Taekwondo to heal Syrian refugees

Children at the Azraq Taekwondo Academy in the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan perform taekwondo during the opening ceremony for the academy, April 1. / Courtesy of World Taekwondo

By Baek Byung-yeul

Taekwondo is a Korean-inspired martial art and is also widely known throughout the world as an Olympic sport.

Taekwondo is not only featured in the Olympics, but has contributed to the world as taekwondo instructors have taught the sport to children at refugee camps around the world for years.

The instructors are from the World Taekwondo (WT), the official international taekwondo governing body recognized by the International Olympic Committee. Sending its athletes to refugee camps, the WT President Choue Chung-won has emphasized the positive points of learning taekwondo saying it guides children onto the right path to become good citizens.

As part of an effort to teach taekwondo to children in the refugee camps, the WT and its associated charity, Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF), have been operating a taekwondo academy at the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan since April 27, 2016.

Operated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the government of Jordan, the refugee camp is built for refugees of the Syrian Civil War. It is located 90-kilometers from the Jordanian-Syrian border and currently hosts more than 32,000 refugees.

The taekwondo academy in the camp is one of the first projects set up by the WT and the THF. At the academy, children have learned important self-defense skills and key universal values embedded in the philosophy of taekwondo. There are now more than 80 children who train at the academy, with taekwondo sessions offered three times a week.

Though children learned taekwondo at a temporary facility until last year, the WT and the THF decided to construct a taekwondo training facility, and the Azraq Taekwondo Academy facility was officially inaugurated on April 1.

At a newly-built facility, the WT and the THF can host more students and provide a better training experience with more classes and diversified activities.

Choue, who drew up a plan to establish the THF a few years ago, said he is glad to launch the new taekwondo learning facility dedicated for children in the refugee camp. “It was with great pride and humility that I was able to open the new taekwondo facility at the Azraq Taekwondo Academy. The academy has been a great success and has already produced its first black belt. But, we knew there was even more we could do to maximize opportunities for these deserving young people.

“This new facility will make a huge difference and allow students to practice in comfort and safety. We have seen over the last two years how taekwondo has the power to bring hope and joy to people who need it most and help them live healthier and more fulfilling lives. With this new facility we can reach even more young people and help teach them values which will help them. This wonderful new facility will provide a benchmark for future THF projects around the world.”

The WT and the THF said they hope to align their efforts with other Olympic federations and have invited other sports that need physical facilities to offer classes in the Azraq camp. Saying that this academy will provide a benchmark for future projects, the THF said the Azraq Taekwondo Academy will be used as a model for THF academies in places such as Rwanda, Djibouti and elsewhere around the world.

Taekwondo connects two Koreas

Though taekwondo originated in Korea, the North and South Korean taekwondo athletes have not competed against each other in an international taekwondo match, as they belong to different governing bodies.

However, the Korean martial art recently has been playing a key role in achieving peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

One example came on Monday when the South Korean taekwondo demonstration team gave a performance in Pyongyang. In front of an audience that packed the 1,200-seat Pyongyang Grand Theatre, the South Korean team put on a taekwondo performance for 60 minutes together with the North Korean team.

This was the first time in 16 years that South Korean taekwondo athletes performed in the North Korean capital. The South Korean team’s visit to Pyongyang came after the North Korean team’s performance during the Feb.9-25 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

After watching the performance by the South Korean team, a North Korean spectator said it was a meaningful moment to clarify that the two Koreas have shared the same kind of martial art. “I realized that taekwondo is the same whether South Korean or North Korean, except that their content is slightly different,” a North Korean who was at the performance said to South Korean reporters after watching the show.