Lee tries archery at Mongolia's Naadam festival, agrees to expand sports cooperation

President Lee Jae Myung became the first South Korean head of state to attend the opening ceremony of Mongolia's Naadam festival as a guest of honor on Saturday (local time), trying his hand at traditional archery during his state visit. Lee and Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh agreed to expand sports cooperation, drawing on the shared heritage between Korea's traditional gungdo archery and Mongolia's bow-and-arrow tradition.

Cheong Wa Dae chief spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a written briefing that Lee and his wife attended the opening ceremony alongside Khurelsukh and his wife, and that both couples took part in archery and traditional Mongolian games.

The Naadam festival is a national celebration honoring Mongolia's spirit of freedom and independence, featuring nomadic sporting events including wrestling, horse racing and archery. UNESCO inscribed it on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.

Mongolia has long invited senior foreign leaders to attend Naadam as guests of honor each year, but this marked the first time a South Korean president had been given that role. Khurelsukh said he was pleased to welcome Lee as the guest of honor at this year's opening ceremony and expressed hope that the occasion would help advance the bilateral relationship further.

The opening ceremony ran for about one hour and 50 minutes, featuring mounted martial arts, a parade and performances. At the close of the event, two riders carrying the Mongolian and South Korean flags rode up before Lee to pay their respects, then circled the arena on horseback to greet the crowd in a surprise gesture.

After the ceremony, the two couples watched a traditional archery competition, and Lee and his wife also tried shooting a Mongolian traditional bow. The two leaders noted that both Korean gungdo and Mongolian traditional archery use the "Eastern draw" technique — pulling the bowstring with the thumb — and agreed to expand sports cooperation on that common ground.

As the final engagement of the state visit, Lee and his wife joined Khurelsukh and his wife for a farewell lunch. Khurelsukh hosted the couple at a traditional ger-style guesthouse on the steppe, introducing them to Mongolia's traditional way of life and serving a Mongolian-style meal.

Kang said the two couples "continued to build personal rapport over the lunch, sharing conversation about Mongolian traditional food and culture," adding that the leaders "reaffirmed their commitment to deepening the trust and friendship forged during the state visit and to developing the Korea-Mongolia strategic partnership in a future-oriented direction."