From Individual Heroes to National Performers: The Shift in Taekwondo’s Peace Promotion Activities

In 2019 at Youngsan University's 1st International Academic Taekwondo Conference, in Ulsan, South Korea, I presented a paper entitled: "From Individual Heroes to National Performers: The Shift in Taekwondo’s Peace Promotion Activities". With the aid of my friend Dr John Johnson, my presentation was reworked into an article that was recently published in the academic journal Physical Activity Review. You can read the abstract below and a PDF of the article can be downloaded for free here: http://www.physactiv.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2020_82_9.pdf

"From Individual Heroes to National Performers: The Shift in Taekwondo’s Peace Promotion Activities"

by John A. Johnson & Sanko Lewis

Abstract: The  writings  of  early  taekwondo  pioneers  promote  peace  through  the  practice  of  the  martial  art  and,  later,  the  combat  sport.  These  pioneers  charged  taekwondo  practitioners  with  a  duty  to  contribute  to  justice,  defend  the  weak,  and  build  a  more  peaceful  world.  National  and  international  taekwondo  organizations  such  as  the  Kukkiwon,  World  Taekwondo  (WT),  and  the  International  Taekwon-Do Federation  (ITF)  have  taken  up  the  charge  of  peace  promotion  through  taekwondo  by  means  of  tr  ansnational events, such as goodwill tours and joint taekwondo demonstrations by adversarial states (e.g., South and North Korea). These activities are soft diplomacy initiatives and have seen some level of success. While these soft diplomacy activities are  in  line  with  the  goal  of  peace  promotion  that  the  early pioneers advocated, they are qualitatively different from what the pioneers advocated. Originally, the  responsibility  of  peace  promotion  was  on  the  individual  taekwondo  practitioner,  who  ought  to  cultivate moral character, courage, and martial art skill in order to uphold justice and defend the weak. With  the  current  use  of  taekwondo  for  soft  diplomacy,  the  responsibility  of  peace  promotion  has  shifted  from  the  individual  practitioner  to  the  governing  bodies,  such  as  WT  and  the  ITF.  Instead  of  focusing on issues surrounding justice and the protection of the weak, these national and international organizations   focus   on   geopolitical   cooperation,   which   is   mediated   through   cultural   exchange   activities in the  form  of  taekwondo  demonstrations.  These  events  involve  activities  such  as  acrobatic  performances, dance routines, and board breaking that require little combat skill and may not pose the risk  of  serious  injury  to  the  individual  practitioners,  mainstays of  the  individual  heroes  of  old.  The  charge  to  safeguard  justice  and  physically  defend  the  weak,  which  are  acts  of  true  courage  as  was  envisioned by the taekwondo pioneers, is mostly ignored.

Keywords: sports diplomacy, cultural exchange, karate, Republic of Korea (ROK), People’s Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK)

Johnson   JA,  Lewis   S.  From   Individual   Heroes   to   National   Performers:   The   Shift  in  Taekwondo’s Peace Promotion Activities. Phys Activ Rev 2020; 8(2): 64-71. doi: 10.16926/par.2020.08.23