Monday, March 23, 2009

Taekwondo's immense international popularity has made it the fastest growing martial art in the world today. One of only two martial arts recognized by the International Olympic Committee, taekwondo offers combat techniques with proven effectiveness as a means of self-defense, but also has metaphysical and philosophical aspects derived from Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism which attract those seeking more than a simple, physical workout.

Doug Cook, 5th dan black belt master instructor, will explain some of the key elements of taekowndo, talk about the formative years of this unique Korean martial discipline, and highlight the distinction between the practice of the traditional art and the combat sport of taekwondo.

About the Presenter

Sports and politics, while not the most obvious of companions, nonetheless do have a storied relationship from the first games in ancient Olympia to the most recent modern Olympic games in Beijing. Sports have become more global, now that athletes traverse oceans and continents to compete. The politics of sports also are more complicated—and more interesting. South Korea is a quintessential case of how sports can be a major channel of globalization through which political signals can be communicated both intentionally and unintentionally. The political changes that occurred in South Korea between the awarding of the Olympic Games to Seoul in 1981 and their implementation in 1988 is a case study of how—under the world's watchful eye—host nations may feel compelled to embrace the liberal values of the Olympic ideal or risk embarrassment on the world stage.

In 2007 the U.S.-DPRK Scientific Engagement Consortium was established to explore collaborative science activities between the U.S. and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Collectively, the Consortium members-the U.S. Civilian Research & Development Foundation (CRDF), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Syracuse University (SU) and The Korea Society (TKS)-have decades of extensive experience in successfully establishing and advancing international scientific collaborations, including with the DPRK. The Consortium hopes this approach will improve versatility, avoid duplication of efforts, economize the efforts of multiple institutions to remain in compliance with U.S. law and policy, and ultimately launch a coordinated effort to support future collaborations.

The Consortium was created with a workshop held at CRDF in May 2007, where fifty participants-including representatives from nine US universities-discussed shared experiences, lessons learned, successes and challenges regarding scientific collaboration with the DPRK. The workshop, funded by the Richard Lounsbery Foundation, demonstrated a strong interest by a number of U.S. universities to work towards collaboration with DPRK academics in a variety of key areas of scientific exchange, including agriculture, information technology, and health.

The Consortium has since worked hard to raise awareness with the U.S. and DPRK governments about the value of science engagement in building relations-hosting several concurrent activities including discussions at the annual AAAS meetings. In 2009 the Consortium hopes to send a Nobel Laureate led delegation to the DPRK funded by the Lounsbery Foundation. This delegation will launch a dialogue regarding each country's respective science and policy infrastructure and seek to identify research areas of mutual interest.