Taekwandowon

Taekwondo, Korea’s traditional martial art has been practiced for a long time as a valuable means of self-defence and discipline of mind and body. Today, more than 70 million people in 206 countries practice Taekwondo. The newly opened Taekwandowon in Muju, Korea, is a home and mecca for world Taekwondoists. Kim visits this fantastic place to experience Taekwondo.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably done some martial arts as a kid, for me it was Judo. I even got my blue belt. For others, it may have been karate, but for 70 million people around the world in over 200 countries, it’s Korea’s own martial art, Taekwondo that’s the discipline of choice. It’s even an Olympic sport. Remember Lauren Burns winning our first ever Gold Medal in the sport in Sydney in 2000? If the idea of learning more about Taekwondo fascinates you, then a visit to South Korea’s new spiritual home of Taekwondo in Muju is a must.

Taekwondo’s World Federation Headquarters, set in a picturesque valley on the outskirts of Muju, is a state of the art facility that skilfully blends the best of Korean modern architecture into its manicured landscape and serene mountain surrounds. The heart and soul of Taekwondo can be found here, whether wandering around the wonderfully comprehensive museum or taking time to join in a training program. Even for a not so flexible and slightly unfit guy like me, the chance to work out with the masters is too good to miss.

There are 45 different training and hands-on programs including an introductory 8-hour tour that takes you through some basics. The programs here are open to anyone who is interested in training the mind and the body in the discipline of Taekwondo. It is a great honour to be trained by the masters, and the results of this mind and body control, are absolutely spellbinding. The gravity defying moves of these 5th Dan Black Belt students prove how incredibly gifted the human body can be.

Taekwondo is martial art using bare hands that is an amalgam of a number of different disciplines practiced by warriors as far back as the 1st Century. It combines combat and self-defence.

For more information, visit english.visitkorea.or.kr