Gangnam-gu to Host 'Foreigners Taekwondo Competition Festival' at Kukkiwon on the 28th

900 Taekwondo Practitioners from 20 Countries Participate
Competing in 5 Events Including Poomsae and Experiencing Korean Traditional Culture

The scene from last year's foreigner Taekwondo competition festival. Provided by Gangnam-gu.

Gangnam-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Jo Seong-myeong) announced on the 24th that it will hold the "2024 Foreigners Taekwondo Competition Festival" at Kukkiwon from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the 28th.

About 900 foreign Taekwondo practitioners from approximately 20 countries, including U.S. Forces Korea, foreign international students and workers, and multicultural families, will participate in this event to showcase the skills they have honed so far. It is expected to be an opportunity to share and communicate Taekwondo techniques and spirit.

The competition on the day will proceed in the following order: ▲morning competition (9 a.m. to 11 a.m.) with Poomsae competition and sparring preliminaries ▲opening ceremony (11 a.m. to 12 p.m.) ▲afternoon competition (1 p.m. to 5 p.m.) with sparring finals, and awards ceremony (5 p.m.). The competition will be divided into student divisions (elementary, middle, and high school) and adult divisions, competing in five categories: Poomsae, sparring, hand strike breaking, speed kicking, and high jump kicking. Medals and plaques will be awarded according to the rankings in each category.

As a side event, traditional Korean cultural experience programs will be offered for foreign participants and spectators. These include experience programs such as making Hahoe masks, spinning tops, folding ttakji (traditional paper cards), and pounding rice cakes, as well as enjoying traditional games like archery, tuho (arrow throwing), maltugi (a traditional game), and wangjaegi chagi (kicking a shuttlecock). At the photo zone set against Kukkiwon, visitors can take pictures wearing Taekwondo uniforms, and taste traditional foods such as injeolmi (rice cake coated with powdered beans), sikhye (sweet rice drink), and dalgona (honeycomb toffee).

Since 2022, Gangnam-gu has been jointly hosting the Foreigners Taekwondo Competition Festival with Kukkiwon and the Korea Foreigners Taekwondo Culture Association. From August 23 to the 11th of this month, the competition was promoted and participants were recruited targeting U.S. Forces Korea, foreign support organizations, and multicultural family support centers.

District Mayor Jo Seong-myeong stated, "Through this Taekwondo competition festival, I hope foreigners deeply experience Korean culture through Taekwondo and communicate with each other," adding, "We will continue to create various opportunities to promote Korean traditional culture widely and engage with the world through Taekwondo as a medium."

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