DPRK TOUR - TAEKWONDO DIPLOMACY AS IT UNFOLDS

TAEKWONDO DIPLOMACY AS IT UNFOLDS

 Dr. George Vitale

The famous ITF Chosun National Taekwon-Do Team will kick off their Central European demonstration tour at the Museum Fur Volker (Museum of Ethnology) located in Vienna, the Capital City of Austria. The Museum dates back to the 1800s and their anthropological collection specializes in non-European artifacts, making it fitting that this first performance highlighting an Eastern Art from Korea takes place in this spectacular building. The Museum is located on the grounds of the Imperial Palace, which is over 600 hundred years old and currently also houses the Austrian President’s Executive Residence. This area has been the seat of governments dating back to the 13^th Century, including one of the last great European Empires, the Austro-Hungarian Empire. 

Chosun Taekwon-Do Demonstration Team Arrives at Museum

Vienna Austria is also the seat of the International Taekwon-Do (ITF) Headquarters since 1985. General Choi Hong Hi, the first president and founder of the ITF moved the office there in 1985 to help facilitate the spread of his original style of Taekwon-Do throughout Europe, due to its central location as well as the access it afforded at the time to socialist and communists nations due to Austria’s political neutrality. This was of course during the period of the Cold War and the “Iron Curtain” that divided Europe. General Choi knew that moving the ITF’s Headquarters here would help insure his dream of building a more peaceful world through his Taekwon-Do would be furthered. 

Gen. Choi at his desk, ITF Headquarters

The ITF was founded in Seoul (south) Korea on March 22, 1966 with 9 member nations. It now has representation in more than 120 countries around the world. He later relocated the Headquarters to Toronto Canada as he fled the political oppression of the military government regime that he was an outspoken critic of. General Choi lived his life in exile from his beloved Korea, where he helped establish the ROK Army as a founding member graduating from their first academy class in 1946 and later become the ROK’s first Ambassador to Malaysia in 1962. Canada is located between Asia and Europe. It also would be the host of the 1976 Olympics. The move to Toronto would be the General’s next step in his continued globalization of the Korean Martial Art of Taekwon-Do that he named and created.

Society Magazine, a publication that reports on top events in business, science, politics, diplomacy, culture and society, hosts the event in Vienna. The magazine has a long history of reporting on such activities as it previously merged with UN Magazine that dates back to 1945. Invited guests to this exclusive show are the many international diplomats assigned to Vienna, as well as local and national political leaders. 

ITF Activation in Seoul Korea

From here the Team from The Democratic People’s Republic of (north) Korea (DPRK) will travel to the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Please check the website* for more updates from the scene as the goodwill tour continues and the team’s travels  unfold and the experiences expand!

*http://www.taekwondotimes.com

Dr. George Vitale encourages readers to comment on the above stories & to bring to his attention any mistakes, oversights, added information or any other corrections by posting a comment on the blog.