Service Around the World

Thai Taekwondo Association Offers Free Training for Orphans

Thailand's national Taekwondo governing body is offering free Taekwondo training for orphans in Thailand, drawing great support and interest from the public and the media.

The association plans to expand its Taekwondo teaching program for local orphans. It marked the first time in Thailand that orphans receive free Taekwondo training.

On March 16, 2008, the Taekwondo Association of Thailand held an opening ceremony for the Pakkred Home for Boys in the province of Nonthaburi, Thailand.

Under the one-year Taekwondo training program, about 100 orphans at the Pakkred Home for Boys received two hours of training on Saturdays and Sundays free of charge.

Five teachers, composed of coaches of Taekwondo clubs, international referees and former national team coaches, give the free training to the orphans, and the association pays for the teachers.

The association provides the orphanage with Taekwondo equipment such as mats and protectors, as well as Taekwondo uniforms or dobok.

For the association, the Pakkred Home for Boys was the second of its kind.

The Thailand association started providing a free training to about 100 orphans at the Maharaj Home for Boys on Feb. 19, 2008.

Pimol Srivikorn, president of the Taekwondo Association of Thailand, is the founder and supporter of the training program.

“We started the program as we wanted to give something back to the society and we wanted to promote Taekwondo in all aspects by giving local orphans free Taekwondo training,” Pimol said.

Pimol said, “After one month of training, we found that the students perform better as they receive strict training, and we found that they felt more confident and disciplinde.”

“As the students really appreciate the program, we plan to expand the program to involve female orphans as early as next year, while increasing the number of male orphan- ages which receive free training across the nation,” Pimol said. “To do so, we expect more financial support from our government and sponsors.”

“The free training program for local orphans is greatly helping enhance the image of Taekwondo in Thailand,” he said. “The popularity of Taekwondo is rapidly growing in Thailand.”

Hundreds of thousands of people practice Taekwondo in Thailand and the Southeast Asian country earned three berths for the Taekwondo competition at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games through WT world and continental qualification tournaments.

Bare Feet, Kind Heart

Choi was tracked down by local media and though he expressed surprise at the attention, granted interviews.

“It was a small gesture on my part, but it was something I felt I should do,” the Incheon native, a student of Jeonju University, said.

He explained that he had always felt close to his grandmother, but she had passed away when he was 15. Since then, he had always had an affinity for women of his late grandmother’s age.

Choi credited his Taekwondo training for his manners.

“I have learned Taekwondo since I was five and met many good masters and seniors,” he said in interviews. “I have learned a lot from them on how to be a good person. Learning Taekwondo helps develop not only the body, but also the character.”

The young athlete also got a bit of exercise out of the event, when, having given away his shoes, he had to return to his hotel barefoot.

“The pavements were scorching,” he told local media, “So I sprinted the eight minutes back to my hotel!”

Choi Dae-ho, a Korean Taekwondo instructor, found himself at the center of an online buzz in Singapore, where he was holidaying, after a kind-hearted gesture he made hit the media.

On Feb. 2, 2013, the 22-year-old was taking a bus in Singapore when he saw an old lady travelling barefoot. In an impromptu gesture, he knelt in front of her and gave her the flip-flops he was wearing.

The old lady resisted, but then, teary eyed, accepted the gift. A fellow member of the Taekwondo Peace Corps photographed Choi kneeling in front of the lady and posted the picture online. From there the picture went viral, and Singaporeans posted questions online, wondering who the kind-hearted young man was, and why he had done what he did.

WT Demonstration Team Performs, Teaches at Refugee Camp in Italy

Following the Vatican conference, WT’s refugee outreach continued on their Italian tour as they performed and taught at the Croce Rossa Camp in Rome

The World Taekwondo (WT) Demonstration Team performed for refugees, mainly from African nations, at the Croce Rossa Refugee Camp in Rome, Italy on Oct. 7, 2016.

Refugees applauded wildly and took photos with the demo team members after the performance. The team also offered the refugees a free Taekwondo class.

“Many African nations won medals in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics,” said WT President Chungwon Choue in a speech of encouragement to the refugees who attended. “Going forward, WT aims to provide refugee athletes with the chance to compete in major championships,” he added.

Taekwondo Malaysia Organizes Fund-Raising Run for Refugees

Innovative fund-raising and promotional activities for the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF) took place on the margins of the 2018 Malaysia Open Taekwondo Championships on March 1-4, 2018, raising USD15,000 for refugees.

The events were co-organized by World Taekwondo (WT), Taekwondo Malaysia and the Asian Taekwondo Union in Putrajaya, Western Malaysia.

The main event occurred before the actual competition, when all Malaysian Taekwondo associations came together under Taekwondo Malaysia’s leadership to take part in a nationwide “Humanitarian and Refugee Run.”

The fund-raiser was held in and around major Malaysian cities for two weeks before the opening of the 2018 Malaysia Open, and saw more than 25,000 Taekwondo practitioners, parents and the general public run a distance of 3km for the noble cause.

It was the first time that such an event had been organized by any Taekwondo organization around the world.

In total, the run managed to collect USD15,000 for the benefit of the THF, which will help the foundation strengthen its ongoing and future projects in refugee camps worldwide.

The run served as a benchmark for future THF fund-raising events to be held in conjunction with WT-sponsored competitions globally.

WT, Wuxi Arrange COVID-19 Medical Relief

World Taekwondo (WT), the Wuxi Municipal People’s Government, and the Jiangsu Wuxi Economic Development Zone held a donation ceremony via video conference on March 17, 2020. It was agreed that the Wuxi City and Jiangsu Province governments would donate 100,000 protective masks to WT as part of global efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19. The generous donation was in response to WT’s initiative to donate 10,800 hand sanitizers to Wuxi in February 2020 to help the city’s government when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak in China.

WT and Wuxi share a strong bond, with the WT Wuxi Center and several high-profile WT events based in the city. Wuxi is the host of the annual end-of-season WT Grand Slam Champions Series. Through the joint partnership, the donated masks were sent to selected countries that were most seriously affected by COVID-19.

“The world is facing unprecedented challenges. It is at times like these that it is more important than ever that we stand in solidarity with each other,” said WT President Chungwon Choue. “In this global period of uncertainty with many sports events being postponed or cancelled to protect the wellbeing of everyone involved, it is important that we continue to live by the Olympic values, showing friendship and respect to our fellow global citizens.”

Wuxi Vice Mayor Liu Xia said: “There’s an ancient Chinese poem that states, ‘Long distance separates no bosom friends.’

Entrusted by Huang Qin, Secretary of the Wuxi Municipal CPC Committee and Du Xiaogang, Mayor of Wuxi Municipal People’s Government on behalf of Wuxi Municipal CPC Committee, Wuxi Municipal People’s Government, and 6.59 million citizens in Wuxi, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to you and World Taekwondo for your kind assistance delivered in our difficult time.”

THF Official Conquers Kilimanjaro to Raise Funds for Refugees

Farah Al Assa’ad, coordinator in Jordan for the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF), reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in February 2022 and unveiled the THF flag as part of her fund-raising mission for the foundation.

Al Assa’ad set off on the expedition to Africa’s highest peak in mid-January in order to raise funds to support the work of the THF. She was led by Mostafa Salameh, the first Jordanian to reach the top of Mount Everest.

“I would like to send a message to support the refugees in all refugee camps around the world,” Al Asa’ad said. “To achieve their dreams and aspirations by practicing sport that develops their bodies, minds, and their self-confi- dence, that teaches them tolerance and sport’s ethics, and enlighten their lives with hope for a better future.”

“The mountain that has inspired the African continent on its journey to freedom, today extends its inspiration to reach all the world’s refugees, renewing hope in them and promising them a better tomorrow,” she said.

Bach Praises Italian Taekwondo’s Aid for Ukrainian, Afghan Athletes

IOC President Thomas Bach, after receiving the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) Gold Collar - the highest honor of Italian sport - spent a wonderful day among athletes and sports managers on Sept. 16, 2022.

Great emotion surrounded his visit to the Italian Taekwondo Federation gym, the nerve center of the country’s Taekwondo Olympic preparation in Rome.

There, he greeted Italian Olympians Vito Dell’Aquila and Simone Alessio and federation technical staff.

He also met the Ukrainian National Team and an Afghan refugee athlete. Both have been welcomed by the Italian Taekwondo Federation over the past two years.

“All this is wonderful, I warmly renew my thanks,” Bach told Italian Taekwondo Federation President Angelo Cito, referring to the help offered to the Ukrainian athletes and the young Afghans in Italy by the Centro di Preparazione Olimpica dell’Acqua Acetosa.

“Thank you very much for what you have done for these athletes,” Bach continued. “It’s the translation and application in the field of the Olympic spirit and our values, to stick together in the spirit of inclusion and non-discrimination: ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius - Communiter!’”

Cito expressed his thanks for Bach’s surprise visit.

“We are really proud of this wonderful surprise in the house of the Olympic athletes of Taekwondo - this is the beating heart of our sport where all the sacrifices and joys, defeats and victories converge, where everything is lived through the five-circle values,” Cito said. “We welcome into the family these athletes in difficulty, in the spirit of the fundamental values of the Olympics.”

Cito noted that the aim of the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF) Italia was to give hope through sport to those in life who did not have the same opportunities.

“I can only thank with all my heart President Bach and President of the CONI Giovanni Malago for the welcome surprise,” he said.

Kicking Kids Tell Tashkent: ‘Taekwondo for All’

Locals got a taste of Taekwondo when a flash mob briefly took over central Tashkent

A Taekwondo flash mob briefly took over the Fraternity of Peoples Square in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in a “Taekwondo for All” event on Aug. 8, 2019.

World Taekwondo (WT) President Chungwon Choue witnessed the display of more than 2,000 Taekwondo youth practitioners, including 50 disabled students. Also attending were Minister of Physical Culture and Sports Dilmurad Nabiev; President of the Uzbekistan National Olympic Committee Rustam Shaabdurakhmanov; and President of the Uzbekistan Taekwondo Association Sherzod Tashmatov.

After the flash mob, Choue thanked the national leader for his contribution to Taekwondo in the country.

“My special thanks go to President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Without his enormous support, Taekwondo wouldn’t be as popular as it is now,” Choue said. “I believe all students here will be part of the future for Taekwondo in Uzbekistan.”