Migration has commonly been theorised as a process that ends with settlement in a new country and thus return visits have not been conceptualised as part of the migration experience. As has been noted in the literature, the return visit is a temporary visit to an individual’s place of birth (or the ‘external homeland’) from a current country of residence which may help immigrants to construct and negotiate a transnational identity between the new and old homes. This study focuses on how one government, South Korea, uses sport as a part of a wider strategy to encourage return visits in order to maintain cultural, economic and political connections with overseas citizens. More specifically, this paper examines the experiences of Korean immigrants living in New Zealand who return to Korea to participate in the annual National Sports Festival. Drawing upon document analysis, interviews and participant observation data, three different types of experiences emerged: (1) athletic experiences through the event itself; (2) nostalgic experiences from reconnecting with families and friends or enjoying forms of culture and entertainment difficult to access in the receiving country; and (3) political and economic experiences through interactions with politicians and business people which may contribute to mutual benefits between their old and new homes. Overall, the paper discusses the experience and implications of Koreans who represent New Zealand in an (inter)national sport and cultural festival and its influence on their transnational lives and identities.