The second members of Outlookie, a group of international students aiming to learn about Korean culture, had a chance to experience “taekwondo” at the Taekwondowon in Muju, North Jeolla Province from May 21 to May 22. This was the group’s first schedule in 2016.

After arriving at the Taekwondo Experience Center, they changed into taekwondo uniforms for the first time in their lives with the help of the first Outlookie members and local students. After that, they immediately jumped into their schedule. The second Korean culture experience team toured the facilities of Taekwondowon and took photos as mementos of their happy memories. In addition, they were given an opportunity to exchange greetings and talks with the KOFICE chairman, Kwak Young-jin, about Korean culture and sports that they wanted to learn more about.

In particular, the beautiful landscape of Muju as seen from the observation deck via the monorail wowed everyone One of the first Outlookie members was satisfied: “Being here again on a beautiful sunny day makes me happy as I felt sorry that we had rain during the same trip last year.” In the afternoon, everyone had a pleasant time bonding together as they learned the basic postures of the Korean martial art and enjoyed group games.

In the morning of the second day, some members woke up early and took a nice morning walk, enjoying the fresh air at Taekwondowon. This year’s taekwondo trip was concluded with a session that everyone eagerly anticipated—how to smash pine boards.

Beginning with the opening ceremony in April, the second members of Outlookie have been experiencing a variety of traditional and modern aspects of the Korean culture in accordance with various themes. Their next program is scheduled in June, which is the “Outlookie Youth Camp,” an overnight experience program that aims to offer members a chance to experience international cultures while they spend time with teenagers from multicultural families.