By Jun Ji-hye
The Ministry of National Defense will run a series of programs to provide United States Forces Korea (USFK) soldiers with opportunities to experience various aspects of Korean culture, including taekwondo, the ministry said, Monday.
The event, dubbed “Friends Forever,” will begin Tuesday with a two-day program during which U.S. soldiers will learn taekwondo from the 3rd Army Corps taekwondo team and the national team.
“The taekwondo program will take place at a gymnasium in the defense ministry,” the ministry said in a statement. “U.S. soldiers will learn the origin and history of taekwondo, its basic posture and self-defense martial arts, as well as how to break wooden boards.”
Another program features a two-day tour of the ancient palaces and museums in Seoul, which will run twice, on May 27 and June 9.
That will be followed by another two-day tour of the ancient Suwon Castle and the Second Fleet Command in Gyeonggi Province from July 8.
The command displays the wreckage of the ill-fated corvette Cheonan, which was sunk by a North Korean torpedo attack in March 2010, killing 46 sailors.
The ministry will also run a program for three days from Oct. 27 to give USFK soldiers an opportunity for a “temple stay” in Haeinsa Temple, South Gyeongsang Province, that will allow them to sample Korea’s spiritual culture in traditional Buddhist temples.
The program also includes a trip to Gyeongju, which was the center of politics, economy and culture in the ancient Silla Kingdom (B.C. 57-A.D. 935) for 992 years.
“The events have been designed to promote friendship between allies,” the ministry said. “Since 1972, the ministry has run such events every year, and about 18,000 U.S. soldiers have participated.”
Defense Minister Han Min-koo said, “I appreciate the efforts of USFK soldiers for peacekeeping on the Korean Peninsula. I want to ask them to make further efforts to set up the strongest and the most effective combined defense system in the world.”
Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye