For a full week each October, about 20,000 athletes representing 16 cities and provinces throughout the country compete in about 40 separate sports.
The site rotates among the major cities, including Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju and Incheon.
Competitions are held in High School, College, and Regular Divisions.
The current annual numbering originates from the 1920 All-Korea Baseball Series and the formation of the Korean Sports Festival (조선체육회).
The Japanese colonial government held a multi-sport competition in 1925, but the Korean Sports Festival first became a national multi-sport competition in 1934, with baseball, soccer, tennis, track and field, and basketball.