Kukkiwon (President Lee Dong-sup) hosted the “2023 Proud Taekwondoin Awards” to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of Taekwondo.

The ceremony, attended by over 200 people, including Chairman Jeon Gap-gil, President Lee Dong-sup, Chairman Lee Seung-wan of the Elder Council, Kukkiwon staff, officials from Taekwondo-related organizations, Taekwondo elders, municipal and provincial Taekwondo association leaders and Taekwondo instructors, took place at Samjeong Hotel on December 19th, starting at 11 a.m.

The “Proud Taekwondoin Awards” at which individuals who have contributed to the promotion and development of Taekwondo are awarded, aims to establish the model for exemplary Taekwondo practitioners and to achieve balanced development of various fields of Taekwondo.

After the last ceremony 2018, there was a four-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic but the ceremony finally returned. After the candidate submissions, the award committee reviewed the candidates and selected 16 winners across 14 categories.

The ceremony included two main categories: Taekwondo Awards (Kukki Award, Jinin Award, Munhwa Award) and Taekwondoin Awards (Leadership, Athlete, Referee, Judge, Education, Research, Management, Creativity, Service, Culture, Special).

The highest honors, Taekwondo Awards went to five individuals, including Song Bong-seop, member of the Elder Council of Kukkiwon (Kukki Award), President Lee Gyu-seok of the Asian Taekwondo Union (Kukki Award), Park Hyeon-seop, member of the Elder Council (Jinin Award), Kim Jeong-rok, Technical Adviser of Kukkiwon’s Technical Committee (Jinin Award), and President Kim Joong-young of the 9th Dan Association (Munhwa Award).

Elder Council member Song Bong-seop started his career as a Taekwondo instructor in 1965 and has dedicated his life to promoting Taekwondo, serving in various key positions such as the President of Seoul Taekwondo Association, Vice Chairman of Korea Taekwondo Association, Vice President of Kukkiwon and Director of World Taekwondo Academy.

Opening Taekwondo department at Korea National Sport University, Yongin University, and Gachon University, President Lee Gyu-seok spent many years training Taekwondo instructors. He also served as the acting director of Kukkiwon and currently holds the positions of President of the Asian Taekwondo Union and Vice President of the World Taekwondo Federation, making significant contributions to the development of Taekwondo at home and abroad.

Taekwondoin Awards went to, △ Leadership Category: Jin Jung-woo, Instructor Sent Abroad by Kukkiwon (Laos), △ Athlete Category: Joo Jung-hoon, member of Korean National Para Taekwondo Team (3rd place at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, 1st place at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games), △ Referee Category: Lee Jae-bong, Professor at Korea National Sport University Taekwondo Department, △Judge Category: Heo Gap-cheol, member of Kukkiwon High-Dan Evaluation Committee, △ Education Category: Lee Jong-gwan, Chairman of Poomsae Committee at the Asian Taekwondo Union, △ Research Category: Choi Joong-gu, CEO of AI Taekwondo, △ Management Category: Jang Bong-ho, CEO of Taekwon Narsha, △ Creativity Category: Choi Jae-do, Instructor at the Korea Taekwondo Association, △ Service Category: Han Hee-soo, Professor of Sports Health at Konkuk University Future Knowledge Education Institute, △ Culture Category: Han Seon-jae, Former Secretary-General of Kukkiwon, △ Special Category: Mathias Kadiogo, Director General of Taxes in Burkina Faso.

Taekwondo Award winners received KRW 3 million and a golden key and, Taekwondoin Award winners received KRW 1 million, an award certificate and trophy.

“Thank you so much for attending the ceremony despite your busy schedules. Kukkiwon which celebrates its 51st anniversary this year has served as the World Taekwondo Headquarters over the years but the organization must never stay the same. I would like to ask the instructors to give us support as we move towards innovation, letting go of old ways of thinking and old practices” said Chairman Jeon Gap-gil of the Board of Directors at Kukkiwon in his commemorative speech.

“We are currently focused on key projects like setting up brand offices and representative offices overseas and building a new Kukkiwon so that Kukkiwon can serve as the center of Kukkiwon. We would like to ask for your support in bring a brighter future for Taekwondo and I sincerely congratulate all the awardees” said Kukkiwon President Lee Dong-sup.