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| Members of GCS International pose at an international conference at Seoul Airbase in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 21. Sixth from left is GCS International President Choue Chung-won and eighth from left is GCS International Korea Chapter President Huh Jong. Courtesy of GCS International |
By Hwang Dong-hee
An international conference was held at Seoul Airbase in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 21, marking the 40th anniversary of the U.N. International Day of Peace.
Organized by the U.N. Association of the Republic of Korea and the Center for Future Defense Technology and Entrepreneurship at Seokyeong University, the event was jointly promoted by GCS International and World Taekwondo.
As part of the five-day Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX), which kicked off Oct. 19, the conference, which was held both online and onsite, featured two sessions: "Enactment of U.N. International Day of Peace and Future Peacekeeping Operations" and "Future Armed Forces and Technological Advance for Peace."
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| Choue Chung-won, chief of GCS International and president of World Taekwondo, speaks at an international conference at Seoul Airbase in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 21. Courtesy of GCS International |
Choue Chung-won, chief of GCS International and president of World Taekwondo, delivered opening remarks, emphasizing the importance of peace by comparing the ADEX and taekwondo.
"What is the relationship between the ADEX and taekwondo? Ironically, we are all here for peace and the promotion of self-defense," Choue said. "For me, peace is more precious than triumph."
He went on reminiscing about his late father, Choue Young-seek, who served as the president of the International Association of University Presidents. The late Choue proposed the establishment of the U.N. International Day of Peace in 1981. In the same year, the 36th U.N. General Assembly accepted his proposal. Since then, it has been celebrated every Sept. 21.
Choue explained that his late father's vision for education and peace inspired him to launch the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation in 2015.
"Over the past six years, we (the foundation) have created projects in refugee camps in Jordan, Rwanda, Niger, Colombia and Turkey. We hired coaches to teach taekwondo to refugee children, provided equipment and also taught them about the values of peace and Olympism."
He explained that sixteen children now hold black belts in the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan alone; four refugee athletes were selected for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Also, cooperating with the North Korean-led International Taekwon-Do Federation, the foundation has organized joint demonstration performances over the past few years.
Reiterating the importance of peace and the role of sports globally to promote it, Choue added, "This is why peace is more precious than triumph. We hope that partnerships with the ADEX can help us achieve a peace-loving world."
Hwang Dong-hee is a Korea Times intern.
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