Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Tourists in Seoul trade World Cup fever for taekwondo
Foreign visitors practice basic taekwondo moves during a free class at Namsangol Hanok Village in Seoul, Sunday. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government
By Jung Min-ho
Despite rain, foreign visitors choose mats over screens at Namsangol Hanok Village
While much of the world had its eyes glued to the 2026 World Cup, a small plaza in central Seoul filled up on Sunday instead with the sound of “kihap” as visitors lined up to kick, punch and bow their way through a hands-on taekwondo class.
Under a summer sky at Namsangol Hanok Village, tourists from different parts of the world followed an instructor’s count — “One and two, easy, good!” — as they practiced basic stretches and front kicks on a mat laid out in front of a traditional Korean pavilion. Some in sneakers and shorts tried to mirror the black belt teacher leading the session, while others laughed as they struggled to keep their balance.
This class came after a 30-minute taekwondo showcase featuring wooden board-breaking, traditional dance and K-pop-style choreography, before the performers waved visitors onto the mat to try the moves themselves.
All participants, especially the children, appear to have enjoyed it. Vince Ward, an American from Kansas City whose parents were in town visiting, said he signed up as soon as he spotted the program being advertised.
“We thought it would be a great opportunity for them to see something and learn a little bit more about Korean culture,” he told The Korea Times.
Asked about his favorite part, he laughed and said, “The whole thing … The kids love it,” adding that the mix of kicks, K-pop tracks and traditional dance elements kept them engaged from start to finish.
Members of a taekwondo demonstration team perform a synchronized routine at Namsangol Hanok Village in Seoul, Sunday. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government
The free taekwondo performance and experience program is an initiative of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's tourism bureau, launched in 2007 to give foreign visitors a chance to encounter Korean culture through regular weekend shows and small-group classes. This year's program runs from May 9 to Oct. 18, with shows every Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. July and August are excluded due to the summer heat.
Officials said audience numbers rebounded sharply in recent years as post-pandemic tourism returns to the capital. After the pandemic forced the city government to cancel or put off many of its tourism programs, the cultural events resumed in 2022 and attendance has been climbing ever since.
“Compared to last year, turnout in the first half of this year is already much higher,” an organizing official said.
Spectators take photos and applaud as a taekwondo demonstration team performs on stage at Namsangol Hanok Village in central Seoul, Sunday. Korea Times photo by Jung Min-ho
By the time the taekwondo show began that day, the covered stands were already packed, with latecomers spilling into the open plaza. As the performance picked up, more people drifted over from elsewhere in the traditional cultural village, edging closer to the stage to snap photos on their phones, holding cameras aloft to catch every jump kick and board break.
On this rainy afternoon, the weather forced organizers to scale back some of the planned activities, including a hands-on pad-kicking segment prepared for the class. Yet even as raindrops began to fall, not a single participant left. Everyone stayed on the mat, following instructions to the end and laughing their way through the shortened routine.
For Sung Si-hoon, a visiting professor at Woosuk University who led the participation session as an instructor, the scene at Namsangol shows how far taekwondo has traveled since 2007. He remembers wondering in the early days whether anyone would show up at all. But now, the martial art has grown into a worldwide sport and performance art that helps define Korea’s image abroad.
“In football, FIFA has 211 member countries. But taekwondo is practiced in 213,” Sung said. With the World Cup now underway, global passion may still be focused on football, but seeing foreign tourists spend a rainy Sunday kicking on a Seoul stage instead of just cheering at a screen is “enough to make me proud,” he added.