Kukkiwon Update

[dortiz]

I borrowed this off another reliable site:

On May 18, 2010, the entire Kukkiwon Board of Directors resigned, and 19 new
Board of Directors were selected. The 19 new Board members also elected a
new Kukkiwon Chairman of the Board, Mr. KIM Joo Hun. Mr. Kim was a Chung
Yong Kwan member who later switched to Jidokwan. He is the junior of the
current Kukkiwon president, GM LEE Seung Wan, who also serves as the current
Jidokwan President (Kwan Jang).
The Chung Yong Kwan was a small sub Kwan of the Chung Do Kwan/Oh Do Kwan. It
was founded by GM KO Jae Chun, who was an original student of GM LEE Won Kuk
at the Chung Do Kwan during the 1940's. The Chung Yong Kwan was based I
believe in the ROK Army's Chung Yong or Blue Dragon Division. GM Ko spent
his entire career in the ROK Army and I believe he retired as a Colonel.

 

[terryl965]

yea something is really going on over there, maybe we all can get together and say who really cares anymore. I know I am sounding bad but betwwen the KKW and the USAT I'm done.

 

[d1jinx]

we must be on the same mailing list!

 

[Archtkd]

This just appeared on the Taekwondo Times web site. Does it mean the reign of Seung-Wan Lee is over?


"Won Sik Kang has been elected as the new “Special Kukkiwon Law” president with a 100% approval from the committee. In Kang’s first public address, he pledge a respect across the world for everyone in Taekwondo and to help build relationships. It’s his hope that all Seniors, Juniors and everyone in between can work together towards one mutual goal of Taekwondo. Kang acknowledged the many problems and rough patches the Kukkiwon had endured last year and has expressed several goals for the near future. He has created a Special Task Force to restore Kukkiwon’s integrity and become a strong organization world wide. He would like to upgrade the website to increase their presence around the world. Mr. Kang also asked that if anyone had questions or concerns at any time, to please let him and his office know. Anything and everything is up for discussion and he will devote his life to Kukkiwon and this job.
Taekwondo Times Magazine would like to congratulate Mr. Kang on his newly appointed position and wish him well in restoring the Kukkiwon. We would also like to submit the first topic for discussion. Currently the Kukkiwon Committee consists of only Koreans. It is our opinion the Kukkiwon would benefit from bringing in members from other countries to join the committee."

 

[Archtkd]

According to one published source, Won Sik Kang: "Worked for the Korea TaeKwonDo Association, the AsiaTaeKwonDo Union and also the Kukkiwon. He is currently a Professor in the TaeKwonDo Department at Yong-in University and the President of TaeKwonDoShinmun, a TaeKwonDo newspaper in Korea."

 

[d1jinx]

Not sure who reads TKD Times or who actually cares but here is the article from this months mag explaining the mess going on over there.

Special Kukkiwon Law By Guy Edward Larke & the TKDT Editorial Staff
No member of the executive team at the Kukkiwon
may have any type of criminal record.

For those of you who read international news or at least visit the home page of this periodical, you
probably know that a special revised Kukkiwon law was passed by the Korean government as of February
2010.
The movement for the law to revise the Kukkiwon board was put forth before the National Assembly
on February 18, 2010, by National Assembly Member Byoung-gug Choung. Of the 195 National
Assembly votes that day, 177 overwhelmingly voted for the law, with ten voting against and eight members
voting no contest. According to the law passed, a new Kukkiwon board must be put in place by May
17, 2010. Of the new administration, the revised law makes it clear that no member of the executive team
at the Kukkiwon may have any type of criminal record. The movement came only two short months after
Seung Wan Lee was elected as the new Kukkiwon president. Speaking with officials at USA Taekwondo,
the WTF organizational body in the U.S., things are “business as usual” with the Kukkiwon in the interim.
This move, revising the current board at the Kukkiwon, the world’s Mecca for Tae Kwon Do, by
Korean Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism In-chon Yoo is supported by South Korean President
Myoung-Bak Lee and his “anti-corruption” government. This has added to the unpopularity of his cabinet.
Already he is branded as a trouble maker and traitor to the Korean people. Some of the reasons may seem
petty but they are genuine concerns to the South Korean people. The issues that haunt him are being
born in Japan, his background in international trade (not politics), his severe hard line against North
Korea and his “too close” relationship to American President Barrack Obama. With the Ministry of
Culture, Sports and Tourism revising the Kukkiwon board, this has just added to the reasons the Korean
people feel embittered to him. Few feel he actually seems to be devoted in not just leading Korea but curing
the ills that plague his country.

Perhaps the government felt there was reason to worry. The Kukkiwon has grown in leaps and bounds
since its first opening on February 6, 1973. TKD is easily the most widely spread martial art in the world.
You can find schools in small towns in almost every country on the globe. However, the introduction of
TKD as an Olympic sport has brought with it a large double-edged sword. It is viewed by many as a “partial
art” with its strong focus on competition and lack of practicality. Many martial artists see the sport
as a game of tag with feet. In a world that now goes crazy about MMA and looks for instruction in arts
like Krav Maga, Tae Kwon Do as an art does face some serious challenges. The Kukkiwon seems totally
oblivious to this, when they should be trying to do something about it.
Another issue is the 2013 opening of the $185 million Taekwondo Park. While it should be seen as the
Mt. Olympus of TKD, it’s constantly surrounded by controversy, especially in regards to misappropriation
of funds. Rumors abound throughout this country that certain key figures are taking small cuts of the
large amount of funds allocated for the park. Top that off with the WTF and the Kukkiwon accusing one
another of misuse of money in regards to reporting funds to the government. Maybe one can see with so
much money changing hands some concern on the part of the government. Money going missing is no big
surprise to most, but when it becomes public knowledge then it becomes dangerous.
As is true government style in most countries, no one was consulted. It was announced, not proposed,
at a WTF General Assembly meeting in Tijuana, Mexico. Here is the content of the first page of the
document:
To Instructors Loving Taekwondo
The truth of the legal revision on promotion of Taekwondo related to Kukkiwon, which is the origin of
Taekwondo spirit, and construction of Taekwondo Park, etc. are as follows:
Dear Taekwondo families. I am In-chon Yoo, Minister of Culture, Sports & Tourism of Republic of Korea.
First, I, as the responsible officer of the government, hereby express my regret for the confrontation between
Kukkiwon and the government regarding the revision of the “Law on promotion of Taekwondo and construction
of Taekwondo Park (hereinafter called as “Taekwondo Promotion Law”), which has been executed
by the National Assembly in recent weeks.
Some are making assertion with no basis that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) is
executing the revision of the said-law to control Kukkiwon. For this reason, I wish to convey the purpose of
this law, its reason for revision and its major contents to the leaders who love Taekwondo and to ask for your
understanding and cooperation.
The Kukkiwon claims they did nothing and there is no way to prove one way or another. They claim
the move was to remove key people and replace them with politically loyal followers of Lee’s government.
Minister In-chon Yoo disputes this claim, stating that the Ministry’s plans are only to replace the current
Kukkiwon board with Tae Kwon Do professionals, not government officials. In fact, noted Korean
historian Won Sik Kang has suggested replacing the current Kukkiwon board with an even divide of ten
well-standing individuals from the WTF, Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA) and the Taekwondo
Promotion Foundation (TPF), creating a 30-member Kukkiwon board that would be well-respected and
fair. Still, there are more suggestions from the public on how to replace the Kukkiwon board, including
electing Tae Kwon Do professors from Korean universities to sit on the board of the Kukkiwon.
Once again money and corruption seems to be on the front page of every newspaper on an almost daily
basis. One becomes desensitized to it after awhile. Many Koreans just automatically suspect if you have
any kind of “position,” you’re dirty. Morally, it’s a travesty. One can only hope Minister In-chon Yoo and
President Lee are sincere and can clean up the mess that is perpetuating in the Kukkiwon and the country.
Koreans typically react to government interference of any kind with anger, foul language and good
old fashioned violence. Even in government meetings violence is very common. In other cases many just
complain and whine and curse anyone with power. This is sadly another thing you can see weekly in the
media. The idea of debate or quiet protest is lost here.
What now? Outside of the speeches and lip service, who can say for sure? The Kukkiwon was far
from perfect, especially in its treatment to non-Koreans, but will the new “group” be any different really?
One thing is for sure, TKD as a whole is on shakier ground than before. This became evident when
Co-President of the USAT Martial Arts Commission of California, Young Keun Lee made the announcement
that the old system needs to be moved out and the new system needs to be brought in, in regards
to the Kukkiwon board. The Ministry needs to take more steps to ensure the stability of the association
in Korea and the world in general. They have to realize that this does affect much more than them. This
affects every country’s association, every city’s association, every school and every student.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Guy Edward Larke sabumnim has dedicated his life from a young age to the pursuit of the martial arts,
Asian culture and hopology. It led him to Korea in 2000 and he has lived there since. He lives in Daejeon city with his wife Gi-Ryung
and son Alexander. He holds black belts in Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido, Taekkyon, Bon Kuk Kum, Korean kickboxing, Karate-do, Wushu,
Cheonji-muye-do, and Hosin-sul. Currently he teaches Taeglish (English Taekwondo) full time in addition to writing for various magazines
and running Kisa-Do Muye & Marketing. He can be contacted at [email protected].
taekwondotimes.com / July 2010 23

 

[Archtkd]

Thanks, but the article, which the magazine has promoted as news, really tells us nothing new. At best it's very poor journalism. Actually it's a shoddily authored opinion piece with no real sourcing, attribution, or context. What a wasted opportunity for a magazine that is in position to do serious work, if it's publishers wanted.

 

[Miles]

Thanks, but the article, ......it's a shoddily authored opinion piece with no real sourcing, attribution, or context. What a wasted opportunity for a magazine that is in position to do serious work, if it's publishers wanted.

That's exactly what it is-an opinion. And you know what they say about opinions?

I like TKD Times but don't read it for any news.