Protests at the Kukkiwon

SahBumNimRush

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I'm saddened by this, but I cannot say that I am all too surprised to see it. Politics and power grabs go against the grain o fthe idea that Taekwondo is greater than any one person.
 
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TrueJim

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Henry Kissinger once famously said, "University politics are vicious precisely because the stakes are so small." When people talk about the politics of Kukkiwon, rightly or wrongly, I'm always reminded of that quote. I think to myself, "I guess the politics at Kukkiwon are vicious precisely because the Kukkiwon is an academic institution. It's a small place with a smaller budget, and everybody's scrambling for their piece of a small pie."

But what I don't understand is the phrase power grabs, a phrase that I hear all the time associated with Kukkiwon. What power is there to grab? It's not as if being near the top of the Kukkiwon is a powerful position. You're not really "in charge" of very much. It's not like being the CEO of a big corporation, or being the head of a big government agency. You're the head of a teeny-tiny little government department that's essentially chartered with international cultural outreach, something most people in the world (other than us taekwondoins) don't even know about, much less care about.

To me, clawing to be at the head of the Kukkiwon sounds about as powerful as being at the head of the National Fish Hatchery System within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service -- you've got a top job in some small department.

I guess it must be a Korean cultural thing that I don't understand? I guess there must be just an enormous about of visibility and prestige in Korea associated with being near the top of the Kukkiwon? Otherwise, I don't see why it becomes so controversial.
 

WaterGal

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But what I don't understand is the phrase power grabs, a phrase that I hear all the time associated with Kukkiwon. What power is there to grab? It's not as if being near the top of the Kukkiwon is a powerful position. You're not really "in charge" of very much.

I wonder if some people are conflating being the administrative head of Kukkiwon and being the head guy of all KKW/WTF Taekwondo?

I guess I can understand if people are worried that an individual who had a lot of influence in Kukkiwon might try to change Taekwondo in some way, or give preferential treatment to certain people or schools over others. I'm not sure how actually likely that is, though.
 
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TrueJim

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I wonder if some people are conflating being the administrative head of Kukkiwon...

I think the popular press does that, but you'd think any Korean with a dan rank would have figured that distinction out by now!

I guess I can understand if people are worried that an individual who had a lot of influence in Kukkiwon might try to change Taekwondo in some way, or give preferential treatment to certain people or schools over others. I'm not sure how actually likely that is, though.

Yah, I'm not saying that abusing one's limited authority is okay...but let's face it, leaders at the Kukkiwon really have very little "authority". If I were to go mad with power, I'm not sure leadership at the Kukkiwon would be my chosen path to world domination. :)
 

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