The 10th World Taekwondo Festival opens in the first week of July from July 1 to 6. The annual event, hosted by Chung Cheong University and managed by the Organizing Committee of the World Taekwondo Festival, will be held on the campus of that school in Cheongju City, Chungbuk-do (North Chungcheong Province).

Over 3,000 Taekwondo practitioners, one third of them from some 60 nations, will show off their skills during the festival.

Also, this would be the first time competitors from the South Korea-based World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) and North Korea-based International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) participate together under this year's slogan ?e are one through Taekwondo.?br>
To stress the significance of the coming together of the two federations, the first match right after the opening ceremony will be one between members of both the WTF and ITF.

?he two groups will give it all they've got at this event. This will be the chance to directly compare and contrast the two different fighting styles,?one Organizing Committee official said. ?ll in all, it could help further build up taekwondo techniques in the long run.?br>
Just a day before festival there will be the lighting of the torch followed by a ?e are one through taekwondo?music concert and other traditional culture events from July 2 to 5.

The general registration process, referees meeting and flag raising will take place on July 1. The opening ceremony will be on July 2 and sparring matches will take place from then on for the next three days. The fourth day (July 4) will feature an additional talent contest and the fifth day (July 5), a free taekwondo aerobics performance.

The final day will feature a two-hour special match between South Korea's famous practitioners of mixed martial arts and ITF taekwondo competitors. World Taekwondo Breaking Champion Ali Bah?tepe of Turkey will also try to break his previous record the same day.

Meanwhile, the farm villages of the nearby Cheongwon region are bustling with guests from abroad, mostly taekwondo competitors and their families experiencing traditional farm culture while waiting for the opening of the festival.

Godmee village at Namseong-myeon was recently visited by a five-member Kenya taekwondo team that looked around the traditional Hanok residences of Korea. The place is also expected to host a 22-member Australian taekwondo team this coming Sunday. Another farm village in Hyeondo-myeon is eagerly awaiting a 2-member Uzbekistan team, also on Sunday.

For more information on the Taekwondo Festival visit: www.tkdfamily.net (Kor, Eng)
For more information on Korean farming village tourism:
http://www.invil.org/english/index.html (Also available in Jpn, Chn)

By Kim Hee-sung
Korea.net staff writer

SOURCE : Korea.net