"TAE-KWON-DO" echoes loudly and in unison throughout the training hall of the taekwondo class organized once per week by UNIFIL's Korean battalion in the southern town of Abbasiyeh, spurring the indomitable spirit into the Lebanese students.

"I am taking the taekwondo sessions in order to be strong, dreaming that one day I will be a taekwondo trainer," ten-year old Lin Zoghieb said.

Among the 150 students who are attending taekwondo classes in the south, twelve-year old Mahdi Mhana, who hails from the southern town of Maroun Ar-Ras, confidently explained that taekwondo will help him build up his self-defense skills, adding that he is looking forward to the black belt.

Speaking about taekwondo from the Korean point of view, Captain Seung Seok Choi explained the value and meaning of taekwondo with respect to the Korean culture, which is also manifested and symbolized by the flag of the Republic of South Korea, the flag of the "Great Extremes".

Taekwondo is many ways reflects Korean history, culture and philosophy. It is rooted in the concept of suppressing fighting and inducing peace and boosts the values of courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, and the indomitable spirit.

"I shall be a champion of freedom and justice; I shall build a more peaceful world" is part of the Taekwondo student oath.

Abbasiyeh is not the only town in South Lebanon that is benefitting from the self-defense techniques of taekwondo. The spirit of taekwondo has also spread to the towns of Tayr Dibba, Burj Rahhal, Shabriha, and Burgheliyeh. Taekwondo classes kicked off in 2008, and since then UNIFIL's Korean battalion succeeded in graduating 73 taekwondo students with varying skill levels and ranks.

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Article: Hiba Monzer
Video Editor: Mohamad Hamze
Video Camera: Mohamad Hamze
Photo: Pascual Gorriz Marcos

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