Countless high school students are flocking to Hongcheon with basketballs.
'NH Nonghyup Bank 2025-2026 KXO 3x3 Hongcheon STOP' was held on the 20th at the Hongcheon-gun National Sports Center in Hongcheon County, Gangwon Province. This tournament runs over two days across four divisions: U15, U18, men's open, and KXO STOP.
The tournament, hosted by KXO (chairman Park Geon-yeon), is held with the support of Hongcheon County (county governor Shin Young-jae) and the Hongcheon County Sports Council (chairman Shin Eun-seop). Beginning with KXO 3x3 Hongcheon STOP 1 in February, KXO held six domestic tournaments and three international tournaments this year, and completes its 2025 schedule with this Hongcheon STOP.
The fiercest competition in this tournament is in the U18 division. According to the organizers, the U18 division was so popular that registration filled up within five minutes of opening. A total of 55 teams applied and there were 40 teams on the waiting list. Why has a basketball boom suddenly swept high school students?
I met CHC A, which participated in the U18 division, to hear their story. CHC A, based in the Cheongju area, consisted of captain Cho Jeong-woo (Geumcheon High School, 2nd year), Kang Yoo-hwan (Ohchang High School, 3rd year), Nam David (Cheongju Technical High School, 1st year), and Lim Su-min (Daejeon Boksu High School, 3rd year). CHC A showed overwhelming skill from their first preliminary game, crushing Scoopter00 22-6.
Cho Jeong-woo said, "I usually enter every KXO tournament. I practiced mainly 3-on-3. It was hard to register for this tournament. From when the notice went up we formed the team and prepared to register right away. Since this is KXO's last tournament of the year, it seems everyone gathered after final exams. Some have finished the college entrance exam," he said with a laugh.
Their passion for basketball was not deterred by the cold weather. They trained for three to four hours on outdoor courts in the dead of winter. Cho Jeong-woo said, "Because this is the last tournament of the year, we practiced a lot to help the third-year seniors win. Since we don't have an indoor court, we worked out for three to four hours on the outdoor court wearing short sleeves."
Their tremendous passion soon produced results. CHC A used accurate 3-point shooting as a weapon to win their first game. Cho Jeong-woo said confidently, "We practiced a lot of shooting and our shots fell well. 190 cm Lim Su-min grabbed rebounds well so we won. Our second-round opponent is a good team. If we shoot 3-pointers confidently and play hard defense like we do, we can win. Our goal in the tournament is to win the championship."
KXO set up a booth where participating players could take commemorative photos, sponsored by Insaengnecut at this tournament. Many players took free photos and left with memories. Insaengnecut provided free photos to all players and received a strong response.
An Insaengnecut official welcomed the event, saying, "It can be a great memory for the players. Fortunately, the response has been good."
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