Rediscovery of “Sokswae” Wrestling Among the Korean Diaspora in Yanbian: A Study on Northern Korean Embodied Culture and Diaspora Preservation

This study examines the rediscovery and documentation of “Sokswae,” a traditional wrestling form preserved among Korean diaspora communities in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture of northeastern China. The rediscovery emerged during a 2016 Korea–China academic exchange jointly conducted with the Department of Physical Education at Yanbian University. Although fragments of the tradition had occasionally been referenced in Korea under categories associated with “late satba ssireum,” practical knowledge concerning terminology, transmission structure, and embodied practice had become fragmented within the Korean Peninsula itself. Through interaction with Choe Ryong-won, a former ethnic Korean wrestling champion in China and graduate researcher at Yanbian University, researcher Song Jun-ho identified surviving terminology and practice structures preserved among descendants of migrants originating from northern Hamgyeong Province. The findings later led to the 2023 publication of Hamgyeong-do Folk Physical Technique Sokswae and related SSRN research concerning Hamgyeong-do folk physical culture. This paper argues that Sokswae represents an important example of northern Korean embodied cultural continuity preserved through diaspora transmission.