Korea officially recognized Taekwondo as cultural heritage
MUJU, South Korea – The archives of the Korean Army Taekwondo Instructor Corps serving in Vietnam were recognized as Registered Cultural Heritage by the Jeonbuk provincial government, in an unprecedented event in the history of Taekwondo.
MUJU, South Korea – The archives of the Korean Army Taekwondo Instructor Corps serving in Vietnam were recognized as Registered Cultural Heritage by the Jeonbuk provincial government, in an unprecedented event in the history of Taekwondo.
The material preserved at the National Taekwondo Museum, located in Taekwondowon in Muju, includes uniforms, photographs, documents, and original records of the group of instructors who taught Taekwondo in Vietnam during the 1960s.
These items are testimony of one of the first international missions of the Korean martial art and mark the starting point of Taekwondo’s global expansion.
This is the first time that materials related to Taekwondo have been designated as cultural heritage in South Korea.
The decision recognizes the historical, educational, and symbolic value of this legacy, which transcends the realm of sports and consolidates Taekwondo as an integral part of Korean cultural heritage.
The National Taekwondo Museum and the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation worked for years to collect, digitize, and analyze these materials, in conjunction with veterans of the instructor corps and the Korean Ministry of Defense.
The project made it possible to recover unpublished documents and to spread the word about the contribution of those masters who took Taekwondo beyond the borders of their country.
The president of the Foundation, Kim Joong-heon, explained that the recognition “reinforces the value of Taekwondo not only as a martial discipline or Olympic sport, but as a living expression of Korean history and culture.”
The incorporation of this legacy into the cultural heritage registry consolidates the idea that Taekwondo is not only a sport, but also a symbol of national identity and a vehicle for cultural exchange.
Institutional recognition of its early history strengthens the foundations of the modern martial movement and highlights the responsibility to preserve it for future generations.
MAS: Media About Sport.
TKD: Taekwondo.
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