page_title: Ssireum
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Ssireum / History
caption_attribution_description: The Gakjeochong (각저총) mural, one of the Goguryeo tombs shows ssireum competition between Gogoryeo man and Seoyeokin (서역인, an Arab) in
context_page_description: Ssireum or Korean wrestling is a folk wrestling style and traditional national sport of Korea that began in the fourth century.
  In the modern form each contestant wears a belt that wraps around the waist and the thigh. The competition employs a series of techniques, which inflict little harm or injury to the opponent: opponents lock on to each other's belt, and one achieves victory by bringing any part of the opponent's body above the knee to the ground.
context_section_description: The earliest evidence of ssireum dates back to the Goguryeo period. Originally used in military applications, ssireum became a popular pastime of the people, including many Korean kings, during the Goryeo and Joseon periods.
  In traditional life, ssireum was a popular activity on the Korean holiday of Dano, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, and tournaments are held in the summer and autumn. Ssireum competitions were also held on other days such as the Third Day of the Third Moon, the Eighth day of the Fourth Moon and Buddhist All Souls’ Day. The traditional prize at a tournament was an ox, a valuable commodity in an agriculturally based society and symbolizing the strength of the contestant.
  In the 20th century, ssireum became a nationally televised sport in South Korea.
  The first modern competition was held in 1912 at Dansongsa theater in Seoul.
  Korean wrestling has been referred to as ssireum since the 1920s. The Pan Chosun Ssireum Federation was founded in 1927. Since 1947, the competition organized by the Ssireum Federation has been called the National Ssireum Championship Contest. Weight classes were introduced at  the 12th edition of this competition and revised in 1967. There are two traditional styles of ssireum: a "right-sided" style predominant in parts of Gyeonggi Province and the Honam region of southern Korea and a "left-side" style favored in the Gyeongsang and Chuncheong provinces. The difference depends on the way the satba is fastened. In 1994, the Korean Ssireum Federation proposed the unification of ssireum into a single left-sided style as the official style to be used by all competitors.
caption: Ssireum depicted on Goguryeo mural
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