Children play around a horse at the Let’s Run Park at the Seoul Racing Track in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, south of Seoul.(Photos:KRA)

For the first time in their lives, the three children of actor Song Il-kuk saw a horse in action at the Let’s Run Park in Seoul. On the “Happy Sunday-Superman Returns” Program broadcast on the KBS-2 on February 1, actor Song Il-kuk and his sons — Daehan, Minkuk and Mansei — talked about their experiences.

Actor Song has shown his horseback riding skills in period drama pieces and he said it’s his dream to play a polo game with his three sons. He said he hopes they would well with the horses.

Already an accomplished horseback rider, actor Song rode a horse weighing over a ton around the grass field at Let’s Run Park. He was not at ease first, but he soon he got used to the horse and showed his skills with the three kids getting excited, which was shown on TV.

Next, Daehan, Minkuk and Mansei fed the tall horse, a Shetland Pony, directly with Mansei entering the fence to touch her. It was not shown on TV, but Daehan and Mansei enjoyed seeing the animal jumping over the huddles, and went toward the horse — no longer fearful.

An official of the Korea Racing Authority (KRA) said Let’s Run Park has an excellent location at Gwachon, near Seoul, which is a good place for family outings. Unlike general zoos, it has many different breeds of horses for kids to enjoy.

KRA is always happy to let entertainment TV programs take place at the park for publicity. The park, which will be partially open during Chuseok this year, wants to attract more families.

Horseback riding is said to be good for children’s mental health. 

KRA officials said they have been teaching children how to play polo with Shetland ponies.

For the first time in Korea’s horseracing history, horses owned by foreigners participated in the races. On April 1, Joseph Dallao, 55, participated in the new owners Orientation, which was among 10 new horse owners in the event. 

Mr. Dallao is the CEO of L-3 Communication’s Korea Branch. He first came to Korea in 1981 as an officer in the U.S. Armed Forces. He earned a Master’s and Ph.D in international affairs at Yonsei University in Seoul.

He started to work for L-3 Communication, the third largest defense-related company in the U.S., It is manufacturer of electronics and parts for the  automation of ship navigation equipment. He became the only thoroughbred foreign owner among some 1,000 registered race horse owners in Korea.

It is difficult to be registered as a racehorse owner in Korea. One has to earn more than 100 million won in two consecutive years and pay annual average income taxes of more than 4 million won for two years in a row. 

The most notable racehorse owners in Korea include Chairman Lee Woong-yeol of Kolon Group, Chairman Lee Jang-han of Chongkeundang and Chairman Chi Seong-han of Hansong Industry, among others. 

The KRA eased its registration conditions for racehorse owners, which enabled Dallao to register.

He said he would like to find and breed horses to win many races, which is not easy, much like running businesses. People own the racehorses in the U.S. as a business, but they also want to own racehorses for the sake of their reputation and be regarded as successful in their lives.

Joseph Dallao, the first foreign race horse owner in Korea, is seen with his horse, along with his wife.