Article taken from
http://www.mookas.us/media_view.asp?news_no=1522Article published under MAC President Hong Kang Kim's request; therefore it may not be in agreement with MOOKAS publication standards
Taekwondo is a martial art that proudly introduces important Korean culture to the world. We have succeeded in spreading Taekwondo to the world by making it a core sport at the Olympics. We also achieved the feat of allowing each individual to measure their abilities against each other based to Korean judging standards.
In order to come this far, many Taekwondo instructors offered self-sacrificing efforts, as well as Taekwondo masters' resolute endeavors to improve Taekwondo. How can people in non-Korean countries bow their heads daily in respect to the Korean flag? Even if it was forced upon, no one would follow to do this?
Showing respect to the Korean flag is a significant aspect of Taekwondo and it is something to be very proud about. At the same time, Taekwondo trainees who grew up learning Taekwondo understand and learn to appreciate the Korean culture. Has there been a better way to promote Korea?
Unfortunately, it is a harsh reality to observe the current status of Taekwondo; endless complaints about controversial judging, conflicts between numerous Taekwondo organizations, continuing wasted efforts to bring each other down, inability to quickly accommodate the needs of Taekwondo people all over the world, and the ongoing fight for political power.
Analyzing these problems, it is no longer issues that can be solved by any one organization, or one individual, and we now need the authority of the government to step in to bring order.
Foreign masters, simply with Taekwondo mentality and one dobok (uniform), help spreading Taekwondo all over the world. They have lost faith and respect towards Taekwondo in Korea due to all the political corruption and struggles for power that continue in Korea.
Some continental organizations are weakening Kukkiwon by striving towards their own dan issuing, and now it is absolutely necessary to restore faith back to Taekwondo entities in Korea.
If we cannot make the necessary changes and spend time complaining about power struggle, controversies over third party dan issuing instead of Kukkiwon, reaching the limits of Taekwondo techniques, unenjoyable Taekwondo, endless judging disagreements, we will surely lose the crucial support from the rest of the world to keep Taekwondo an Olympic sport.
In this case, we will return to a dark age for Taekwondo. Allowing this to occur would be a huge loss to our culture and more importantly, a sin to our children.
Observing contemporary history of Taekwondo, many outspoken arguments took place and each individual expressed their opinions, and after painfully long time, Korea Taekwondo Association was established in 1961. Taekwondo became the major and mandatory exercise for the army. During the Vietnam War, Korean soldiers applied actual use of Taekwondo, and steadily gained interest from people all over the world. Many countries competed to bring Taekwondo to their nation, and masters began teaching all over the world. In 1973, World Taekwondo Federation was established, following with organized infrastructures, along with Taekwondo masters spreading this martial art globally. Eventually this led to the world accepting Taekwondo as a Olympic sport.
Comparing Taekwondo advancement in matches and sport aspect, Taekwondo's mental and culture values have not been subjected for growth. It is a reality that authentic documentation for history of Taekwondo is lacking and we are in desperate need for further research.
Taekwondo is a representative brand of Korea following only after Hangul (Korean Language), globally prevalent in Asian, Europe, Africa, Pan-Am, and Oceania in the 5 continents with 188 member countries totaling over 70 million practitioners. There are 193 United Nations countries that practice Taekwondo. Taekwondo is a global representation of Korea.
Promoting Taekwondo's positive image and future visions, Kukkiwon strives to legally join under Ministry of Culture, pushing for a "Taekwondo, global cultural asset representing Korea". In retrospect, Taekwondo does have a bright future with Kukkiwon, Korea Taekwondo Association, and World Taekwondo Federation all working towards advancement of Taekwondo.
No matter the intentions of advancing Taekwondo, the way these organizations operate is the utmost importance. If the matches are not strictly judged upon skills and are involved in controversies, there can be no advancement can be achieved.
Also in the midst of Olympic sport issue, people cannot be self-interested and put their priorities before working to approve Taekwondo as an Olympic Core Sport. Rather than having people cooperate and functioning in unison, they are focused on their individual benefits.
Taekwondo needs changes. In order to do this, the old fashioned and men of controversial characters must be withdrawn. New men need to open a new age for Taekwondo. "New alcohol in new sack" adage is very appropriate in this case. We need make adjustments along the natural trend and if the leader is not a Taekwondo person, but is capable of leading, we need to follow.
Focusing on natural trend of the world and broadening to include the requests of other countries are absolute. We need a better system to communicate with the masters in other countries to assess and plan for bettering Taekwondo in a timely fashion. Years and years of experience they have can have immediate and practical changes.
Taekwondo does not only belong to Korea anymore. Taekwondo now belongs to the world and what they request is much more diverse and complicated to provide. We need to be able to keep up with the demands and quickly adjust so that we can accommodate for these people. We need to hand over Taekwondo to truly establish it as a global commodity.
We need to convince not only Taekwondo persons, but also the people that are not familiar with Taekwondo to understand that they are the future of Taekwondo and guide them in the right path for a bright future. It is our duty to convince these people to have interest in Taekwondo. We can no longer show the ongoing conflicts and pain that we cause to each other. As true Taekwondo people, we must work so they can be full of interest and begin to train Taekwondo. To develop Taekwondo into a fun martial art, we need to research and develop keeping non-practitioners as focus.
Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism's campaign, "Taekwondo, global cultural asset representing Korea", seems like a plan that is fully thought out and also envisions practical implementation of necessary changes. Some of these important changes are, further research on authentication of Taekwondo historically, dan issuing, education and demonstrations, and for Kukkiwon to focus more domestically on the matters on hand, while World Taekwondo Federation work to appease the needs of foreign masters and to lead the continental federations.
I have trained Taekwondo all my life, and I love Taekwondo, Taekwondo is everything in life for me, and as this person, I sincerely speak from the heart. We need to put aside our self interest and work for a brighter future for Taekwondo. The world is changing and there is a strong demand for us to change as well. I respectfully bow my head and ask that we can be more self-sacrificing and work as one for the betterment of Taekwondo.
-MAC President Hong Kang Kim
http://www.mookas.us/media_view.asp?news_no=1522
Accessed 3/10/2009
Grandmaster Byung Yul Lee
