The GCS International West Bengal, India Chapter was inaugurated in a grand ceremony in Kolkata, India on December 9, 2018.

Master Pradipta Kumar Roy, who serves as general secretary of the Roy’s Taekwondo Academy, became the first president of the GCS International West Bengal, India Chapter.

The inauguration ceremony took place at the Biswa Bangla Convention Center in Kolkata with the attendance of about 600 people.

Among the dignitaries at the event were Minister Shri Abdur Rezzak Molla; Shri Mahesh Saharia, chairman, North East Initiative, Indian Chamber of Commerce, Kolkata; Shri Om Prakash Agarwal, president of the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce; Korean Grand Master Kim Kyung-duk, president of the Gyeonggi-do Taekwondo Association; and Dr. Seok-jae Kang, secretary general of GCS International.

The inauguration ceremony was held as a special part of the 2018 Indo Korean Taekwondo Cultural Festival. The two-day event, which was organized by the Roy’s Taekwondo Academy in association with the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce and others, featured performances by Korean demonstration team members.

On behalf of GCS International President Dr. Chungwon Choue, who also serves as president of World Taekwondo, GCS International Secretary General Dr. Kang started the inauguration ceremony by ringing the GCS Bell and all the participants recited in unison “G-C-S for the Global Common Society.”

And then Dr. Kang read the GCS Charter, followed by the GCS membership pledge by ranking members of the GCS International West Bengal, India Chapter.

According to the order of the ceremony, the GCS West Bengal, India Chapter flag was handed over to the newly approved president of GCS West Bengal, India Chapter,

The flag handover was followed by the new president’s oath of office and the presentation to him of the plaque of approval, a GCS badge and a GCS membership card.

“GCS International President Dr. Chungwon Choue asked me to send his best regards to Master Pradipta Kumar Roy and all the participants in the inauguration ceremony,” said GCS International Secretary General Dr. Kang in a speech.

He continued to say, “There are lots of things to do for the development of taekwondo in India. My special thanks go to Gyonggo-do Taekwondo Association President Kim Kyong-duk and the Korean taekwondo demonstration team for taking the time to attend this event.” “Together with GCS International, the Indo Korean Taekwondo Cultural Festival will continue to serve as a good opportunity for the Indian people to better understand taekwondo and Koran culture and vice versa.”

Shortly before the inauguration ceremony, a memorandum of understanding was signed on mutual cooperation between GCS International Secretary General Dr. Kang and the Roy’s Taekwondo Academy General Secretary Master Pradipta Kumar Roy.

The GCS International West Bengal, India Chapter inauguration ceremony was followed by a 30-minute demonstration by a Korean taekwondo demonstration team.

A dinner was hosted by the Indian and Calcutta Chamber of Commerce for GCS and Korean delegates at the time-honored Bengal Club on Dec. 9.

On Dec. 10, GCS and Korean delegates visited the Ramakrishna Mission near Kolkata, where a special lecture on taekwondo was delivered by GCS Secretary General Dr. Kang and a taekwondo demonstration was performed for hundreds of Mission students and dignitaries, including Swami Divyananda, secretary of the Ramakrishna Mission, Saradapitha; and Swami Shastrajnananda, principle of the Ramakrishna Mission, Vidyamandira.