Tae Kwon Do Cadets Visit South Korea

Ten members of the Army Taekwondo team were fortunate enough to visit South Korea to learn more about South Korean culture, the sport of Taekwondo and build relations with cadets at the Korean Military Academy. The first two days were spent in Seoul, South Korea, learning about South Korean culture. The team took a tour of the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, Gyeongbokgung Palace, and attended a martial arts theatrical performance. The team also went to Insadong, which is a district in Seoul known for their traditional tea houses and handcrafted goods. The next two days were spent at the Korean military Academy (KMA). The cadets took part in KMA's mandatory taekwondo class, the equivalent to West Point's plebe boxing. It is interesting to note that, KMA requires each cadet to obtain a black belt in taekwondo in order to graduate, demonstrating just how important the sport is to Korean culture. Staying at the KMA allowed the cadets to see the similarities and differences between the military culture of the two counties and help establish relations that could prove useful in the future. The last part of the trip was spent at Taekwondowon, a government funded facility dedicated to the improvement of taekwondo for athletes around the world. The team received world class training, history lessons on the sport as well as exposure to traditional Korean drum ceremonies.