North Korean Taekwondo Team in U.S., 04-17 October
by Richardson ~ October 4th, 2007. Filed under: Engagement, Korean Culture.The North Korean National Taekwondo Demonstration Team is in the U.S. for two weeks of putting on shows and experiencing American Imperialist bourgeois decadence:
TaeKwonDo Times will host the USA Goodwill Tour 2007 of the North Korean National TeaKwonDo Demonstration Team. The 2007 Goodwill Tour will take place in five cites including Los Angeles (CA), San Francisco (CA), Cedar Rapids (IA), Louisville (KY), and Atlanta (GA). About twenty North Korean team members will visit the USA for this event. The team will arrive at Los Angeles International Airport on October 4th, 2007 and leave on October 17th, 2007. During their two-week stay in the US, they will perform TaeKwonDo demonstrations and experience American culture.
The demonstration in each city will include a South Korean traditional group dance, the North Korean players’ TaeKwonDo demonstration, and a USA TaeKwonDo players’ demonstration. For details specific to each site’s performance, please contact the location coordinator.
The chair of the event, TaeKwonDo Times Publisher Woo Jin Jung, said, “We, TaeKwonDo Times, are pleased to announce the USA Goodwill Tour 2007 of the North Korean TaeKwonDo Demonstration Team. This tour is for peace and friendship between the USA and North Korea… TaeKwonDo Times will host the tour with the help of American martial artists, this event is not only for martial art people, but for all Korean Americans. TaeKwonDo Dojangs, martial art people, Korean churches, Korean communities - all of them are getting involved. We hope even more Korean Americans will get involved and come to support and enjoy the demonstration. We are just working hard to prepare for their arrival.” (emphasis added)
I’m hoping they’ll allow round-eyes get involved as well. Also see this video.
October 4th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
Should be very handy when wooden boards, acrobatic girls and dancers decide to attack.
I wonder whether North Koreans, too, will foam at the mouth when told that Tae Kwon Do is nothing more than bastardized Shotokan Karate.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
I’m going to their SF showing on Sunday and get to eat with them afterwards. should be interesting!
October 4th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
James,
I don’t know, but I’d like to be there when you told them!
Erik,
I envy you - please report back with what you see/hear.
October 7th, 2007 at 9:49 am
[edited] Just wait till you see them smash concrete with their heads [edited] Shotokan is ballet compared to Ninjitsu, Gyo Ryu and Jiu-jitsu- real-life combative martial arts- [edited]
October 8th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
Yup, baked concrete is pretty rough stuff.
October 11th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
Interesting comments James. You sound like someone who might be a bit jealous of the fact that Taekwondo simply is the most exciting and popular martial art in the world today. Or maybe it is close minded individuals like James that does not truly understand the concept of martial arts to begin with. I’m with you Richardson, I would also like to see if JamesNa is brave enough to address those comments to the demonstration team or better yet, with any Taekwondo practitioner.
October 12th, 2007 at 8:49 am
DB,
You sadly misunderstand my comment to James, who knows a good bit about Taekwondo (more than you’d imagine, I think) and the rest of what he’s talking about.
October 15th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
I don’t know about “exciting,” but I grant that it is very popular… especially with 5 year old girls.
I earned my first degree black belt in TKD in 1979 at Kukiwon, the World Tae Kwon Do Federation Headquarters.
In terms of fighting usefulness, that belt is worth less than the cost of the fabric (at 1979 prices).
I now prefer Brazilian Jujitsu, Muay Thai and Kodokan Judo (and a bit of Kali for knife and stick fighting when I find the time), but all for personal enjoyment. I am not testesterone-poisoned enough to think that these things are about “fighting” or “combat.” They prepare one for what I call contest fights (the most extreme of which are MMA fights like the UFC in the US and the now defunct Pride in Japan). They are closest things to real fights one finds on TV, but are still not the same thing as real fights.
November 29th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
To: North, Korea Taekwondo
I just want to say hello!