Taekwondo as a National Development Discourse : Origins, Formation, and Globalization

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Taekwondo, widely celebrated as Korea’s representative sport and a proud national tradition, originated in the 1940s with a small group of martial arts instructors. Since then, it has undergone compact and multifaceted development though incorporating into public education and military training, showcasing through demonstration performances, transforming into a modern competitive sport in the Olympics, and being recognized as a valuable cultural source of the Korean Wave. Despite these achievements, Taekwondo now faces significant challenges, such as a sharp decline in youth practitioners due to low birth rates, defeats of Korean national athletes, and the looming threat of exclusion from the Olympic Games. In response, there is a strong consensus among practitioners and scholars that Korea, as the country of origin, must take a leading role in revitalizing Taekwondo’s global presence and restoring its and the nation’s prestige. Contrary to this dominant discourse, this study seeks to critically examine the widely accepted traditionality and celebrated value of Taekwondo. Drawing on Hobsbawm’s (1983) concept of “invented tradition,” this paper argues that many national traditions, including Taekwondo, have been deliberately constructed to serve the nation-building process. The nation, as Anderson (1983) describes, is an “imagined community” held together by symbols and traditions that evoke collective pride. Ongoing debates about Taekwondo’s origins, whether rooted in ancient Korean history or modern developments, underscore the point that its identity has been intentionally shaped. This study contends that Taekwondo’s history and identity have been closely aligned with Korea’s national development, serving as a symbol to inspire pride, solidarity, and a sense of national superiority. To explore this argument, the study employs Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of diverse textual sources, including news articles, government policies, magazines, and presidential speeches. The findings reveal that Taekwondo has transformed into a national martial art and sport through developmentalism and nationalism, as reflected in Korea’s longstanding ambitions to surpass Japan, achieve economic growth, assert cultural hegemony, and gain global recognition. Notably, this nationalist discourse was present not only during the coercive militant regime, which mobilized traditional and cultural assets to achieve national solidarity but also persisted in the post-militant era to achieve national goals in the globalization era. Keywords: Taekwondo, National sport, Invented tradition, Developmentalism, Nationalism, Globalization, Suzerain, Critical Discourse Analysis

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Ⅰ. Introduction 1
• 1.1 The background of the research 1
• 1.2 Literature Review on Taekwondo studies 3
• 1.3 Research Questions 10
• 1.4 Methodology 11
• 1.5 Research Design14
• Ⅱ. Theoretical approaches to Taekwondo as national development discourse 16
• 2.1 Development theory 16
• 2.2 Nationalism 19
• 2.3 Research Framework 27
• Ⅲ. The Making of Taekwondo as the National Sport 28
• 3.1 Emergence and institutionalization of Taekwondo (1940s–1950s) 28
• 3.2 Initial global spread of Taekwondo (1960s–1970s )31
• 3.3 Taekwondo’s transformation into a modern global sport (1970s–1990s) 33
• 3.4 Globalization of Taekwondo (1990s–present) 35
• Ⅳ. Discursive framework for the formation of Taekwondo as the National Sport 39
• 4.1 The evolution of Taekwondo and the invented Tradition 39
• 4.2 The tangled relationship between Taekwondo and Karate 42
• 4.3 Developmentalism spread through Taekwondo 44
• 4.4 The recognition of Taekwondo’s superiority from overseas 46
• 4.5 Enhancing National Prestige through Taekwondo 48
• 4.6 Taekwondo Suzerain 50
• 4.7 Globalization of Taekwondo 54
• 4.8 Taekwondo promotion policy in 21st Century 57
• Ⅴ. Conclusion 66
• Bibliography