Rugby is a sport that may not have a ton of history in Korea but it definitely has some avid fans and those fans have even gone on to start rugby clubs around the country. Whether you want to play, promote, or support these programs, there’s a chance to be apart of the sport from Seoul down to Busan.

Recently, I was invited out to the Seoul Rugby Charity Dinner. Hosted every four years in the run up to the Rugby World Cup, this event held at the JW Marriott this year, raises money for a number of charities here in Seoul, Korea. The event is hosted by the South Africa Chamber of Commerce, the French Korean Chamber of Commerce, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and the Kiwi Chamber of Commerce and together they definitely throw one great event all in the name of giving back. Held on August 30th this year, I got to go and not only have fun, but also learn about a sport that I don’t know much about. Boy were the guests and speakers passionate about the sport. It’s definitely got me more interested in the game.

 Want to learn about the Rugby Clubs here in Korea? Head down to the end of the post to find the info for the rugby clubs YOU can join in Seoul, Ulsan, and Busan!

Click Here for a list of clubs.

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Guest Speakers At The 2019 Seoul Rugby Charity Dinner

Three previous Rugby World Cup-winning speakers took to the stage to answer questions and share some rather hilarious stories from their time playing. From locker room mayhem to playing with legends, I learned a lot from the speakers about a sport I don’t know all that much about to be honest. The dinner was appetizing and made even better while listening to sports stories from some legends.

Israel Dagg: As an All Black he played 66 tests for NZ and lifted the William Webb Ellis Cup in 2011. He is widely regarded as one of the best fullbacks in rugby with an ability to beat defenders with a goose step and change of pace which made him a nightmare for opposition defenses. Recently retired from the sport, Dagg is now an analyst and commentator for Sky Sports New Zealand.

Rod McCall: The former Wallaby played 40 tests for Australia and won the Rugby World Cup in 1991. He was an integral part of the Australian forward pack during the early ’90s. He was able to bulldoze and bully the opposition pack with his formidable physique. McCall joined the Australian Rugby Union board in 2007 and became the Queensland Rugby Union Chairman in 2009.

Joel Stransky: The Springbok played 22 tests for South Africa and famously kicked the drop goal to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup Cup in South Africa. He is most famous for his performance in the final against the All Blacks in which he scored ever one of South Africa’s points including that game winning drop. He was a classic flyhalf who controlled the game with his pass and run selections. He is currently a commentator for the Super Sports South Africa.

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Charities Supported By The Event

Get Into Rugby

This program is an integral part of the World Rugby strategy to grow the game globally in partnership with its regional associations and unions. The program seeks to encourage players of all ages to try, play and stay in rugby.

Anna’s Hose Outreach Project for Street Children

This program helps homeless youth in Seongnam City, an area in the outskirts of Seoul. Three nights a week from 10:00pm to 2:00am, a small team of social workers from the project go into the streets to find these children and offer them food and connect them to appropriate support services.

Myongdo Welfare Center

Located in Mokpo, Korea this center provides outreach services to 250 low income families in the neighborhood with various handicaps and needs. In the main center, they provide educational programs, training programs, and therapy for children and young adults with learning disabilities.

Seoul Shelter For Women

This shelter provides a safe, warm, and caring environment and provides medical care, mental health counseling, and encourages the women into self-support programs when possible.

The players also visited Dulwich College here in Seoul to play with members of the local youth rugby team. Below you can see rugby greats Israel Dagg, Joel Stransky, and Rod McCall, who played for the national teams of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, respectively, pose with Graeme Salt, Headmaster at Dulwich College Seoul, and three players from a local youth rugby team. The photos below were provided by Dulwich College after the rugby legends and ambassadors visited on August 31st.

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Rugby Clubs In Korea

Want to play rugby here in Korea? Here are the clubs and groups to check out. Find the one that is right for you and join up! These are the mainstays that have been around for awhile though there have been clubs that pop up in other areas from one year to the next. If these locations aren’t right for you, get in touch with them anyway to learn about the rugby scene here in Korea and see if there are new clubs that have started near you. Passionate rugby enthusiasts and players are pushing for growth in the sport in Korea every year so join now and help them grow!

If you want to learn more about the Han River Parks and which ones have places you can play, check out this guide to the 11 Han River Parks in Seoul, Korea.

Rugby Clubs Based in Seoul

Seoul Survivors Rugby Football Club: SSRFC is the oldest expatriate rugby club (founded in 1978) based in Seoul, Korea. They compete with Korea as well as around East Asia in the Korean Expat Rugby Association (KERA) as well as in the Yellow Sea Cup (YSC). The group provides the Seoul expat community with the opportunity to play the world’s greatest team sport in a social yet competitive environment. While the club is an “expatriate” group, they are completely open to all new members and currently have expats, Korea-based military personnel, and rugby-loving Koreans on their roster. Training is held every Saturday at 10:00am on the Jamwon Rugby Pitch unless otherwise noted.

For more information, check out the Seoul Survivors Facebook Page.

Seoul Sisters Rugby Football Club: Established in 2005, this is the oldest women’s rugby club in Korea and players on the team come from around the globe to train and compete. The club plays both touch and contact rugby to appeal to those that enjoy both versions and anyone including expats, military, students, and Korean nationals is welcome to join. The season is from March to November and the club practices in the Jamwon Rugby Pitch in Apgujeong.

For more information, check out the Seoul Sisters RFC Website.

Rugby Clubs Based in Busan

Busan Bandits Rugby Football Club: The club welcomes everyone to come out to weekly training sessions on Saturdays. The club plays  for fun as well as competitively in the KERA Cup, as well as other local and international competitions and welcomes everyone even novice players to join their team. The group is always looking for more players and hopes to spread the rugby message in Korea whenever they can.

For more information, check out the Busan Bandits website.

Rugby Clubs Based in Ulsan

Ulsan Goblins Rugby Club: The Ulsan based club also competes in the KERA cup and welcomes players of any level with any background.

For more information, check out the Ulsan Goblins Facebook Page.

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