Kukkiwon

The Kukkiwon is an Arena constructed to carry out activities related with Taekwondo. It is the World Headquarters of Taekwondo. The construction began on November 9, 1971 and ended a year later on November 30, 1972.It is located in the District of Kangnam in Seoul, Korea. Many people worked very hard to make this dream possible, however one man was the main force on this project Dr. Un Yong Kim, president of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF). The Kukkiwon was registered as a judicial foundation with the Government of the Republic of Korea on July 7, 1974, electing Dr. Un Yong Kim as its president.

The Kukkiwon provide to Taekwondo practitioners with modern facilities for training and competitions of Taekwondo, such as the 1st and 2nd World Taekwondo Championships, also the 1st Asian Taekwondo Championships as well as International Referee and instructors Seminars. This arena also host many Taekwondo demonstrations.

The Kukkiwon conducts Dan promotion tests and is the only organization in the world which issues official Black Belt certificates to Taekwondo practitioners around the World who are member of National
associations of the WTF. Competitors who want to participate in International Taekwondo competitions
sponsored or approved by the WTF should hold a Kukkiwon Dan Certificates (Danjeung). Kukkiwon Dan holders are estimated at 3 million persons around the world as of the end of 2000.

The Kukkiwon is also in charge of promoting Taekwondo as an International sport. It was responsible for
taking Taekwondo twice to the Olympic Games as a demonstration sport (Seoul and Barcelona), as a
result of this Taekwondo was an official sport for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. It is also involved in technical development and researches of Taekwondo, collection of related materials, public relations and publications, and training of coaches and students.

The Kukkiwon facilities accommodates the following:
    - Stadium
    - Boarding rooms
    - Lecture rooms
    - Locker rooms
    - Shower rooms
    - Medical rooms
    - Computer rooms
    - Office rooms
    - Pavilion ( Palgak-jung)
    - Rest rooms
    - Restaurant
    - Guard house
    - Museum

Memorial Museum: This Museum was established in the compound of the Kukkiwon on November 30,
1991 with an investment of $200,000.00 US. dollars. It has vast quantity of Taekwondo related materials.
The number of exhibits in a 230 square meter space rose to 2000 from 1200. Those on display include 350 pieces of moving pictures like videotapes and films, 600 pieces of written materials such as books,
magazines, newspaper clippings and 460 pieces of posters and pictures of Taekwondo competitions and
Olympic Games, 180 pieces of trophies, medals, plaques and souvenirs of various events.

The museum keeps the uniform work by Kook Hyun Jeong a Korean Taekwondo athlete whose name was put in the Guinness Book of world records as four time World Taekwondo Champion. The museum is continuously expanding the number of its exhibits. It has become one of the tourist attractions, especially for Taekwondo practitioners from around the world, by providing visitors with pleasure and knowledge.

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Updated by Hoosain Narker