Gwangju Plays: Srirang Taekwando Teaches Expats
Photo courtesy of John Park
Practicing Taekwondo while living in Korea is an understandably popular choice for expats. Nowhere else in the world will you find a similar concentration of highly trained Taekwondo instructors or equally interested potential practitioners than right here in the sport’s homeland.
Matt Endacott arrived in Gwangju last December and did not waste any time before getting involved with the sport. Like many foreign practitioners he says he was looking for an “authentic Korean experience” and that he found just that at Srirang Taekwondo in Munheung-dong. “It feels great exercising in this manner. [Taekwondo is] a full body discipline and requires a ton of concentration and will to [be able to] do more than I could before.” Matt’s class is a mixture of Korean students and foreigners, and as such he has made close Korean friends whom he would otherwise never have met. “I put in the same work and sweat they do and it’s a great feeling to have them backing me up and helping me reach that next level.”
From this same dojang, a Taekwondo gym or place of practice, I spoke with John Park, a black belt and an experienced assistant instructor with a special interest in training foreigners. Like many advanced practitioners, John got his start young, in elementary school, but it was not until a service trip to the Philippines catapulted him into a teacher’s role that he discovered a passion for international instruction. “[That] experience was so precious because it was [the] first time that I had connected with foreigners face to face, and I realized the happiness that followed when I shared my abilities with other people.”
When asked what a foreigner might learn about Korea through practicing one of its favorite national pastimes? John emphasized to me the idea of an innate Korean perseverance. “There is an old proverb in Korea that says, ‘Step forward without stopping’. Through Taekwondo, whether it is kicking for breaking or practicing basic movements, if you have set a goal, you do not stop until you reach that goal.”
Though some expats take their nine months of Taekwondo and file it away in their Korea scrapbook, many — including Matt, who says he will maintain his Taekwondo education when he returns home — internalize the dedication and discipline that Taekwondo attempts to instill in students. Whether it is on the world stage or in a small dojang in Gwangju, Taekwondo will continue to shape the hearts and minds of those willing to commit to it for years to come.
Taebi Taekwondo: 1011-2 Munheung-Dong, Buk-gu
Deokseong Taekwondo: 785-1 Unnam-Dong, Gwangsan-gu
010-9666-2133 (John Park)
Every Monday and Thursday 8:30 pm – 10 pm
Every Sunday 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Taebi Taekwondo: Bus no. 17, 18, or 39 get off at MunheungMyeongji Apartment bus stop
Deokseong Taekwondo: Bus no. 37, 40 or 700 get off at Geumgu Middle School or bus no. 10, 18, 29, 46, 62, 196, 700, or 720 get off at Mokryeonmaeul 6-danji bus stop
Facebook: Gwangju Taekwondo with Srirang