A badminton boom is sweeping North Korean high schools in 2026, as Musan county teenagers turn parks into free courts. Rackets and shuttlecocks once cost too much for most young people to take up the sport. Students now see badminton as a game anyone can play almost anywhere once they have the gear.
“Usually one student brings out a racket and a shuttlecock and asks friends to join in,” a source in North Hamgyong province told Daily NK recently. “You don’t pay anything to play in a park or an empty lot, so far more students play now.”
Musan, a county on the Tumen River across from China, hosts one of North Korea’s largest open-pit iron mines. Students at its senior middle schools, the North Korean equivalent of high school, now play badminton in nearly every neighborhood.
As the sport has grown more popular, students have also started buying and selling used rackets among themselves. This secondhand trade helps students from poorer families get equipment at a relatively low cost.
Badminton boom fueled by low costs
Badminton does not tie players to a particular venue, which gives it a clear edge over table tennis. The table tennis room at the county cultural hall charges 5,000 North Korean won per hour. Privately run table tennis halls in Musan charge roughly 10,000 to 15,000 won per hour.
County cultural halls are state-run community centers that host performances, lectures and recreation in nearly every North Korean county. Private leisure businesses like these halls have spread across the country as markets have grown over two decades. Their hourly fees make table tennis a real burden for students whose families struggle to get by.
“The table tennis room at the county cultural hall is fairly cheap, but buying drinks adds to the cost,” the source said. “Even one round of table tennis ends up costing a lot of money once you add everything up.”
“With badminton you can play anywhere without paying a fee,” the source added. “As long as one person has the gear, two people can play, so even students from poor families can enjoy it together.”
Students also pay close attention to what they wear on the court, according to the source. Some girls put real effort into their outfits, choosing tight-fitting athletic wear or clothes printed with English lettering. Many also finish the look with a cap, which has become a popular accessory among Musan girls.
“People think close-fitting sportswear looks stylish on the court,” the source said. “The girls are very interested in caps too, so whenever a new style comes out, they buy one right away.”
The fashion choices come as Kim Jong Un’s government presses ahead with its campaign against foreign cultural influence. The Socialist Patriotic Youth League is the ruling party’s mass organization for North Korean youth. Its enforcement squads routinely stop young people wearing jeans or clothing printed with English text. Article 41 of the Youth Education Guarantee Act, passed in 2021, bans young people from dressing in ways deemed “un-Korean.”
Some students also pair up as boy-girl teams on the court, drawing frowns from people around town. Musan residents unused to seeing teenage boys and girls mix so freely complain that the students are “openly dating while playing badminton.” North Korean schools and youth organizations discourage dating among students, and public displays of affection still draw harsh judgment in provincial towns.
“Now that the weather has cooled down, you see students playing badminton and chattering all over the neighborhood,” the source said. “There are many reasons, but the main one is that students can enjoy it together without spending much money. That’s why badminton has settled in as an everyday leisure activity for them.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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