Welcome to Korea!

After an uneventful 13-hour flight from San Francisco to Seoul, our aircraft touched down at 8 a.m. on Sunday morning. We groggily made our way through immigration and collected our luggage. As we organized ourselves and our luggage, our enthusiasm and energy slowly began to increase.

Once through customs and into the main terminal, a surprising and enthusiastic greeting awaited us. Numerous schoolchildren, wearing dobok or traditional Korean dress, were lined on either side of our path, waving Korean and U.S. flags welcoming us to their country and to the Workshops. After such an exhausting flight, this was a welcome and refreshing sight. When we attempted greetings in Korean, the laughing and smiling reaction of our welcoming committee was priceless.

After a few minutes of formal introductions and greetings, we boarded our buses and proceeded on our way to the Yangji Pine Resort. At the resort, we stored our luggage and rushed to the Opening Ceremony which included the Opening Declaration, the Opening Address by Ok-bae Kim, the Director of the Education Department, and the Trainees' Oath, given by Sonny-Ryan Jung and Sally Ho, our Team Captains.

After lunch and a short break, we boarded the buses and headed to the Korean Folk Village, a "town" designed in the traditional Chosun dynasty manner.

As part of the opening ceremonies, we were treated to a delightful Welcome Party that featured official greetings from members of the Workshop for the World Taekwondo Families, a response by Master William Kim, a performance by a traditional Korean drum troupe, a wonderful duet of traditional Korean singers, a demonstration by the Yongin University Demonstration Team, an impressive demonstration by our own instructors, and a performance by a young contemporary song and dance group. Combined with the delicious food, this event was a very enjoyable time.