BISHKEK – The 2023 #Play_Taekwondo Challenge was held as a highlight event of the opening ceremony of the 1st Nomad GCS Cup International Taekwondo Championship in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on October 8, 2023.

The opening ceremony, which took place at the Gym-N-Roll Sport Center, was jointly organized by the Taekwondo Association of the Kyrgyz Republic and the GCS International Kyrgyzstan Chapter.

The ceremony started with the showing of a video congratulatory speech by Dr. Chungwon Choue, president of World Taekwondo (WT) and GCS International.

In his video message, Dr. Choue said, “World Taekwondo is recognized within the Olympic and Paralympic movements the pioneer for humanitarian efforts.” “Just importantly, WT is actively involved in social development projects that help improve minority groups and the underprivileged in our member nations. We call this the Taekwondo Cares Program.”

He continued to say that “This year, I am very pleased that the Taekwondo Association of the Kyrgyz Republic is hosting the first-ever GCS Cup International Taekwondo Championship in Bishkek to mark the 42nd UN International Day of Peace.” “As you may know, the UN International Day of Peace is celebrated annually on September 21 and I am happy that Taekwondo Cares students participate in the GCS Cup to commemorate this meaningful occasion.”

He thanks Alexei Pak, president of the Taekwondo Association of the Kyrgyz Republic, and his team for activating the 2023 WT-ADF (Asia Development Foundation) Cares Program and for fulfilling the dreams of the Taekwondo Cares students. WT kicked off its Taekwondo Cares projects for the second half of 2023 in Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal and Bhutan on October 1. With a financial support from the ADF, WT has so far carried out WT-ADF Cares programs in about 10 countries since 2019. Under the program, local taekwondo coaches are dispatched to teach taekwondo for the unprivileged, such as orphans, young inmates, street children and victims of household violence, etc.

Dr. Choue also said, “I wish to encourage the global Taekwondo family to join the ongoing #Play_Taekwondo Challenge event.” He concluded his speech by saying four slogans of  “Peace is More Precious than Triumph,” “World Peace through Taekwondo,” “Peace in Mind, Taekwondo at Heart,” and “September 21, the UN International Day of Peace.”

Starting with Dr. Choue, WT and GCS International member countries began actively participating in the challenge event. A similar challenge event is expected in early December in Colombo, Sri Lanka on the occasion of a taekwondo event.

During the opening ceremony, the challenge event was attended by such VIPs as Kyrgyz Taekwondo Association President Alexei Pak, who also serves as president of GCS Kyrgyzstan; Seok-jae Kang, senior consultant for WT Cares Program and secretary general of GCS International; Dae-geun Kang, president of THF (Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation) Asia; Seung-kyu Lee, head coach of the national team of the Kyrgyz Taekwondo Association and secretary general of GCS Kyrgyzstan, and Shashenbiev Nurbek, vice president of the Kyrgyz Taekwondo Association, as well as Kyrgyz Taekwondo Cares students. GCS Kyrgyzstan was officially launched last March.

Participants in the ceremony watched an updated WT Cares video and the 42nd UN International Day of Peace, as well as taekwondo and drum performances.

The 2023 #Play_Taekwondo Challenge is one of the short-form video challenges jointly promoted by the Korea Culture Foundation, the Sports Donga daily newspaper, and the Voluntary Agency Network of Korea or VANK, an internet-based Korean organization. The challenge event is supported by WT, the Korea Taekwondo Association and GCS International. GCS International was established in 1979 as an international NGO, which played a crucial role in the establishment of the UN International Day of Peace.

The challenge started on July 10 with the “Candle Off Challenge,” followed by the “Breaking Challenge” in August, the “High Kick Challenge” in September and the “Together with Companion Animal Challenge” in October. The challenge releases a new mission on the first day of every month. The challenge, which will continue until the end of this year, is gaining popularity worldwide, especially among celebrities, sports stars and influential YouTubers.