 |
| ▲ At the 'National Sport Taekwondo Hanmaeum Grand Festival' held at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on the afternoon of the 25th, about 10,000 taekwondo veterans and trainees are showing a Poomsae demonstration performance to challenge the Guinness record. (Yonhap) |
 |
| ▲ At the 'National Sport Taekwondo Hanmaeum Grand Festival' held at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on the afternoon of the 25th, about 10,000 taekwondo veterans and trainees are showing a Poomsae demonstration performance to challenge the Guinness record. (Yonhap) |
 |
| ▲ At the 'National Sport Taekwondo Hanmaeum Grand Festival' held at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on the afternoon of the 25th, about 10,000 taekwondo veterans and trainees are showing a Poomsae demonstration performance to challenge the Guinness record. (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Mar. 26 (Yonhap) -- More than 12,000 taekwondo trainees have succeeded in a group demonstration to mark the designation of Taekwondo as Korea's "national sport," setting a new World Guinness record.
The Kukkiwon, the Korea Taekwondo Association, and the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation co-hosted the 2023 "National Sport" Taekwondo Hanmaum Grand Festival in Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, on Saturday.
The highlight of the event was the order in which participants wore taekwondo uniforms and demonstrated "Taegeuk Chapter 1."
According to the Kukkiwon, the number of participants is estimated to be 20,000, and 12,533 people challenged the most demonstration by the World Guinness Group, of which 12,263 succeeded, setting a new record.
The previous record was that 8,212 people succeeded in demonstrating the first chapter of the Taegeuk at the "Cheer of Peace in Taekwondo" event held at the National Assembly's grass square on April 21, 2018.
The event was designed to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the passage of the National Assembly on March 30, 2018, of the Act on the Promotion of Taekwondo and the Creation of Taekwondo Parks, which includes "The National Sport of Korea shall be Taekwondo."
The bill was jointly proposed by 225 lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties, led by Lee Dong-seop, the current head of the Kukkiwon, who was then the 20th member of the National Assembly and president of the National Assembly Taekwondo Federation. Through this bill, Taekwondo has been recognized as the only "national sport" among domestic sports.
Taekwondo officials attended the event, including head of Kukkiwon Lee Dong-seop and board president Jeon Gap-gil, World Taekwondo Federation president Cho Jung-won, Asian Taekwondo Federation chairman Lee Kyu-seok, Korea Taekwondo Association chairman Yang Jin-bang, and Taekwondo Foundation chairman Oh Eung-hwan.
In addition, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Hong Ik-pyo, chairman of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, Kwon Sung-dong, Hong Moon-pyo, president of the National Assembly's Taekwondo Federation, and former Prime Minister Jang Sang were also present.
The Kukkiwon also awarded Mayor Oh Se-hoon an honorary 8-dan certificate for actively supporting and cheering for the event.
Participants in the group demonstration transcended generations, from children to senior citizens in their 80s. About 300 foreigners living in Korea also attended.
Overseas, more than 10,000 KMS trainees demonstrated Taegeuk Chapter 1 at their respective stamps at the same time.
At the event, a variety of attractions were also held, including a demonstration performance by about 30 taekwondo demonstrators at Midong Elementary School in Seoul.
Funds were also raised for the relocation and construction of the aging current Kukkiwon building.
Lee Dong-seop, head of the Kukkiwon, said, "Through this event, you will be able to feel proud of Korea and great Taekwondo," adding, "Although the process of preparing for a mega event and thinking about safety was difficult, I hope it will be an unforgettable time for everyone to unite and become one."
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Yunhee Cho.)
(END)
(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved
