Starting with Corona, the number of people who enjoy playing tennis began to increase in Korea.
However, the number of tennis courts in the city is insufficient compared to the number of tennis lovers, which has increased due to the high real estate prices in Seoul.
Coats for office workers, who usually work during the day, are only available in the mornings before work, in the evenings after work, and on weekends. However, A lot of public tennis courts don’t have the prime-time online booking webpage that everyone wants.
In the case of Jangpyeong Tennis Court located in Jangan-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, two out of three tennis courts are monopolized by eight existing clubs.
In response to citizens’ protests, one court was opened as a lesson court after a public hearing, and reservations can be made through the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s online reservation system.
But even then, when the lesson program begins, those who don’t take lessons don’t have a chance to use the Jangpyeong Tennis Court.
The Dongdaemun-gu Facilities Management Corporation, which manages the Jangpyeong Tennis Court, said “it has no plans or regulations to select a new club that uses the two courts exclusively.”
Existing clubs use stadiums run with taxes paid by citizens just because they have been playing tennis for a long time.
The reason for this ridiculous monopoly is that seniors are given preference to form clubs in order to develop the local sports culture. Young people with strong individualistic tendencies who are reluctant to join a club feel it is unfair.
Established politicians think that the Sports Council for All is the basis for their election and care only about the elder society. They seem to forget that young people have the same voting rights.
Tennis is not a sport in which you hit a ball by yourself.
Sports are about doing things together and you should share the utilities as a citizen. Inequality is rampant in Korean sports and everywhere in the region.
I hope all Koreans will be alert to the fair distribution of public facilities.