Rep. Kim Jang-sil, a co-organizer of the Taekwondo Forum held 

at the National Assembly Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, on March 10. 

A forum on the reform of Taekwondo, one of the most popular Korean traditional martial arts, and the visions and strategies for its globalization took place on March 10, at the No. 1 Small Conference Room at the National Assembly Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, organized jointly by Reps. Kim Jang-sil and Park Chang-shik and hosted jointly by the World Taekwondo Federation, Kukiwon, the Korean Taek-wondo Association, the Taekwondo Promo-tion Foundation, and the International Culture Korea Center with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The two-part event got underway at 2 p.m. with the first part emceed by Cho Kun-jin, chief of the KBS Announcer Office. Rep. Kim Jang-sil, co-organizer, started the meeting with his opening declaration.

The legislator said Taekwondo is a representative cultural content for Korea and the initiator of Hallyu, the Korean cultural and entertainment fad sweeping the world. The martial art first kicked off its advancement into the world in the 1960s and 1970s with instructors spreading around the world to teach the martial art, Rep. Kim said. 

The Korean sport made the list of Olympics sports starting from the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics, the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics, and the 2012 London Summer Olympics and it will continue to be an event in the 2020 Summer Olympics to solidify its position as a favorite international sport played in 206 countries around the world, boosting the Korea’s image for having a sport with such a long tradition.

Keynote speakers, panel members and a number of legislators who 

participated in the Taekwondo Forum held on March 10 at the National 

Assembly Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, including Rep. Kim Moo-sung, and 

Chairman Bae Jhong-shin of the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation,

pose for a photo session.

Another co-organizer, Rep. Park Chang-shik, said in his welcoming speech, “We, Rep. Kim and I, have decided to hold the event today to further invigorate the traditional martial art around the world as it is a valuable cultural heritage of Korea.”

U.S. President Obama learned the martial art when he was a senator for over four years. American actress Jessica Alba also took up the sport to keep her body in shape, further boosting the popularity of the martial art around the world.

The globalization and educational value of Taekwondo helped to widely boost the reputation of the Korean culture and sports in the world. Rep. Park hoped that the seminar would be an occasion to further boost the popularity of Taekwondo and the Korean culture around the world.

The World Taekwondo Federation now has 206 countries as members with some 100 million people around the world practicing the Korean martial art, the ruling party chairman said. It will continue to spearhead the spread of Korean sports and art and entertainment around the world, which will be a great help for Korea to enter the realm of advanced nations, as they are as important as Korea’s economic and military power, he said.

Minister Yoo Jin-ryong of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in his congratulatory speech, said he would like to congratulate the seminar on Taekwondo held at the National Assembly and he hope that the new vision and strategy for the further development of Korea’s traditional martial art will boost its value as a cultural legacy for Korea.

The minister said the management of Taekwondo training centers is as important as boosting its global expansion and, therefore, should be taken up at the seminar.