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2026 World Cup Korea vs Mexico
Korean fans cheer for their team outside Guadalajara Stadium in Zapopan, Mexico, ahead of the 2026 World Cup Group A soccer match between Mexico and Korea, June 18. AFP-Yonhap
Jun 19, 2026photo
Choi Won-suk
Korea Times Photo Reporter
Choi Won-suk is a photojournalist at The Korea Times. Before joining the newspaper, he also worked as a photojournalist with AFP and St. Joseph News-Press in Missouri. He spent 13 years in the United States, graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism degree (Cum Laude) from the University of Missouri - Columbia and a Master of Arts in Photography from Ohio University - Athens. Over the past 11 years, Choi covered various news events such as presidential elections, the 2019 North Korea-United States Hanoi Summit and 2022 Qatar World Cup. But above all, Choi believes in local journalism and finds a lot of joy telling life stories of ordinary citizens in small neighborhoods.
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Sports
Asian Games goes digital: Virtual taekwondo added for 2026
Virtual taekwondo is officially heading to the Asian Games, marking a major milestone for the digital discipline just days after a high-profile showcase in Italy. World Taekwondo announced Monday that virtual taekwondo has been added to the official program for the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games. The inclusion was ratified by the Asian Games Organizing Committee Board and approved by the Olympic Council of Asia. The Asian Games competition is scheduled for Oct. 2 at the Toyohashi City General Gymnasium in Japan. It will feature a 16-player, single-elimination bracket open to male and female athletes between the ages of 17 and 35. Unlike traditional taekwondo, the technology-driven format is designed to remove traditional barriers such as weight class, age and gender. By focusing on technique and speed rather than raw physical force, it creates a structure that allows diverse athletes to compete on even terms. Competitors face off in a 4-by-4-meter physical space wearing VR headsets and five motion sensors on their upper bodies, knees and lower legs. Real-time motion-tracking technology t
Jun 16, 2026
Darkroom
Fans prove just as passionate as players at 2026 World Cup
Fans of Argentina take part in a prematch rally in support of the Argentina national soccer team in New York's Times Square, June 15. AP-Yonhap
Jun 16, 2026photo
Darkroom
2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off
South Korea's Son Heung-min, center, celebrates with teammates after winning a 2026 FIFA World Cup Group A soccer match against the Czech Republic at Guadalajara Stadium in Mexico, Thursday, June 11. Reuters-Yonhap
Jun 12, 2026photo
Sports
Young Syrian refugees conclude Rome taekwondo tour with private Colosseum visit
ROME — Seven young taekwondo athletes from refugee camps in Jordan capped off a busy week in Rome early Sunday morning with an exclusive visit to the Colosseum. Courtesy of the Italian Taekwondo Federation (FITA), the refugee children and World Taekwondo delegates were the only guests inside the historic landmark. The athletes — Laour Fahed Alahmad, Marwa Ealawi Almahmoud Alshaeikh, Loujain Wesam Alrefaei, Sereen Mohammad Ghuzlan, Huda Khaled Alkhaled, Baraa Mohammad Aldamad and Remas Yaser Haji Ramadan — are Syrian nationals between the ages of 7 and 14 based at the Azraq and Za’atari camps. The private Sunday tour concluded an eventful itinerary for the children. Earlier in the week, they joined World Taekwondo President Choue Chung-won for a visit to the Vatican to meet with Pope Leo XIV. They also stepped onto the mats at the Foro Italico to compete in the Kim and Liù youth tournament, held concurrently with the Rome 2026 World Taekwondo Grand Prix. During their morning at the Colosseum, the children watched the World Taekwondo Performance Team and FITA’s Ciao Team delive
Jun 7, 2026
Sports
Rome hosts dual taekwondo tournaments, pairing youth festival with Grand Prix
ROME — The historic Foro Italico complex has transformed into a sprawling, dual-level arena for global taekwondo this weekend, running Europe’s largest youth martial arts tournament concurrently with an elite international Grand Prix. The Kim and Liù tournament has drawn a formidable field of approximately 2,000 children between the ages of 6 and 11 from across Europe. Named after two fictional characters from an educational comic book created nearly two decades ago by the Italian Taekwondo Federation, the event operates as an immersive youth sports festival, blending the intensity of technical form competitions and age-bracketed sparring with foundational educational activities. Far more than just a grassroots festival, the tournament has long served as the essential incubator for Italy's national team. It was at previous Kim and Liù events that current titans of the sport — including Olympic medalist Vito Dell'Aquila and world champion Simone Alessio — took their very first competitive steps. Operating under the bold theme "Taekwondo to the Future!" this year’s edition pus
Jun 7, 2026
Sports
World Taekwondo leadership honors late pioneer Park Young-ghil in Rome
ROME — The World Taekwondo leadership paused during the World Taekwondo Grand Prix, Saturday, to honor the late Grand Master Park Young-ghil, who established taekwondo in Italy. World Taekwondo President Choue Chung-won led a delegation to Park's resting place on the outskirts of Rome. Joined by Park's family, the group laid flowers and observed a moment of silence for the master, who died in December 2024. Choue praised Park as an invaluable figure who spent his life establishing taekwondo in Italy and expanding the sport's global reach, noting that the late master's dedication and humble service left a lasting legacy. Park dedicated his life to expanding the martial art across Italy’s southern and peripheral regions. Beginning in 1966, he traveled extensively through Calabria, Sicily and Abruzzo to build the sport from the ground up. His mission extended beyond athletic competition. Park viewed taekwondo as a vehicle for social change and frequently directed instructors to develop "champions of social life." Park utilized the sport's tenets of respect, solidarity and discipline to
Jun 6, 2026
Sports
Spain's 27th seed Milán Cánovas pulls massive upset
ROME — Spain’s Juan Antonio Milán Cánovas, entering as a 27th seed, pulled off a massive upset to win gold Friday on the opening day of the World Taekwondo Grand Prix at the Foro Italico. Milán Cánovas captured the men's under 80 kilogram title, while top seeds Maria Clara Pacheco of Brazil and Viviana Márton of Hungary won the women's under 57 and under 67 kilogram divisions in high-profile rematches of previous major championship finals. Cánovas stunned the reigning world champion and 2025 Male Athlete of the Year Henrique Marques Rodrigues Fernandes of Brazil in the under-80 kilogram final, sweeping the bout 15-4 and 22-5. To reach the final, the Spaniard orchestrated a dramatic semifinal comeback against CJ Nickolas of the United States. After losing the opening round 18-1, Cánovas rallied to win the next two rounds 9-7 and 11-9. Rodrigues Fernandes advanced to the title match by defeating reigning European champion Stefan Takov of Serbia in three rounds after dropping the first round. In the women's under 57 kilogram division, Pacheco routed No. 2 seed Kim Yu-jin of South
Jun 6, 2026
Sports
Digital sparring: Virtual Taekwondo Rome Open 2026 launches new inclusive era
ROME — The inaugural Virtual Taekwondo Rome Open 2026 transformed the Foro Italico, Italy’s most prestigious sports complex, into a digital arena on Thursday, marking a pivotal shift in the evolution of martial arts. Held alongside the World Taekwondo Grand Prix, the tournament showcased the sport’s continued digital transformation. Officially endorsed by World Taekwondo, the discipline utilizes advanced motion-tracking sensors and virtual reality headsets to replicate sparring in a noncontact environment where athletes’ movements are translated into real-time digital action. This technology-driven format was designed to remove traditional barriers such as weight class, age and gender. By focusing on technique and speed rather than raw physical force, the event allowed 19 athletes from five countries to compete in a single-elimination tournament on equal terms. Cassius Doroja of Team Canada captured the championship title at this newly created tournament. The Rome Open has helped build a foundation to continue promoting the discipline's rapid growth. Virtual taekwondo made its i
Jun 5, 2026
Sports
Uzbekistan claims multiple golds at Rome 2026 World Para Taekwondo Grand Prix
ROME — Athletes from nine countries took home gold medals Thursday at the World Para Taekwondo Grand Prix, with Uzbekistan finishing as the only nation to secure multiple titles at the Foro Italico. Uzbekistan’s Kudrat Muhammadiev won the men’s K44 under 80 kilogram division, outlasting Korea’s Joo Jeong-hun in three rounds. Teammate Guljonoy Naimova added a second gold, dispatching Russia’s Elena Savinskaia in two rounds in the women’s K44 over 65 kilogram final. Uzbekistan narrowly missed a third title when Great Britain’s Matt Bush beat Asadbek Toshtemirov in the men’s K44 over 80 kilogram final. The referee stopped the contest in the second round after Toshtemirov, the reigning Paralympic champion, sustained an injury. In the women's divisions, Mexico’s Claudia Romero bounced back after losing the first round to beat Thailand’s Khwansuda Phuangkitcha for the K44 under 47 kilogram title. An all-Brazil final in the K44 under 57 kilogram class saw Silvana Mayara Cardoso Fernandes concede the first round to Maria Eduarda Machado Stumpf before coming back to win the n
Jun 5, 2026