Kukki T'aegwŏndo: Education, Culture, and Politics. How Korean Studies might benefit from Research on Korean Martial Arts
Wednesday, July 5th, 2023, 18:00 c.t., Wilhelmstraße 133, Room 30
Bio
Martin Minarik is currently a faculty member at the Institute of Sports Science at the Georg-August University Göttingen. He studied Philosophy, History, as well as Theater-, Film-, and Media Studies in Bielefeld/Germany and Vienna/Austria with additional courses in East Asian Studies. Subsequently, he pursued his doctoral degree at the Institute for Human Movement Science at Hamburg University. His dissertation was published in 2022 under the title “Im Gleichschritt des Dao. Zur Performativität von Normen, Werten und Idealen in der Taekwondo Praxis in Südkorea“. He actively practices Taekkyon and Taekwondo, where he currently holds a 4th Dan issued by the Kukkiwon/World Taekwondo Headquarter.
Abstract
Taekwondo - designated national sport of Korea. Despite being viewed as the embodiment of the national spirit by many Koreans and non-Koreans alike, and often referred to as "Korea's gift to the world", Taekwondo remains underrepresented as a research topic in Korean Studies. The aim of this presentation is to introduce Taekwondo as a fertile research field in Korean Studies, focusing on areas such as physical culture, Korean nation-making, Korean cultural policies, and the global rise of Hallyu. To achieve this, the presentation will explore two main topics: Firstly, Taekwondo's cultural history after the Second World War and its relationship to cultural-political agendas until the Seoul Olympics in 1988. Secondly, the current situation of Taekwondo in South Korea and around the world, as well as its relationship to contemporary cultural products and policies of South Korea.