Taekwondo as `hallyu' sport

By Jung Min-ho

Kim Tae-hyung

PUEBLA, Mexico — Kim Tae-hyung, a pop singer-turned-music executive, argues that taekwondo has the potential to extend “hallyu,” or the growing trend for the consumption of Korean cultural exports in recent years.

But this would depend on whether the martial art can change enough to pass the coolness test of international youngsters.

Kim is a former member of the boy band Sobangcha, that was one of the most popular acts in the Korean music scene in the 1980s and 90s, and currently the president of entertainment agency Music Factor.

A famous taekwondo enthusiast, he is in Puebla serving as the director of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF)’s demonstration team.

“Taekwondo’s popularity can continue to grow on the solid foundation it has built for decades; there are taekwondo schools, clubs and practitioners around the world. The infrastructure has been perfectly set. Now it’s time to figure out if taekwondo has potential as cultural content, not just a combat sport,” said Kim, who orchestrated the event’s opening ceremony. “As a musician and producer, I have seen how K-pop gained international popularity, touring around the world. It takes great effort to create hit songs and it is hard to build a stable fan base with it because of the transitory nature of the content,” he said.

While taekwondo is first and foremost a martial art, it always had a performance element. Taekwondo practitioners have long been invited to cultural events and other occasions to demonstrate the basic forms, called “poomsae,” display their acrobatic kicks and destroy some roof times. But nobody cares about these things anymore, says Kim, showing a firm grasp of the obvious.

“I thought elements of entertainment can bring the sport closer to the public. But the purists are hostile to the idea of change. They believe new elements will hurt taekwondo spirit,” Kim said.

“What I am optimistic about is, though, they become more open-minded after they watched enthusiastic reaction from fans.”

Kim was happy about what he did with the opening ceremony, which was highlighted by a 15-minute performing arts program that blended taekwondo moves with dance and music. He said he was inspired by the Blue Man Group show, the iconic percussion music show that started in 1987.

Just like many other Koreans, Kim Tae-hyung practiced taekwondo from a young age. His love of the sport picked up when he began to work with the WTF this year.

“At the beginning of this year, I had a chance to see the practice of taekwondo performers; and I shared my thought on how the sport should change to become more appealing to the public,” Kim said. “Eventually, the WTF President Choue Jung-won heard it and gave me the opportunity to take it into action.”

The World Taekwondo Championships opening ceremony was the first show he directed.