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ITF-KOREA held meeting on May 13th and elected Lee, Chee-soo as the president of ITF-KOREA. He announced his vision for his future plan for ITF.
President Lee stated, “I am very grateful to be a part of path to build ITF foundation in its birthplace.”
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He continued, “I feel great responsibility on my shoulders. I will take initiation by holding upcoming international event on August in success.”
Following event is the first big event ever held in the birthplace of Taekwon-do since ITF foundation.
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| Lee, Chee-soo (president of ITF-KOREA) |
President Lee stated, “I hope people of South Korea will feel the pride of Taekwon-do through this event. I also hope people will understand more about our proud sport.”
Taekwon-do, an event in Olympics, has about 208 nation members worldwide and it is considered as the most widely practiced sport.
People perceive Taekwon-do in either ITF(International Taekwon-do Federation) and WTF(World Taekwondo Federation). In reality, their root is the same.
ITF is the first international organization founded in South Korea in March, 1966. 9 Nations(South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Western Germany, USA, Turkey, Italy, Arab Republic) gathered in Chosun Hotel(Seoul) to found ITF.
Founder of Taekwon-do and head of ITF, General Choi, Hong-Hi (Two star general of Republic of Korea Army and the founding member of Army in South Korea) built ITF foundation in Canada and spread his art across the world. North Korea took part of ITF spirit and carried on ITF legacy. But bold statement of North Korea, that they are the foundation of ITF, is a false statement.
During 1980’s, North Korea indeed became a member of ITF but they currently withdrew their membership. Thus, “South Korea to WTF, North Korea to ITF” is a very wrong statement. WTF Taekwondo, famous for being Olympic Taekwondo, was founded 1973; 7 years after the foundation of ITF.
President Lee, Chee-sooe stated, “As a citizen of South Korea, we have to be vigilant of wrong perceptions, especially thinking of ITF Taekwon-do as North Korean Taekwon-do.”
He continued, “From now on, ITF-Korea will be the frontier of spreading the truth and help encourage the strong spirit of Taekwon-do to people.”
BY YEO CHANG-HUN cambroadcast@naver.com
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