Dear taekwondo family members:
I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to the entire taekwondo family around the world for helping promote our beloved sport and for supporting the World Taekwondo Federation.
In the year 2009, we saw many significant achievements for taekwondo as well as several noteworthy developments at the World Taekwondo Federation.
First, taekwondo was confirmed as one of the 26 “core” sports for the 2016 Olympic Games at the IOC session in Copenhagen on October 8. I wish to take this opportunity to thank our worldwide taekwondo family for your dedication to promoting our sport and its development as an Olympic sport.
The evolution of taekwondo from a demonstration sport at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games into a core Olympic sport today owes itself to your heartfelt sacrifice and passion. The evaluation of taekwondo in the IOC Report on the 26 core Olympic sports was quite impressive and shows that we are moving in the right direction.
Taekwondo now retains considerable status in the international sports community. In November, taekwondo was accepted as a compulsory sport in the program of the Summer Universiade from 2017 onward and was also included in the official program of the 2013 Mediterranean Games. We also are making efforts to introduce taekwondo to the Paralympics as witnessed by the success of the 1st WTF World Para-Taekwondo Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan in June.
With continued progress, I am confident that not only can taekwondo become firmly established in the Olympics but also become a model international sport, setting the standards by which other international sports and sports organizations are measured.
The international governance of taekwondo is more transparent, fair, and professional than ever before. This is our accomplishment and our point of pride. Let us congratulate ourselves for all the commitment and hard work we have made to express our love of taekwondo.
The 2009 WTF World Taekwondo Championships marked the biggest one of its kind ever with participating athletes and officials from 142 countries and media coverage by more than 30 TV broadcasters across five continents. As we saw at the World Cup Championships in Baku in June, the use of electronic protectors together with the instant video replay system at the world championships in Copenhagen has created a synergy that makes taekwondo competitions fairer and more transparent, and has significantly minimized controversy related to referee decisions. It has brought us hope and confidence that our sport is moving closer to the IOC ideal.
Taekwondo is now moving beyond sport and serving as a tool for world peace and youth education. Since its launch in the summer of 2008, the WTF Taekwondo Peace Corps have dispatched 107 taekwondo instructors to 25 countries. With growing popularity and a positive evaluation, the World Taekwondo Peace Corps Foundation was establishedin September to facilitate the efforts by volunteer taekwondo instructors to reach more regions in the world that are in need of help.
In addition to Taekwondo Peace Corps activities that give youth the opportunity to learn and practice taekwondo, the WTF, together with the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation, held the World Youth Taekwondo Camp in Seoul and Muju to bring together young taekwondo practitioners from all over the world to become immersed in Olympic values and taekwondo spirit. The camp drew more than 260 athletes and officials from 33 countries and featured a diverse range of events, including friendly kyorugi competitions in preparation for taekwondo competition in the 2010 Youth Olympic Games and training sessions with Olympic gold medalists. With the support of the IOC, the WTF has put an Olympic Values Education Program (OVEP) in practice through taekwondo training, actively joining in the Olympic Movement for youth.
Taekwondo as an Olympic sport has been evolving. It has now reached a new juncture which could determine our course toward the future of taekwondo.
At the WTF General Assembly in Copenhagen, Denmark in October 2009, we elected a new leadership and Council which will shape the course of development over the next four years. I ask for your full support and trust in this new leadership, and in the World Taekwondo Federation, to carry out our duty to bring a better future of taekwondo as a permanent Olympic sport.
Now is the time for us to put aside our differences and rivalries. We are one family sharing the same vision for the progress of taekwondo. With renewed spirit as one, we need to move forward for the further development of our sport. In the year 2010, let us unite for a new chapter in taekwondo history and toward a groundbreaking evolution of taekwondo. Acting together as one, nothing will be impossible.
I extend my warmest regards and best wishes to our entire taekwondo family for the year 2010.
Chungwon Choue
President
World Taekwondo Federation