Sport is important for us because it gives both physical and mental benefits to us. The most significant physical benefit is that it improves physical health. Through working out or being engaged in intense physical activities, we can reduce blood pressure, and heart disease risk. It is also great for weight loss and weight control. Healthy body is closely connected to positive mind as well. Regular aerobic exercise is proven to increase endorphins and other positive hormones in the body. So I think it is important to keep exercise as a daily routine. 

In my opinion, the most famous sports player in Korea right now is Ryu Hyun Jin. He is a baseball player of LA Dogers. He was already a legendary pitcher in Korea even before he went to US. He was in the Korean national team that won gold medal at Beijing Olympic and Asian Game. But now, he is the first Korean person to won a game in the US Major League Baseball post season. So Korean people are very proud of him.

Sports stars such as Kim Yu-na, who is a famous figure skater, are respected by children, and I think it has positive effects on children. Because children can learn the importance of diligence, passion, professionalism and fair competition. To become good at sports, I mean professional level, one should work hard to get a result, and even if they fail, they keep on going.  I think children can learn important values from those examples.

Hmm, it seems to me that men and women choose different sports in Korea. Men choose more physically-demanding sports and women tend to go for more relaxing exercises such as Yoga. It is hard to pinpoint the exact reason behind it, but I think it is partially the influence of early education. Because in Korea boys are encourage to play active sports like soccer and girls play rather more relaxing sports.