Jeonbuk Province Postpones World Taekwondo Culture Expo... 'What a Shame~'

Jeonbuk Provincial Government Office building.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Gominhyeong] Jeonbuk Province has decided to postpone the international-scale Taekwondo competitions that were scheduled to be held at Muju Taekwondowon from the end of July.

On the 22nd, Jeonbuk Province held an executive committee meeting of the ‘World Taekwondo Culture Expo Organizing Committee’ and announced that the 13th World Taekwondo Culture Expo, which was scheduled to be held for six days from July 29 to August 3 under the auspices of the Jeonbuk Sports Council, will be postponed to November 8?12.

Additionally, the 4th Kim Un-yong Cup International Open Taekwondo Competition, a World Taekwondo Federation approved event (G1), originally scheduled for August 5?10, has been postponed to October 30?November 4 (6 days).

At the executive committee meeting held that day, related organizations including the province, Muju County, Taekwondo Promotion Foundation, and Jeollabuk-do Sports Council attended and resolved to postpone the competitions to prevent the spread of community infections due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

Originally, Jeonbuk Province, Muju County, and the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation aimed to revitalize Taekwondowon, established as a sacred place for Taekwondo practitioners, by resuming the World Taekwondo Culture Expo and newly hosting the Kim Un-yong Cup International Open Taekwondo Competition, which had been held in Seoul until last year, thereby enhancing synergy effects through the successful hosting of two international-scale competitions.

However, due to the nature of Taekwondo competitions held indoors with many people gathering, and the recent significant increase in confirmed cases through places such as Itaewon clubs, the risk of nationwide spread has increased, making it inevitable to postpone the competitions.

Nonetheless, the competitions postponed to October and November will be continuously monitored for COVID-19 infection trends and government quarantine guidelines, and the final decision on whether to proceed with the competitions will be made through ongoing discussions with related organizations.

Gwak Seung-gi, Director of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the province, said, “It is regrettable that the large-scale international competitions planned to be held to revitalize Taekwondowon have been inevitably postponed to prevent the spread within the province, which is a COVID-19 clean area, and to ensure the safety of residents. Since the competitions have been postponed, we will establish diverse event plans and devote all efforts to thorough preparation and support so that the two competitions can be successfully held.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.