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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
ROME — On the Spanish Steps and surrounding plazas, the World Taekwondo Performance Team and Italy’s Ciao peformace team turned athletic skill into a public spectacle, offering measured previews of the week’s competitions. Thousands gathered as athletes executed precise kicks, broke boards and performed synchronized patterns, demonstrating the speed and control that will be on display at the upcoming events. The demonstrations, staged Wednesday at the Spanish Steps and nearby Piazza di Spagna, aimed to build interest ahead of the World Para Taekwondo Grand Prix on Thursday and the World Taekwondo Grand Prix, scheduled for Friday to Sunday at Foro Italico. Ciao Team, the Italian Taekwondo Federation’s freestyle demonstration squad, added an extra layer of showmanship with acrobatic, highly choreographed routines that blurred the line between competition and performance. Their sequences, designed as much for spectacle as for precision, helped draw in passersby who might otherwise have overlooked the sport. Locals and tourists alike paused to watch, drawn by the contrast between Ro
VATICAN CITY — World Taekwondo President Choue Chung-won presented an honorary 10th dan certificate and "dobok" (athletes' uniform) to Pope Leo XIV during Wednesday’s General Audience, continuing the sport federation’s long-standing ties with the Vatican. Choue was accompanied by seven young refugee athletes from the Azraq and Za’atari camps in Jordan: Laour Fahed Alahmad, Marwa Ealawi Almahmoud Alshaeikh, Loujain Wesam Alrefaei, Sereen Mohammad Ghuzlan, Huda Khaled Alkhaled, Baraa Mohammad Aldamad and Remas Yaser Haji Ramadan. The refugees, all Syrian nationals, are between 7 and 14 years old. The meeting was Choue’s first with Pope Leo XIV since the pontiff’s election in May last year, underscoring World Taekwondo’s cooperation with the Vatican on sport development and humanitarian initiatives. The 10th dan is the highest rank in taekwondo; Choue praised the pope’s support for humanitarian causes and said the award reflected shared values of peace and human dignity. As Choue presented the dobok, he joked about the pope’s well-known enthusiasm for tennis and suggested
ROME — Hundreds of the world’s top taekwondo athletes are converging on Foro Italico, Italy’s historic sports complex, to compete in the Rome 2026 World Taekwondo and World Para Taekwondo Grand Prix this week. The event marks the Grand Prix’s return to the Italian capital following the 2023 Roma Taekwondo Grand Prix. The action opens Thursday with the Para Taekwondo Grand Prix, featuring 111 athletes from 29 countries. The World Taekwondo Grand Prix follows from Friday to Sunday, drawing a field of 255 competitors from 51 nations alongside the Taekwondo Refugee Team. World Para Taekwondo Grand Prix (June 4) The para tournament is contested exclusively in the K44 classification. In para taekwondo, the "K" stands for "kyorugi," or sparring, while the number 44 indicates athletes with upper limb impairments. This includes competitors with arm amputations or an equivalent loss of function. Action in the K44 division spans five men's weight categories (under 58, under 63, under 70, under 80 and over 80 kilograms) and five women's divisions (under 47, under 52, under 57, under 65 and o