Taekwondowon

[miguksaram]

I noticed we were slowly thread jacking the Corrupted Poomsae thread so I thought I would start this one.

It is a big attraction in terms of size, but how many people will really visit it on a regular basis? The Kukkiwon is in Seoul, and for the most part there are very few tourists there at any one time. I always visit the Kukkiwon (there and kyobo) when in Korea, but Muju, I don't know if I would go everytime.

I do not think that it will be the hot spot right away. I would agree that people touring Korea and do TKD will usually visit Kukkiwon "just because we're here" as opposed to TKD people who make it the sole purpose of visiting Korea just to see the Kukkiwon and then look at other tourist parts as a "just because we're here" reason.

Korean Ministry of Sports & Tourism along with Jeolla-bukdo province and Muju will really have to market hard to get people to visit, simply because foreigners are not that familiar with that area. It is a very beautiful and scenic section of Korea rich in Korean history and great food. I do not believe the exposure to Jeonju was as good as it could have been. There are plenty of places tourist things to do there which we did not, such as visiting Maisan, the Jeonju market, downtown Jeonju, and a couple other areas that you can hike around. As I said, there is a nightlife as well. Now granted it is not as huge as Seoul's nightlife, but it is getting there. They are starting to attract more and more foreigners to that area. When I was first there back in 1994 you would maybe see 1 or 2 missionaries. Last year I saw at least western tourists and a few western foreigners that actually lived there.

The other aspect you brought up about the flying several hours and then having to take another 3-4 hour bus trip may not be too much of a problem anymore. As I understand it, they have launched or are planning to launch a bullet train which cuts that travel time in 1/2 if not more. I will have to check up on that update though.

 

[d1jinx]

I noticed we were slowly thread jacking the Corrupted Poomsae thread so I thought I would start this one.


The other aspect you brought up about the flying several hours and then having to take another 3-4 hour bus trip may not be too much of a problem anymore. As I understand it, they have launched or are planning to launch a bullet train which cuts that travel time in 1/2 if not more. I will have to check up on that update though.

thread-jacker...:mst:

a bullet train would be the smart idea. It would give alot more flexibilty for the tourist who visit Korea and do a variety of things besides taekwondo. Call me crazy, but I want to visit the DMZ. not related to TKD, but for my own personal reasons at least once go there. gonna be hard to do if down south an only plan a day for it.


It hasnt been updated in a while.. but here ya go for those looking for info. http://www.wtkmedia.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=151

 

[miguksaram]

thread-jacker...:mst:

a bullet train would be the smart idea. It would give alot more flexibilty for the tourist who visit Korea and do a variety of things besides taekwondo. Call me crazy, but I want to visit the DMZ. not related to TKD, but for my own personal reasons at least once go there. gonna be hard to do if down south an only plan a day for it.


It hasnt been updated in a while.. but here ya go for those looking for info. http://www.wtkmedia.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=151

It used to take 4-5 hours driving from Seoul to Jeonju...They have since built a lot of express ways so the time to go by car/bus has become less and less (2.5-3hrs). You could easily spend a week touring Seoul alone no doubt. I think Korea wants to start expanding its tourism outside of Seoul and immediate areas, this may have been a factor on trying to decide where to put the Taekwondowon.

What they should do is have a TKD tour which takes them to relevant sites of TKD history, example:Gyeong-ju which is the capital of the Silla kingdom, or Taebaeksan (Taebaek mountain) and other areas that we hear about in our studies but do not really know the connection. Then end the tour with spending time at Taekwondowon so it ties it all together.

 

[puunui]

The other aspect you brought up about the flying several hours and then having to take another 3-4 hour bus trip may not be too much of a problem anymore. As I understand it, they have launched or are planning to launch a bullet train which cuts that travel time in 1/2 if not more. I will have to check up on that update though.

I believe they already have the bullet train which goes from pusan to seoul. But I hear it is kind of expensive, $100 or $200, one way.

 

[miguksaram]

I believe they already have the bullet train which goes from pusan to seoul. But I hear it is kind of expensive, $100 or $200, one way.

Could be. I bet if they government knew it would increase revenue for tourism, they would lower the price for tourists to ride it. Either way, I am fine just hitting a bar grabbing some drinks and then busing it down. ha.ha.ha

 

[puunui]

Could be. I bet if they government knew it would increase revenue for tourism, they would lower the price for tourists to ride it. Either way, I am fine just hitting a bar grabbing some drinks and then busing it down. ha.ha.ha

I would pay $30 one way, but not $100 or $200.

 

[miguksaram]

I would pay $30 one way, but not $100 or $200.

I'll talk to SK President Lee and see what I can work out for you. ha.ha.ha. I agree $100 one way is a bit steep. I could do $30, but again...I am also content with a bus ride. I'm low maintenance.

 

[mastercole]

Originally Posted by puunui
I believe they already have the bullet train which goes from pusan to seoul. But I hear it is kind of expensive, $100 or $200, one way.

Could be. I bet if they government knew it would increase revenue for tourism, they would lower the price for tourists to ride it. Either way, I am fine just hitting a bar grabbing some drinks and then busing it down. ha.ha.ha

Yes, they already have the bullet train, it's called KTX. However, it was not as busy as they expected, but that should change drastically with Taekwondowon opening. I also understand the price will go down to encourage visitors to use it more.

I see it like this. I originally went to Korea for one single reason. Kukkiwon. Actually I was surprised, very surprised when I opened the curtains at the Novotel Hotel in Kangnam and saw the Kukkiwon for the first time. It was boxed in and surrounded by the crush of Seoul, complete with high rises I would see in Manhattan. It was like someone lifted the Kukkiwon out of the photo I have of the Kukkiwon in the middle of a forest on a mountain top (1972) and sat it down on 42nd Street in Manhattan. So, it happens, you get sucked into the night life thing and the magic of Seoul.

I personally would have liked to go to a forest and focus just on Taekwondo, like a Zen retreat thing. I think a lot of people will like that too. After that, they will spend a few days in Seoul doing that whole thing before flying out of Incheon.

 

[puunui]

Yes, they already have the bullet train, it's called KTX. However, it was not as busy as they expected, but that should change drastically with Taekwondowon opening. I also understand the price will go down to encourage visitors to use it more.

that's good. right now, it is cost prohibitive.

I see it like this. I originally went to Korea for one single reason. Kukkiwon. Actually I was surprised, very surprised when I opened the curtains at the Novotel Hotel in Kangnam and saw the Kukkiwon for the first time. It was boxed in and surrounded by the crush of Seoul, complete with high rises I would see in Manhattan. It was like someone lifted the Kukkiwon out of the photo I have of the Kukkiwon in the middle of a forest on a mountain top (1972) and sat it down on 42nd Street in Manhattan. So, it happens, you get sucked into the night life thing and the magic of Seoul.

Novotel is a beautiful place to stay. I am more used to the dives near the kukkiwon main gate, especially if doing a course. Closer and cheaper. $25/day. I get lost going through that maze of streets towards the kukkiwon back gate, everything looks the same. If on business, then I prefer to stay at someplace like the Novotel, or even the Lotte Hotel.

I personally would have liked to go to a forest and focus just on Taekwondo, like a Zen retreat thing. I think a lot of people will like that too. After that, they will spend a few days in Seoul doing that whole thing before flying out of Incheon.

Then trips get longer. The course is already a week long.

 

[miguksaram]

I personally would have liked to go to a forest and focus just on Taekwondo, like a Zen retreat thing. I think a lot of people will like that too. After that, they will spend a few days in Seoul doing that whole thing before flying out of Incheon.

I would have loved that too, but it seems like they are adding on a theme park and other items, which, in my opinion, takes away from the zen like setting just to make it "family friendly". I never once went to Kukkiwon hoping that there would be Tilt-o-World to pass the time.

I also hope that the same fate does not happen to Taekwondowon. They build it and the all the high rises and stuff soon follow taking out all that natural surroundings.

 

[mastercole]

I would have loved that too, but it seems like they are adding on a theme park and other items, which, in my opinion, takes away from the zen like setting just to make it "family friendly". I never once went to Kukkiwon hoping that there would be Tilt-o-World to pass the time.

I also hope that the same fate does not happen to Taekwondowon. They build it and the all the high rises and stuff soon follow taking out all that natural surroundings.

That's first I heard of that. When did Taekwondowon decide to add a theme park?

 

[miguksaram]

That's first I heard of that. When did Taekwondowon decide to add a theme park?

When the USTC met with the development team back in 2010, they spoke of adding a theme park. This is what prompted my remarks to them that it looked like they were building a glorified Disney World with TKD added on to it, and that I saw no historical culture value added to it at all.

 

[mastercole]

When the USTC met with the development team back in 2010, they spoke of adding a theme park. This is what prompted my remarks to them that it looked like they were building a glorified Disney World with TKD added on to it, and that I saw no historical culture value added to it at all.

Maybe they meant putting one up somewhere in or around Muju. I believe the plans for Taekwondowon are complete and construction is underway with about 1/4 of it up. The park is also divided up in specific philosophical precincts, a theme park would not fit in either.

 

[miguksaram]

Maybe they meant putting one up somewhere in or around Muju. I believe the plans for Taekwondowon are complete and construction is underway with about 1/4 of it up. The park is also divided up in specific philosophical precincts, a theme park would not fit in either.

I hope that is the case. Thank you for the information.