Training in S. Korea

[Drobison491]

So it looks like I'm going be living in S. Korea for a year or so near Gunsan-si. I'm not a TKD/TSD guy, but it would be foolish not to take an opportunity to train while I'm there. Has anyone trained in the area or in S. Korea in general before, and do you have any advice when visiting a dojang.

 

[dvcochran]

So it looks like I'm going be living in S. Korea for a year or so near Gunsan-si. I'm not a TKD/TSD guy, but it would be foolish not to take an opportunity to train while I'm there. Has anyone trained in the area or in S. Korea in general before, and do you have any advice when visiting a dojang.

Hopefully @andyjeffries will chime in on this.

 

[andyjeffries]

So it looks like I'm going be living in S. Korea for a year or so near Gunsan-si. I'm not a TKD/TSD guy, but it would be foolish not to take an opportunity to train while I'm there. Has anyone trained in the area or in S. Korea in general before, and do you have any advice when visiting a dojang.

Thanks @dvcochran for the ping.

Hi @Drobison491 , I don't know any dojangs near Gunsan-si, I've never been there (only Incheon, Seoul and Muju). I'll reach out to some friends though to see if they know of any adult teaching dojangs in that area. Unfortunately in Korea dojangs that teach adults are actually quite rare - most dojangs are after-school for kids only. Recently I'd say there's been a resurgence in Taekwondo for adults in Korea (when I first went in 2012, now I know of at least 5 that are either adult-only or at least some adult-only classes), but still 99% of them will focus on children.

I've trained in dojangs in South Korean before. The first few trips I spoke next to no Korean, the last few I'm at least at a conversational level. I'll be honest, the language is the biggest barrier.

If you go to a dojang, are respectful and open to learning/doing things their way, you'll be accepted with open arms. Koreans in general LOVE foreigners that do/learn Taekwondo. I had a taxi journey once where the driver turned the meter off part way in the journey when we got talking about Taekwondo and that I came to Korea just for it.

So in the lesson, even if you don't understand Korean, just use your eyes A LOT, watch for physical demonstrations of things where the instructor will often demonstrate/mimic what you did wrong (often with an arms raised and crossed at mid-forearm level in an X shape - the Korean symbol for "no/wrong"), then demonstrate correctly. Other than that, in all my experiences, they're more happy that you want to learn than anything, and will happily tell you over and over again and help you all they can.

I would recommend generally learning a few polite phrases in Korean, they go a LONG way, even if you really butcher the pronunciation. Just normal street things like "Hello", "Nice to meet you", "my name is ...", "thank you".

Let me know if you want to ask anything more specific, but in the meantime I'll try to see if I can find a dojang for you.

 

[Drobison491]

Thanks @dvcochran for the ping.

Hi @Drobison491 , I don't know any dojangs near Gunsan-si, I've never been there (only Incheon, Seoul and Muju). I'll reach out to some friends though to see if they know of any adult teaching dojangs in that area. Unfortunately in Korea dojangs that teach adults are actually quite rare - most dojangs are after-school for kids only. Recently I'd say there's been a resurgence in Taekwondo for adults in Korea (when I first went in 2012, now I know of at least 5 that are either adult-only or at least some adult-only classes), but still 99% of them will focus on children.

I've trained in dojangs in South Korean before. The first few trips I spoke next to no Korean, the last few I'm at least at a conversational level. I'll be honest, the language is the biggest barrier.

If you go to a dojang, are respectful and open to learning/doing things their way, you'll be accepted with open arms. Koreans in general LOVE foreigners that do/learn Taekwondo. I had a taxi journey once where the driver turned the meter off part way in the journey when we got talking about Taekwondo and that I came to Korea just for it.

So in the lesson, even if you don't understand Korean, just use your eyes A LOT, watch for physical demonstrations of things where the instructor will often demonstrate/mimic what you did wrong (often with an arms raised and crossed at mid-forearm level in an X shape - the Korean symbol for "no/wrong"), then demonstrate correctly. Other than that, in all my experiences, they're more happy that you want to learn than anything, and will happily tell you over and over again and help you all they can.

I would recommend generally learning a few polite phrases in Korean, they go a LONG way, even if you really butcher the pronunciation. Just normal street things like "Hello", "Nice to meet you", "my name is ...", "thank you".

Let me know if you want to ask anything more specific, but in the meantime I'll try to see if I can find a dojang for you.

I've started learning the basics using Rosetta stone. Figure I'll be there a year it makes sense... I appreciate the help, I've tried doing some google searches and schools come up in the area but no websites or descriptions other than its TKD. It won't be my first time outside the US, but the first time for a substantial length of time and with the ability to due a full immersion into the area/culture.

Not sure of anything specific to ask, (probably thing of things down the road), the first main hurdle was finding a dojang and understanding the process/correct way of starting to train. I didn't know if its like the states were you can just walk in and check out a class or if there is a specific way of going about it. (not sure if that makes any sense).

I've been practicing Uechi-Ryu for the past 10 months or so and my instructor always talks about eyes that steal, guess I'll get a chance to see if I've develped that ability.

 

[andyjeffries]

I've started learning the basics using Rosetta stone. Figure I'll be there a year it makes sense... I appreciate the help, I've tried doing some google searches and schools come up in the area but no websites or descriptions other than its TKD. It won't be my first time outside the US, but the first time for a substantial length of time and with the ability to due a full immersion into the area/culture.

Sounds like fun!

I did just do a Google search in Korean and found someone literally asked the question you wanted in 2018. There were two comments, each tagging someone only. Those people live in Gunsan-si and have Taekwondo as their job. So you may want to try dropping them each a message?

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Not sure of anything specific to ask, (probably thing of things down the road), the first main hurdle was finding a dojang and understanding the process/correct way of starting to train. I didn't know if its like the states were you can just walk in and check out a class or if there is a specific way of going about it. (not sure if that makes any sense).

I think it's just reaching out to them. Koreans tend generally to use Papago or Naver to do translation, so messaging in English should be fine. If you just reach out via message first with "I'm from X country and coming to Korea for 1 year from X. I would like to learn some Taekwondo while I'm in Korea, do you accept adult beginners?"

I've been practicing Uechi-Ryu for the past 10 months or so and my instructor always talks about eyes that steal, guess I'll get a chance to see if I've develped that ability.

Just remember to have an open mind It's too easy to get stuck in "that's not the way we usually do it" and not learn fully.

 

[Drobison491]

Sounds like fun!

I did just do a Google search in Korean and found someone literally asked the question you wanted in 2018. There were two comments, each tagging someone only. Those people live in Gunsan-si and have Taekwondo as their job. So you may want to try dropping them each a message?

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I think it's just reaching out to them. Koreans tend generally to use Papago or Naver to do translation, so messaging in English should be fine. If you just reach out via message first with "I'm from X country and coming to Korea for 1 year from X. I would like to learn some Taekwondo while I'm in Korea, do you accept adult beginners?"



Just remember to have an open mind It's too easy to get stuck in "that's not the way we usually do it" and not learn fully.

Awesome, thanks for the help/advice.

 

[MooDoYea]

So it looks like I'm going be living in S. Korea for a year or so near Gunsan-si. I'm not a TKD/TSD guy, but it would be foolish not to take an opportunity to train while I'm there. Has anyone trained in the area or in S. Korea in general before, and do you have any advice when visiting a dojang.

what martial art are u interested in? mma? joint locking? just kicking? weapons?

 

[Drobison491]

what martial art are u interested in? mma? joint locking? just kicking? weapons?

I was looking for a TSD since but wouldn't be opposed to TKD. Like I said it would seem like a waste to not train in a Korean art while in Korea.