Taekwon Do & Korean Culture Program

INFORMATION

Tul Tour ®1, It was at- tended by 26 partici- pants from 10 coun- tries (afghanistan, australia, Germany, Holland, Korea, nige- ria, Pakistan, Poland, uSa and Venezuela). The tour was led by Master Zibby Kruk.

TOUR BEGIN

The Tour begun at the Inchon Hyatt hotel where the organizers greeted participants and presented them with a tour pack consist- ing of items such as a backpack, dobok, towels, specially designed tour polo shirts, water bottles and fans.The tour officially began on the morning of Monday the 27th of June where the Tour participants climbed Mani Mountain on Ganghwa Island to visit Cham- sungdan, the place dedicated to Dangun offerings. The beautiful scenery allowed them to capture spectacular images and perform their Dangun tul training. once Dangun was completed they

moved to Dosan park in Seoul where they practiced Do San tul. The first day was concluded by a Moosin Rang performance (Korean traditional music, B-boy, extreme Martial art) that was put together especially for the Tul Tour participants.Tuesday the 28th of June was dedicated to Joong Gun and Yul Gok. The tour participants moved to the “Ahn Joong gun memo- rial hall” in Seoul where they performed the pattern in front of the Ahn Joong gun monument.

They then visited the memorial hall that is full of documents and pictures outlining the political situation of that period and the life of Ahn Joong gun at midday the group traveled to the north east part of Korea for Yul Gok training, stopping on the way for lunch at a traditional Korean restaurant to experience genuine Korean cuisine. After the arrival to Kangrung, the Taekwon-doists lined up for Yul- Gok practice in the location of the birth of Yul-Gok. Group pictures in front of Yul Gok’s monument were taken and all participants

were accommodated in a very comfortable hotel and rested after the intensive day full of activities.The next morning after breakfast, the tour participants moved to the Sorak Mountains that are considered to be the most beautiful mountains in Korea reaching the top by cable car. In spite of the heavy rain, the most dedicated troopers climbed rocks and posed for pictures whilst admiring the spectacular views from the top of Sorak Mountain range.

Beautiful Next Day

The 4th day of the tour began with Choong Moo practice in Hyeonchungsa, the location that is dedicated to admiral Yi Soon Sin. The location includes Yi Soon Sin’s shrine and the house where Yi spent much of his youth. once the training was completed the participants had a short tour of the location and while dressed in Dobok, they travelled to Dong-Daeku by KTX one of the fastest trains in the world.

In less than an hour everyone arrived at Dondgaeku where a bus was waiting to take the participants to Dosan Seowon in Andong, the place where Yi Hwang (Toi Gye) retired and established a private Korean Confucian academy. The site was well known in Korea as one of the leading academies and was home to the Toigye School of thought for over 400 years.

In this beautiful location group photos and videos were recorded and Toi Gye tul was practiced.Friday, the 5th day of the tour was a mixture of fun and spiritual enlightenment. In the morning participants arrived at Bunwhangsaji, Seokguram Grotto, a uneSCo heritage site that has a unique Buddha statute and is associated with the Monk Wonhyo. Visiting this place was a great experience and it attracts many pilgrims from all over the world to pray. won Hyotul was performed at the Seokguram Grotto under a roof of exquisite colorful lanterns. after spending the morning practicing Wonhyo, the participants left for the recently opened

“Blue one” water Park for a few hours where they were able to relax and enjoy the nice weather and the many water attractions of the park. It was the final chance to relax before moving to Gul Gul Sa temple for the overnight stay program. once the participants had settled into the accommodation in the temple they were given a tour that included an explanation of the expected behavior in the temple. In the evening the program began with meditation, followed by the Buddhist Zen Martial arts training of Sunmudo.

after breakfast and a short rest, Hwarang tul training and a picture session were con- ducted at the temple premises. Sunmudo, then, literally means “the way of doing meditative martial arts”. It is both meditation and martial art. It is a unique in that it contains a variety of different elements that complement each other. It envelopes the dynamic and powerful movements of a martial art into the peaceful practices of meditation, yoga, and Chi Qong exercises.

Farewell Day

Next morning, all tul tour participants moved to Pusan airport and departed to Jeju Island where they spent time relaxing on Hyupjae beach giving tour participants a chance to swim and mingle with the locals. In the evening a farewell dinner was held as our guests from Venezuela were leaving the next day. Participants received tul tour completion certificates and were named the tul tour pioneers of Korea.

The 9th day of the tour began with a continental breakfast in the hotel and a trip to Sunrise peak, a volcanic formation with an extraordinary view. from sunrise peak tul troopers moved to Cheon Ji Yeon waterfall where they performed Chon-Ji pattern and lots of photographs were taken using the waterfall as a backdrop.

Finally the team arrived at the arrirang Party Center where a fantastic performance of Taekwon-do, B-boys, traditional music and Korean drummers entertained tour participants with an interactive show.

Based on the Tul Tour -1 participant testimonials the program was very well received and very enjoyable. all hotels, meals and transportation were of the highest quality making the tour excellent value for money. The places visited were fantastic and the program not only gave more knowledge and information about tuls but also a great