WHAT'S NEW - ISPS

++Report on the 1st Shogi and Janggi Interchange Festa between Japan and Korea++
Dates carried on: November 1 (Saturday) and 2 (Sunday), 2003
Place: The Janggi Association in Seoul
Participants:
Japan: 1 professional Shogi player (Kazuharu Shoshi 6-dan) and 22 ISPS members
Korea: Members of Korean Janggi Association and children from elementary schools and junior high schools who want to learn Shogi
Content of the interchange festa:
1st day Lessons on Janggi and instruction on how to play Janggi
2nd day Lessons on Shogi and instruction on how to play Shogi
Shogi and Janggi matches freely among participants
Sponsored by: ISPS and Korean Shogi Association
Backed up by: The Japanese Embassy in Korea
Subsidized by: The Asia Center of Japan Foundation

The above is the first event to be co-sponsored by the Korean Janggi Association and ISPS, which shall be continually carried out. In 2004, we shall invite Korean elementary school children who are strongly interested in Japanese Shogi.
This festa was created through the effort of Mr. Kim Ung-sul, Chairman and members of the Korean Janggi Association. All participants from Japan learned how to play Janggi. It is somewhat different from Japanese Shogi, but it is quite interesting as well. In exchange, we taught Shogi to high-ranking Janggi players and Korean school children. My impression is that those who are strong in Janggi are quick to understand the gist of Shogi and enjoy playing Shogi.
Since I am of opinion that the purpose of the first festa has been fully attained, I would like to express my gratitude to those staff members of Korea and Japan.
It is important to have dreams and projects for the sake of repeated festas. Here is a piece of good news although it is not yet on a formal stage. Presently, World Janggi Corporation (an affiliated company of the Korean Janggi Association in Japan) plans to establish a training school of Shogi instructors in Korea. They plan to train 100 Korean instructors of Japanese Shogi in January and February 2004, and from March 2004 they shall start teaching Shogi to elementary schools and kindergartens as extra curricula lessons. This move is really epoch-making and it has never taken place in any other country. In this connection, ISPS plans to dispatch 2 instructors to Korea in January or February (among ISPS members) who are to train “Japanese Shogi instructors”. The Japan Shogi Association appears prepared to support us centering on Mr. Yonenaga, Executive Director in charge of popularization of Shogi. Also the Japan Cultural Center (Mr. Kubo, Chief of the Center) in Seoul of Japan Foundation is expected to help us.
As the 2nd step, ISPS plans to invite Korean elementary school children, who have learned how to play Shogi, to Japan and to hold the 2nd Shogi and Janggi Interchange Festa between Japan and Korea in late August of 2004. Since funding issues have not been fully solved, we plan to invite only 2 children for the present(and an accompanying adult). Nevertheless, with only 2 participants from Korea, the occasion may not be qualified as a “Festa”. Thus with the success of future fund raising, we shall make the occasion a big one.
There is a plan to invite public participation of Japanese elementary schools that would like to associate with Korean elementary school through Shogi. Please let us have your good ideas on this matter.