{
  "id": 13048578,
  "title": "Back to part-time jobs: Athletes in less popular sports face harsh realities",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/back-to-part-time-jobs-athletes-in-less-popular-sports-face-harsh",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-09T06:37:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/sports/20261009/back-to-part-time-jobs-athletes-in-less-popular-sports-face-harsh-realities"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Once the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games conclude, athletes from less popular sports face challenging circumstances. Upon returning from the competition, they must resume demanding jobs to sustain themselves financially. Kim Geon-myeong, a 32-year-old member of Korea's kabaddi team, exemplifies this predicament. Before the Asian Games, he juggled his duties as a sanitation worker with rigorous training sessions, even after securing his spot on the national team. Kim's journey with kabaddi began under the guidance of Lee Jang-gun, a 34-year-old senior player and university graduate. After Korea's failure to qualify for the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Kim contemplated alternative career paths before accepting a job as a sanitation worker for the Geumjeong District Office in Busan.\n\nKorea lacks professional kabaddi teams, making it difficult for national team members to secure full-time employment in their sport. After the Asian Games' success, Korean kabaddi gained public attention, with Lee, its most well-known player, featured on television variety shows. Despite this newfound recognition, the sport's infrastructure remains underdeveloped, leaving athletes in a precarious position after their athletic career concludes.",
  "summary": "For athletes in less popular sports, life after the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games can be harsh. Once the competition is over, they must return to demanding jobs to make a living. Kim Geon-myeong, 32, a member of Korea’s kabaddi team, worked as a sanitation worker while preparing for the Asian Games, squeezing in training sessions before and after work even after making the national team. He took…",
  "key_points": [
    "Athletes from less popular sports struggle post-Asian Games.",
    "Kim Geon-myeong, former kabaddi player, works as sanitation worker.",
    "Korea's kabaddi lacks professional teams and infrastructure."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The lack of professional teams in less popular sports like kabaddi forces national athletes to take part-time jobs, limiting their career options and leaving them with financial uncertainty after their athletic careers end.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Back to part-time jobs: Athletes in less popular sports face harsh realities",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/back-to-part-time-jobs-athletes-in-less-popular-sports-face-harsh-13051881",
        "published": "2026-10-09T06:52:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}