[PyeongChang 2018] Koreas confirm schedules for joint taekwondo performances during Winter Games
2024-10-30 08:25:21

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea -- The Koreas have confirmed the schedule for their joint taekwondo performances during the Winter Games, south of the border, the global taekwondo organization said Thursday.

World Taekwondo, headquartered in Seoul, said its demonstration team will have four performances together with North Korea's International Taekwondo Federation in South Korea. The WT is the official international federation for taekwondo, as recognized by the International Olympic Committee. The ITF, led by North Korean Ri Yong-son, is based in Vienna. The two organize competitions under different sets of rules.

The WT said the joint taekwondo performance will first take place at the Olympic Stadium in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, around 7:16 p.m. Friday, as part of pre-opening ceremony events for the Winter Olympics. The opening ceremony for the Feb. 9-25 Winter Olympics is set to start at 8 p.m.

The South and the North taekwondo practitioners will then move to Gangwon Career Education Institute in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, for their second joint performance Saturday.

The North Korean team, which is currently staying in Inje County, Gangwon Province after its arrival in the South on Wednesday, will next head to Seoul on Sunday and visit the WT headquarters.

The joint performance will continue at Seoul Citizen Hall on Monday and at MBC Sangam Hall two days later.

The WT said each organization's team will put on a 25-minute demonstration and the two teams will have a 10-minute joint performance during each event, except the one ahead of the Olympic opening ceremony.

This file photo taken Feb. 7, 2018, shows the North Korean taekwondo demonstration team and officials at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul. (Yonhap)This file photo taken Feb. 7, 2018, shows the North Korean taekwondo demonstration team and officials at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul. (Yonhap)
On the sidelines of the joint performances, officials from the WT and the ITF will have luncheons. On Saturday, WT President Choue Chung-won and ITF Ri Yong-sun, as well as Italian sports officials including a IOC member Mario Pescante and president of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations Francesco Ricci Bitti, will have a luncheon.

North Korean taekwondo demonstration team previously performed in South Korea last June during WT's World Taekwondo Championships in Muju, North Jeolla Province.

North Korean taekwondo practitioners are scheduled to return their home next Thursday via a land route, while the ITF officials will take a flight from Incheon International Airport. (Yonhap)

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