A dominant force indoors in the sport in Asia, South Korea has never fielded a team at any of the seven men's or five women's editions of the Asian Handball Federation's (AHF) Asian Beach Handball Championships since its inception in 2004.

They have also never appeared at the Asian Beach Games, which started in 2008, but this is set to change in Chinese city Sanya between November 28 and December 6.

Open trials and demonstration events have been held in South Korea, with athletes coming through national team selections.

This includes one event which was held at Gwangalli Beach in Busan in August.

An Jeong-Hyeon, from the department of national teams and international affairs at the KHF, said the governing body wanted to ensure the nation was following the correct trends in the sport.

"Firstly, as a powerhouse in Asia, we need to ensure that we go along and follow international handball trends," he said.

"Beach handball has really caught on in recent years with the trend rising not only in Asia, but especially in Europe.

"Further to this, the KHF's purpose, interest and passion is to spread a base interest in handball as a whole across our domestic structure and further afield.

"Beach handball is clearly part of this."

An also explained that there were problems in the 1990s for those who wanted to start beach handball in South Korea, as there was very little interest at the time.

Players selected for the current national team were rated on a combination of their basic physical skills, skills related to handball and their understanding of the beach handball rules and regulations.

The men's youth team are also preparing for the AHF Asian Youth Beach Handball Championship, which is scheduled to take place from September 11 to 17 in Bangkok.

The International Handball Federation is hoping beach handball will be added to the Paris 2024 Olympic programme.