Korea Racing Authority, I focused solely on managing horse racing products, but after coming down to Jeju and teaching students, I have come to see the horse industry’s origins in production, development, and training, and I am working even harder to promote the growth of related industries. Our country’s horse industry still has weak foundational aspects such as capital strength and workforce quality, and in particular, demand generation is weak.It is necessary to break away from the traditional methods that have been upheld for generations, adopt a new perspective, and introduce new approaches. The existing method cannot meet the demand.
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 08:30 AM
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He lamented the situation where no horse racing official is advocating for an increase in the refund rate, and even though everyone is stepping up to lead the push for a higher refund rate, it remains unclear whether it will actually change, yet they are only pushing their own demands. He argued that the one task is to persuade and fight the National Assembly and the government so that the domestic horse racing refund rate, which can be called the worst in the world at 73%, can be raised to at least the Japanese level of 80%.”Representative Kim Byung-hong said,
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 08:29 AM
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Even a foreign horse with good bloodlines cannot beat a domestic horse with winning experience when it has no racing experience. In addition, foreign horses must compete against horses that have won and advanced from grade 4, but if they are forced to train excessively to match the competition, there is also a risk that the horses will break down quickly.If we purchase many quality horses from abroad, we will naturally receive high-quality horses as well, which will also help the development of Korean horse racing.
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 08:26 AM
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You must not think that your prize money will be taken away.Through integration, Seoul owners could also list horses in Busan and entrust them to well-managed trainers, potentially winning races held in Busan, and Busan owners could list horses in Seoul and claim victories in races held in Seoul. Isn’t it contradictory that our country’s central horse racing is in Seoul and its results don’t match those of Busan. There are only a few racetracks in the country, so they should be merged.
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 08:23 AM
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President-elect Kim is regarded as someone who worked diligently to advance and internationalize the horse racing scene at LetsRun Park Busan-Gyeongnam, having served as senior vice president in the executive team during the 6th Busan-Gyeongnam Owners Association, and is therefore highly anticipated to assume the 7th presidency. With pressing issues still pending, such as improving therapists’ working conditions by the end of this year and the integration of the Seoul and Busan Korea Massage Association,
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 08:20 AM
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Wouldn’t it be better to have the person facing each other run from two places rather than having them buy horses and race only at one racetrack. Horses with somewhat less speed but good endurance are more likely to succeed in Busan than in Seoul, whereas horses with better speed than endurance are more likely to succeed in Seoul than in Busan. If you only have one chance to spend a lot of money to buy a horse, it is such a waste and a loss. Make people who can’t speak in Busan run in Seoul,
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 08:18 AM
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LetsRun Park Busan-Gyeongnam are achieving relatively good results. The reason is mainly due to the influence of the state. Of course, there are also management system factors, but Busan’s main highway is 50 meters longer than Seoul’s, so horses with endurance perform better there, whereas faster horses do better in Seoul.However, if you merge, the opponents who purchase and deploy horses will have a wider range of choices, so it could also be an opportunity for the opponents.
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 08:16 AM
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There are issues with service, safety, and efficiency when it comes to commercialization. In fact, horseback riding is a safe sport. It’s because it wasn’t managed well. For example, I personally think it would be dangerous to convert retired racehorses into riding horses. Being sensitive and using retired racehorses, which still retain their aggressive exercise and sprinting habits through horse racing, as riding horses increases the potential for accidents. To achieve this, either systematic conversion training should be conducted, or, as with the Japanese Crane Horse Riding Club, systematic and limited use should be applied without using it in group or external riding.We need professionally trained and tamed riding horses from an early age, but our country still lacks a system for the taming and training of riding horses.
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 08:15 AM
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Nevertheless, the underlying vulnerability is weak, as employment demand is still not high. Although they have become competitive and completed sufficient training, more than 500 graduates from the horse industry enter the job market each year nationwide, making it difficult to find employment. In preparation for this, I am getting ready in advance for working overseas.In advanced countries such as Germany, France, Japan, and the United States, the horse industry is also regarded as part of agriculture, so in fact, there is a shortage of young workers. Taking these points into consideration, we plan to dispatch it to an overseas market. I hope that after graduating, the students will learn the technology of advanced horse industry countries and spread it domestically. It is not just simple livestock technology.
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 08:13 AM
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At the time, the Korea Racing Authority felt somewhat uncomfortable about the establishment of the Korea Owners’ Association, so cooperation was not very strong, but thanks to the tireless efforts of the founding president, it was barely made, and because of that, I was able to become its seventh president. The past presidents did a good job, but I believe what I need to do going forward is to unify the Busan and Seoul counterpart associations.Above all, the integration of the Majoo region is the top priority.
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 08:12 AM
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In Korea, the horses used by the athletes vary in price, and the athletes also go to the United States or Europe to receive individual training. However, most Japanese athletes are active within Japan, and they compete while working at riding clubs with just a horse. In my opinion, the level of Korean is higher than that of Japan.Seri-machi, a trainer and expert in taming and training retired racehorses, said that taming a horse is not like a mathematical formula. Just as no novel contains only one interpretation,
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 08:08 AM
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Since Korea and the Middle East will bring good words and do their best, I think it will be difficult for Japan to win a gold medal.The jockey for the dressage has not yet been decided. I think a team of the same caliber as the 2014 Incheon Asian Games might be formed. It looks like Korea and India will be competing for the gold medal, and Japan will seem likely to be contesting for the bronze medal with China. I heard that China is making huge investments in dressage recently. It is said that they brought in a great jousting horse from Europe.
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 08:06 AM
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First of all, there is no such educational material. Various horse experts each have different know-how, and they are taming and training them in their own ways. I think there isn’t a separate right answer when it comes to education. Since everyone has different speaking styles, a one-size-fits-all manual is meaningless. For example, while some horses are insensitive to response, there are sensitive ones, and if some horses naturally have their heads positioned higher, there are also some with them positioned lower.
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 08:01 AM
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We met Dean Kim Byung-sun in person on the afternoon of February 2nd at the Dean’s Office of the Faculty of Mass Studies at Jeju Halla University and conducted an interview.While at the Korea Racing Authority, I focused solely on managing horse racing products, but after coming down to Jeju and teaching students, I have come to see the horse industry’s origins in production, development, and training, and I am working even harder to promote the growth of related industries. Our country’s horse industry still has weak foundational aspects such as capital strength and workforce quality, and in particular, demand generation is weak.It is necessary to break away from the traditional methods that have been upheld for generations, adopt a new perspective, and introduce new approaches. The existing method cannot meet the demand.
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 07:56 AM
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However, to transition to horseback riding, there is a strong need to change to a slower, more stable rhythm, and improving balance is also important in training.There isn’t much difference, but the key goal of Jomasak training is for the horses to find stability and become calmer. The goal of Jomasak is to ensure that horses are not afraid of people standing in the center, and it is important to build trust between horses and people. Rushing out in a hurry is the worst form, and maintaining a steady pace with a stable rhythm is the best form.
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 07:55 AM
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A veterinary medicine PhD and expert in the horse racing industry, who previously served as head of the clinical affairs department at the Korea Racing Authority’s Equine Health Institute, chief expert committee member, chief adjudicator, and director of the business department, and who also served as an adjunct professor at his alma mater, Seoul National University College of Veterinary Medicine, is dedicating himself to training the next generation of veterinarians in academia while working on the Jeju horse industry field.Kim Byung-seon, Dean of the Department of Massage at Jeju Halla University, was at the forefront of the horse racing industry and shared the early days of Korea’s horse industry. Now, he is accelerating efforts to stimulate demand and cultivate specialized talent so that he can serve as a catalyst in the educational field.
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 07:54 AM
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Japan was in a situation similar to Korea’s, but it has continuously passed down the techniques for taming and training retired racehorses, and now possesses world-class techniques for doing so. It contains the words of Instructor Serimachi, an expert in taming and training retired racehorses.Last year, in Yeongcheon, Gyeongbuk, and at Let’s Run Farm Jangsu, mostly trainees from professions familiar to the “training” staff participated in training at a limited location.
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 07:52 AM
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Until the mid-1990s, they bred and trained The Dirty Blood, which had mainly been used as racehorses at racetracks, on their own and used it as riding horses. However, in the mid-1990s, when the European Warmblood began to be introduced in earnest in Korea, the taming and training techniques for retired racehorses naturally disappeared. Centered on professional equestrian riders, warmbloods—physically far superior—began to be ridden, and the unprofitable art of taming and training retired racehorses became a lasting legacy.
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 07:49 AM
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We started the business with three horses at first, but now there are 23, including a medium-sized horse. It explains the process of growth from the initial stage to the present. We really ran with our bodies. There were days when I earned 50,000 won, and days when it rained and I came up empty-handed. When I burned a lot, I even earned 500,000 won, and yet I said I was happy. What started that way has now been recognized for its effort, receiving certification as a sixth-sector industry, and with government support, it is becoming more stable.
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 07:47 AM
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Later, I’d like to open a chain store under the name of our equestrian club. As they are called the young blood of the horse industry, they will do it with passion.Choi Tae-hoon, head of the Yongin Pony Club, expressed his ambition to open a chain store bearing the name of his equestrian club. He said that there were many difficult and challenging hurdles in the process of growing the pony business from just three horses to 23 within a few years. However, by working hard on his own and overcoming difficulties,
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 07:44 AM
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Most riding arenas receive support related to student riding. I’ve even heard that if this support is cut off, most equestrian centers will go under. Support cannot continue indefinitely, and equestrian operators themselves must build their own strength. If support continues, I won’t make an effort. Our equestrian center doesn’t even receive support for student riding, but it is running fairly well on its own. It’s thanks to working hard on my feet. What I felt on site was that if you work hard, this is a field with plenty of potential.
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 07:42 AM
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People from schools for people with disabilities are reaching out asking if I could do therapeutic riding,and places like vocational training schools are also inquiring whether I could provide trial riding experiences.I also received messages from Seoul,which is more than 60 km away,and although the distance was a bit inconvenient,I often went out more for social contribution than for profit.While revenue is important,I also think there is a great need for equestrian operators themselves to lower the barriers to equestrianism and make greater efforts to reach the public.
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 07:38 AM
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Among them are some that are crossbred between Warmblood and Hanlama, as well as Shuttlelands, Miniatures, and others.Ponies are usually bred and then sold in many places like experience farms. The one we bred from Hallamarang and Warmblood is so good that we’re not selling it and are using it ourselves right now. It’s a very good thing, so I have no intention of selling. Halla horses are being sold in large numbers at the riding stable. Our riding club is located outdoors,
Wednesday, August 26 2026 - 07:36 AM