How taekwondo tells Korea-Uganda 60-year relations

The writing was on the wall. The 60 was painted in Korean colours of red, blue, and black on a white background and Uganda’s black, yellow and red, a story knitted tight by mostly taekwondo, Korea’s traditional sport.

Uganda’s sweet-sad story

Taekwondo is a traditional Korean martial art that has evolved over 2000 years and beyond.

It’s a combination of three Korean words: tae (kick), kwon (punch) and do (spirit)—which depicts the essence of taekwondo as an art where the human mind is tuned to command the body for purposes of defense, fitness and elegance.

Over centuries, the sport has become a major martial art across the world.

When Korea hosted the 1988 Seoul Olympics, taekwondo was used as a demonstration sport. But 12 years later, it became a medal sport at Sydney 2000.

According to the Uganda Taekwondo Federation website, taekwondo came to Uganda in 1969 when Master Nam Suk Kim was invited from South Korea to impart self-defence techniques among Uganda Prisons staff.

Since then many Korean masters have come and greatly contributed to the development of the sport at club and national level, by training trainees and trainers.

They include Master Pak, trainer of Uganda Police Force in the 70s, and Master Lee, founder of the Lee Training Centre at Kisugu, a Kampala suburb, and national coach, who has trained generations of Ugandans since the early 90s.

At the 2nd World Taekwondo Championship in Seoul, Korea in 1975, welterweight A. F. Odut won bronze, making Uganda the first African country to win a medal at an international taekwondo event. Adeke, the first African woman to be awarded Black-belt, was also Ugandan.

Star athletes have represented Uganda in regional and international championships. But more is still begging.

Kukkiwon master class

Kukkiwon has had a permanent taekwondo demonstration team since September 1974.

Their 50-year celebrations lit up the Victoria Hall  last Tuesday and Wednesday night.

They seemed to be masters of the front kick, the sidekick, the hooking kick, the back kick, and the roundhouse kick and they pulled them off with beauty and ease.

Mastering those five basic kicks is a great foundation to explore other advanced skills.

Yet the Kukkiwon team was not done. The exceptional skills came out whenever they pulled off the cartwheel, kicking multiple boards into pieces nonstop, and kicking others at heights twice taller than the kickers’ body heights and with such precision that no one missed, even once.  

They took perfection to another level when they did it blindfolded. All they needed was someone to ring a bell to guide them to the region where the teammates stood with the boards they had to kick or the poles on which the boards had been hung.

About the demo fight, they reminded us of Jet Li, Bruce Lee, Donnie Yen, Jackie Chan, etc—martial art movie stars of our generation.

But a young boy from the Smash Talent Kids said they acted like Tony Jaa, the Thai, who stars in Expendables 4.

The applause never ceased. The standing ovations were more than once. It was that marvelous.

Yet Ibrahim Bogere, a coach and member of the federation, said: “These are not the best. They are youngsters. You should have seen the ones who came here in 2018,” he said.

That takes habitual practice to perfect. “We train five days a week, Monday to Friday, eight hours a day,” Sung Si-Hoon, head coach from Kukkiwon, told Sunday Monitor, through translators.

He added that it is better to start taekwondo at an early age, about five or six years, but he added that it depends on the person’s body and commitment.

“What matters is training regularly and in the right way and conditioning one’s body,” he added, as his colleagues substantiated in agreement.

Should one eat particular foods and avoid others? “Not really. All people in all sports need a routine and regular meals to keep the body strong and fit.” The rest varies accordingly.

From Uganda, they said, they would flaunt their skills in Rwanda, Kenya, Madagascar—countries which share strong diplomatic ties with Korea. “We are spreading taekwondo, making it known and loved by the public.”

Enhancing refugee policy

One of the things that has enhanced Uganda’s image in the international community is its open and nearly unconditional refugee policy. Uganda is one of those countries that hosts a sizable number of refugees. And interestingly taekwondo adds a chapter to that story.

In 2018, the Uganda Taekwondo Federation took the sport to a refugee camp in Rwamwanja, in Kamwenge District, western Uganda, which is home to over 10,000 refugees from South Sudan, Rwanda, Somalia, among other neighbouring countries.

Upon the project launch, Badru Ntulage, the former UTF secretary general, who initiated it, said:

"I started believing that those in settlements need these services even more, hence this project. The essence is inner healing.

"These people fled very hostile environments and our programmes currently emphasise meditating, stretching and storytelling."

Due to administrative wrangles, Ntulage is no longer on the UTF executive, but his vision of extending the project to Adjumani, Moyo, and Kyagwari, should not be ignored.

Uganda’s taekwondo future

On both nights at Serena, Kumi University Taekwondo Club had showcased their taekwondo demonstration skills as they raised the curtains for the Kukkiwon stars.

The Kukkiwon team had mastered all the choreography and needed no master on stage. But Kumi needed Master David Seongnam Hong to command the moves.

Master Hong has been shaping Kumi University since he came to Uganda in 2015. His biggest challenge in Kumi is the communication barrier.

“Most of the players know Iteso and other native languages, yet I also know little English. So I have to learn more Iteso and they too learn more English so that we can communicate better.”

Of his 300 trainees, some prefer taekwondo fights, some prefer demonstrations. But some like Joel Odele like both. 

“I will do all I can to win medals at different levels and also travel the world either as a fighter or for demonstrations.”

Kumi and Kukkiwon teams might be worlds apart. But Hong believes the yawning gap can grow thinner.

“We try to make them improve every day and though they cannot be at the same level as Kukkiwon, they can do much better and compete at the world stage.”

Si-Hoon, the Kukkiwon coach, agrees. “The Ugandans are impressive. They are fit and strong. They are not at the same level as us but can catch up.”

He, however, quickly added that Korean athletes benefit from very high standard structures and infrastructure. “If Ugandans get access to such structures I am sure they too can be great,” Si-Hoon observed.

He also tipped the administrators that the first breakthrough to that is making the sport attract public attention. What follows is obvious: public and private sponsorships, among others.

Search for first Olympian

At the K-POP 2023 Festival, at Yusuf Lule Auditorium at Makerere University, Police Taekwondo Club, guided by Master Kim, did the taekwondo demonstrations.

While Kumi University took over the demonstrations at Serena Hotel, Police won the Korean Ambassador’s Cup Taekwondo Competition, with 16 medals.

They won the men’s category with two gold medals, two silver medals and four bronze medals, thanks to Cranma Wakroth, who defeated Wyclif Okoth of Team Regional from Kenya in the -63kg category and Farouk Ogwal who revenged on Prisons’ Leroy Ocungi in the 54kg category, among others.

But it was women like Rebecca Among and Madina Nankya, etc, who gathered more silverware: five gold medals and three silver medals, lifting Police above the 21 clubs that graced the two-day event at the MTN Arena-Lugogo.

Don Rukare, the Uganda Olympic Committee boss, hopes that the event prepares athletes for major occasions like the African Games in Accra, Ghana next year and the Paris 2024 Games.

Uganda has never sent an athlete to the Olympics. But athletes won’t stop dreaming.

“I have beaten a guy who has competed abroad, which means I am equally good for the world stage,” said Emmanuel Hahuma, the gold medalist from Golden Age Taekwondo Club, who defeated Police’s Oswaldo Ocira in a thrilling 58kg final.

 “I wanted to be a soldier but now my dad, who is a taekwondo master, tells me I can achieve many things in sports. I want to win at the world stage,” said Daniella Atim, 13, from Children Sports Charity Academy, who got silver after losing to Kenyan Hezny Lumwach. Over to you UTF.

The soft culture

It was a beautiful spectacle when Hanhee Woo, economic and cultural affairs officer at the Korean embassy said jangu, (meaning “come” in Luganda) calling the Smash Talent Kids for a photo moment with Kukkiwon at Serena.

But Ugandans are taking it to another level. Faith Kobusingye, for instance, won a Samsung Galaxy A03 after finishing third in the Korean Speech Competition last October.

At the KPOP 2023 at Makerere, May 26, she finished second.

The fashion and designing student at Ntinda Vocational Institute, started practicing Korean language about four years ago, using online applications.

“I love their eyes and humbleness,” Kobusingye shared her first exposure to Korean people through movies and soap operas when she was in Senior three in 2014.

“The more I watched the more I fell in love with them and the urge to learn more about them and their language became irresistible.”

Nicholas Matovu won the KPOP dance competition, followed by Smash Talent Kids Africa and Gloria Kayiwa, who outperformed Weapon Dance Team, Team Rolex, M27 Group,

TGH Dance Crew, and solo performers Deo Bugembe and sensational kid Josephine Nakate.

Before that Hellen Nalukwago, who put on a lively show, while miming and dancing a long Jennie; Tracy Namigadde, who did Forgetting You, Josh Kalanzi who did Slowly Fall, Jeniffer Akello, who did It’s Strange With You, among others, left the crowds asking for more.

Interestingly, all songs had Korean connotations and each performer had to say: annyeong haseyo, (which is hello in Korean). But contrary to the audience’s assumption that the performers got Korean training, they train themselves.  

“I watch lots of Korean videos, learn the moves and the words,” said Namigadde, who was among the top three in the singing competition. “It’s a bit challenging but it’s about being interested in what you do.”

Next 60 years

Prof Henry Alinaitwe, on behalf of Makerere University vice-chancellor Barnabas Nawangwe said keeping a friend, moreover for 60 years, is not easy.

“The Korean people love us and wish us well. We feel this not only through their support to Makerere University but also through investment in different Ministries Departments and Agencies,” he said.

He ended his brief speech by: “At independence Korea and Uganda were at the same levels of growth. Now we are worlds apart. We pick big lessons from that. In the next 60 years, I will have gone but I want these countries to be the same again.”

Sung-Soo, the Korean Ambassador, said the Korean language, drama and culture manifestations have become worldwide.

He also applauded the performers like the Smash Talent Kids, who emerged second in the KPOP competition, predicting that they could become the next Ghetto Kids—the group that stunned the world by making the final of Britain’s Got Talent 2023.

Kobusingye, the Korean speech competitor, who dreams of visiting Korea, wishes for a visa-free relationship between Korea and Uganda.

“At least they should reduce the charges. But currently the Shs5m is too much.”

Like Professor Alinaitwe, Kobusingye also prays that the relations between Uganda and Korea get even stronger, over the 60 years.

60: Number of years of Uganda-Korea diplomatic relations

Events to celebrate: Online Korean Speech Competition; KPOP 2023; Ambassador’s Taekwondo Cup; Kukkiwon Demonstration

1969: Taekwondo came to Uganda

Best performers

Police Taekwondo Club (overall Ambassador’s Cup champs)

Team Regional, Kenya (most spirited team)

Kumi University, Uganda (Taekwondo Demonstration)

Guest performers: Kukkiwon (Taekwondo Demonstration), Smash Talent Kids Africa (Best entertainers)