Taekwondo is a globally-recognized sport
which was the main reason I applied for the taekwondo tour hosted by the
Taekwondo Promotion Foundation (TPF). Here is how the first day of the tour
began. I met many friendly faces at the Sejong Center, the departing point, and
two buses full of excited and anticipated students moved to Muju. We were
welcomed with detailed presentation on the Taekwondowon, followed by a site tour
to show us the under-construction site of taekwondowon. We were said that the
taekwondo center will be operating from September, 2013 after being
constructed. Towards the evening came Bandiland Tour where we were given an
opportunity learn more about the fireflies. Even though we couldn’t see any
fireflies at that moment, we were flourished with knowledge on fireflies,
butterflies and other insects. We spent the night at warm and cozy Deogyusan
Resort.
On the second day, we visited the Vision
University of Jeonju. All the students were very excited to be given taekwondo
uniforms. Especially students like me who got to wear the uniform looked
thrilled and overwrought. After getting changed into taekwondo uniform, we sat
in the hall to see dynamic, fun and lively taekwondo performance. There was a
lot of “shouting” which added spice to the non-verbal performance. Various
movements such as jabs and punches, kicks, mitt kicking, self-defense, breaking
the wood, and sparring were demonstrated.
Foreigner students looked really
psyched after the performance by the local students. The performance really
inspired the foreigners to kick higher, shout louder and punch harder with bare
feet and hand; especially the girls did a good job for the first-timers. Taekwondo
lesson was ended after a group-photo session.
So much of kicking and punching made many
of us hungry that everyone seemed to enjoy the lunch. We explored around Jeonju
Folk Village for an hour and the final experience was making traditional
necklace. The lady and her daughter who was working at the jewelry-making place
were very kind for helping us make necklace. The most interesting thing was
guys made even prettier necklaces than girls did and we were allowed to take
our own work home which was a wonderful souvenir. The manager of the TFT
presented with a cup (with taekwondo prints on it) saying that he enjoyed the
time he spent with us and wished us a merry Christmas in advance.
By the end of the day, I felt like the TFT
team has done a great job by fulfilling their goals of triggering international
students’ interest in taekwondo and to provide young foreigners with opportunities
to practice and promote taekwondo. We said goodbye with a contented heart.
