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From the 국기원 Kukkiwon Participation Confirmed for 4,261 Practitioners from 61 Countries in the 2026 World Taekwondo Hanmadang

2026 World Taekwondo Hanmadang to Kick Off on August 1st Under the Slogan THE FIRST LIGHT


The scale of participation for the 2026 World Taekwondo Hanmadang (hereafter the Hanmadang) has been confirmed at 4,261 individuals from 61 countries around the world.



The 2026 World Taekwondo Hanmadang Organizing Committee accepted registrations for approximately two months starting last June across a total of 15 events and 170 categories (individual, team, and exhibition/demonstration events).



According to the registration results, the participating nations span 61 countries, including 26 from Asia, 8 from Pan American region, 15 from Europe, 8 from Africa, and 4 from Oceania.



Excluding South Korea (2,986 participants), the overseas continental breakdown of participants is 842 from Asia, 252 from Pan-Am, 127 from Europe, 20 from Africa, and 34 from Oceania. The country with the highest number of participants is China (189), closely followed by Malaysia (140).



In particular, this Hanmadang holds the symbolic significance of being held at Kukkiwon for the first time in 10 years since 2016. Fittingly, it is prepared to welcome the global Taekwondo family under the slogan “World Taekwondo Hanmadang, THE FIRST LIGHT.”



For individual events, the competition with the highest number of entries is “Recognized Poomsae” (552 participants), while for team events, it is “Taekwondo Gymnastics,” drawing 911 participants.



Furthermore, to distinguish it from traditional Poomsae, the newly introduced “Breaking Poomsae (Team)” exhibition event recorded 152 registrants, proving its popularity as a newly established event.



The youngest participant is young Kim Tae-won (7 years old, 1st Poom), and the oldest is Mr. Lee Mun-ho (80 years old, 9th Dan), representing a 73-year age gap between the two.



Taking into account Kukkiwon’s aging facilities and limited space, the Organizing Committee is reinforcing facility inspections and safety management. Simultaneously, they are making every effort to ensure seamless operations, including scheduling competitions, preparing breaking materials, and organizing accommodation and transport for overseas participants.



The Hanmadang will be held at Kukkiwon for five days from Saturday, August 1 to Wednesday, August 5.

Throughout the week at 7:15 a.m. (7:00 on Saturdays) a remarkable group of female black belts over the age of 50 come together to train in martial arts. Though small in number, they are strong in spirit and unwavering in dedication. While many would choose the comfort of extra sleep, they choose something greater: the strengthening of the mind, the conditioning of the body, and the nourishment of the spirit.

One of the many piles of broken pine boards from our recent colour belt and Kukkiwonkms black belt poom/dan promotion testing this week under the watchful eye of the spirit of the late GM Baik Nam-Sik. Thank you to for the piles and piles of pine boards used throughout our promotion testing. It is community partners like Monaghan Lumber Specialties that make our program successful. We also thank our other community partners for your support.

ChungDoKwan group

We are pleased to report the geup and Kukkiwon poom/dan promotion testing next week with examining panel lead by two Kukkiwon certified poom/dan examiners. Kukkiwonkms 국기원 Kukkiwon