South Korea (World-News7) - Kukkiwon conducted the orientation education for ‘Masters appointed for 2021 Taekwondo Propagation Project for foreigners in Korea’ (hereinafter referred as to the Masters) who were appointed as an effort to popularize Taekwondo to foreigners residing in Korea.

The education was held at Taekwondowon (Muju) for two days from Friday, April 2 to Saturday, April 3 with the Kukkiwon executives, employees, and the Masters.

The Masters consists of 41 members, including 23 Taekwondo masters from the United States Forces Korea and 18 Taekwondo masters from university Korean language institutes and foreigner support organizations, who were appointed through an open recruiting.

Supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (MCST), the Taekwondo Propagation Project for Foreigners in Korea aims to popularize Taekwondo, one of the representative cultural contents of Korea, to military members of the United States Forces Korea as well as foreign students and workers.

The education has focused on teaching Taekwondo practices (basic movements, Poomsae, self-defense, Taekwondo terminology, etc.) to give training properly and also conducted sexual harassment and sexual violence prevention training as well as administration training.

Kukkiwon has been providing the education annually aiming to improve masters’ qualifications and competence and to seek out ways to improve the project.

At the closing ceremony of the education, Kukkiwon President Lee Dong-sup said, “Taekwondo has been recognized and beloved in the international community since it highlights to build one’s character as gentle and mild-tempered”. Also, he made an earnest request, saying “Please join our efforts with pride in popularizing the martial art Taekwondo so that Kukkiwon can leap once again”.

Considering the availability of practitioners, the Masters have provided training to the members of the United States Forces Korea (16-20 times/month) and students of university Korean language institutes and applicants from foreigner support organizations (8-12 times/month). Currently, due to novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Masters offer training videos for contact-free as well as in-person training at the same time.