The Taekwondo Promotion Foundation invited the 'initial government-sponsored Taekwondo instructors,' who laid the foundation for the globalization of Taekwondo, to Taekwondowon for a two-day, one-night schedule starting on the 20th, including a tour of the National Taekwondo Museum and a meeting with them.
The government-sponsored Taekwondo instructors have a history of about 50 years, starting from the ROK Army Taekwondo instructor group in the 1960s and continuing with dispatches from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Korea Taekwondo원. This invitation meeting included seven individuals, such as Instructor Kwak Gi-ok, who worked in Ghana from the 1970s to the 1980s, Instructor Lee Byeong-ho from Nigeria, Instructor Kim Yong-gwang from Libya, Instructor Kim Sun-gong from Burkina Faso, Instructor Kang Sin-cheol from Iran, Instructor Jeong Gi-young from Egypt, and Instructor Hong Eun-hu from Tunisia, who shared their experiences of promoting Taekwondo and fulfilling their roles as private diplomats.
Instructor Kwak Gi-ok, who was dispatched to Ghana, said, "Most of the first generation of overseas dispatched instructors sent by the government are now in their 70s, and I am grateful that we were invited to Taekwondowon and the National Taekwondo Museum before it gets any later. I ventured into a foreign country where language did not connect, and food and culture were unfamiliar, with just my Taekwondo uniform, and worked diligently for a long time to help Taekwondo take root there. Now, those seeds have created a strong network abroad through Taekwondo." He expressed his hope that the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation and the National Taekwondo Museum would preserve the achievements of the overseas dispatched instructors.
Kim Joong-heon, chairman of the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation, noted, "It is an honor to host the initial government-sponsored Taekwondo instructors at Taekwondowon, and thanks to their efforts, overseas instructors have been able to have more active engagement. The National Taekwondo Museum will continue to make its best efforts to preserve the history of government-sponsored Taekwondo instructors through various methods such as video recordings."
Meanwhile, the National Taekwondo Museum has identified 32 instructors dispatched by the government to foreign countries from the 1970s to the 1980s across 21 countries. It plans to compile related materials and conduct research and exhibitions to ensure that these records can be handed down to future generations.
[Photo] Provided by the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation.
By OSEN reporter Woo Chung-won.