SSIREUM ROOKIE GARNERS NATIONAL ATTENTION

[Anchor Lead]

An up-and-coming traditional wrestling prodigy is making headlines these days. He's Choi Sung-min, who finished second in this year's Korea Ssireum Festival. All eyes are on whether this teen will be able to revive the stagnated traditional wrestling sector.

[Pkg]

When the final match began, the 19-year-old Choi Sung-min was determined to win. Although he lost 3-2, there is no doubt he put his name on the map of traditional wrestling, known in Korean as ssireum.

[Soundbite] CHOI SUNG-MIN(HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT) : "Next year I will compete in the Lunar New Year championship. I want to show off a more mature set of skills."

The traditional wrestling sector has high hopes for the rising star.

[Soundbite] LEE JUN-HEE(KOREA SSIREUM ASSOCIATION) : "I believe young athletes have the ability to outperform the old generation　and dominate the scene for five to ten years."

Young athletes were part of Korean traditional wrestling when the event was in its prime. One celebrated example is Kang Ho-dong, who shook the ssireum scene to its core when he was still only a teenager. His extraordinary performance was breathtaking.

He beat even the then-unrivaled Lee Man-ki to become the youngest ssireum champion at the age of 19. Kang's record was broken three years later by 17-year-old Baek Seung-il.

[Soundbite] BAEK SEUNG-IL(DURING HIS APPEARANCE ON TV SHOW IN 1993) : "Last Sunday I became a ssireum champion. I'm 18 years old. Despite my looks,　I'm still a child deep inside."

Another ssireum prodigy was Lee Tae-hyun, who won the title of the best of the best at age 18. With the emergence of Choi Sung-min, a new young star, the traditional wrestling sector hopes to regain its vigor.