Kukkiwon considers sending taekwondo educators to Cuba for first time

Children participate in a taekwondo exhibition in Sagua La Grande, Villa Clara, Cuba, in this Feb. 21, 2010, file photo. Kukkiwon, a state-sponsored taekwondo academy, is planning to send taekwondo educators to Cuba for the first time, four months after the establishment of South Korea’s diplomatic relations with the socialist country. Reuters-Yonhap

Kukkiwon, a state-sponsored taekwondo academy, is planning to send taekwondo educators to Cuba for the first time, four months after the establishment of South Korea’s diplomatic relations with the socialist country.

According to Kukkiwon’s announcement posted on its website Monday, Cuba is among the 10 candidate countries under consideration for the organization’s overseas training program. This is the first time the Caribbean island nation has been in the running since it began recruiting taekwondo athletes for the program in 2009.

Other countries included in the list are Vietnam, Tajikistan, Nigeria, Bahrain, Gabon, Algeria, Angola, Cameroon and Jamaica.

After evaluating applicants, Kukkiwon plans to select two people by early next month before sending them to two of the candidate countries ― one for each country.

Cuba, one of North Korea’s longtime allies, embraced the style of taekwondo promoted by the North Korea-led International Taekwondo Federation before joining the South Korea-led World Taekwondo (formerly the World Taekwondo Federation) in 1993.