Thirty years later

The title of the story, paraphrased from Alexandre Dumas’s trilogy about the royal musketeers, was associatively formed in my head after the emotions of meeting with professional taekwondo masters who revealed the secrets of the ancient Korean martial art.

Thirty-three years ago, the Gyeng Gi-Do Taekwondo Association invited two Russian instructors of the Voronezh Regional Taekwondo Federation – Alexander Shlychkov and Oleg Volkov, followers of martial arts, to undergo training and subsequent certification in South Korea. Officially, the USSR still existed and only two months ago, on September 30, 1990, Korean-Soviet diplomatic relations were established.

The welcoming party, represented by the President of the Association Mr. Hwang Kwang Chul and masters Mr. An Young Go did everything to make the guys from Russia feel at home and be able to fully gain first-hand knowledge.

Today’s visit to the Gyeng Gi-Do Taekwondo Association showed that the seed of goodness and knowledge sown 33 years ago has yielded a good harvest.

Current Chairman of Gyeng Gi-Do Taekwondo Association Mr. Kim Kyung Duk believes that relations between the two regional taekwondo federations have a solid foundation and should receive further logical continuation.

On September 19, 2023, at the headquarters of the Gyeng Gi-Do Taekwondo Association in Suwon, Chairman of the Federation Mr. Kim Kyung Duk together with the President of the Voronezh regional public organization “Taekwondo Federation” signed a joint Memorandum of Cooperation and Development. As part of the signed official document, annual events in the field of development and popularization of taekwondo, joint work in the development of applied skills, cultural programs and regional business forums are envisaged.

The connection between generations and the continuation of good traditions will be the key to unbreakable friendship and mutual understanding between our peoples.