A group of four students from South Korea will stay with us until February 13. On that day, the Asians will leave for Bydgoszcz. In total, they will spend a month in Poland. “Already last year, we tried to arrange for Korean taekwondo coaches to come to Bolesławiec,” says Mariusz Sulma, president and coach of the Ilyo Students’ Sports Club. “This year, we succeeded.
The Koreans came to our city as part of the World Taekwondo Peace Corps program. Until February 12, they will conduct workshops in the gymnasium of the School Complex of Commerce and Services in Bolesławiec. Taekwondo practitioners from Lower Silesia, Borne Sulinowo and Świnoujście are taking part in the classes.
“World Taekwondo Peace Corps is a great program of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF),” says Kim Joo-Young, head of the Korean group. “Thanks to it, Korean students have the opportunity to travel around the world and promote their culture and taekwondo. It is an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences.
The coaches teach poomse (formal patterns) as well as demonstration techniques. But that is not all. Kim teaches the workshop participants “taekwondo dance.” “It is a type of aerobics, but using taekwondo techniques. It is hugely popular in Korea,” says Mariusz Sulma.
“We like Poland very much. We have been touched by the hospitality we have encountered here,” the Korean says. As he admits, he works very well with Polish taekwondo practitioners. “They train hard, but despite that, they remain cheerful all the time,” he says with a smile. “We conduct the classes so that they can learn as much as possible.
Why did Kim choose taekwondo? “This martial art was born in Korea. It is our pride,” he emphasizes. “Koreans have no equal in Olympic taekwondo,” adds Mariusz Sulma.
Cooperation with the Korean coaches is to continue. “At the very beginning of the workshops, our guests announced that they would definitely return to Poland,” says the head of UKS Ilyo. “Perhaps they will also visit Bolesławiec.
(information ii)
