베트남 전쟁 시기 한국 언론의 태권도 재현과 국위선양 담론(1964~1973) = Representations of Taekwondo and Discourses of National Prestige in the South Korean Press during the Vietnam War (1964-1973)

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This article examines the representations and discourses surrounding Taekwondo in the South Korean press during the Vietnam War. By doing so, it reconsiders interpretations that have understood dispatch of Taekwondo instructors primarily within the framework of Taekwondo’s developmental history and global diffusion, and instead reinterprets the meaning of Taekwondo in the context of the Vietnam War.
The article proceeds as follows. First, it traces how Taekwondo, which had developed in close connections with the military since Korea’s liberation, became linked to the dispatch to Vietnam and consolidated its position as a national symbol. It then analyzes media representations of Taekwondo education and martial prowess. This demonstrates how the image of South Koreans as both educators and warriors was constructed and how these images became intertwined with discourses of national prestige. Taekwondo education was framed as overcoming the colonial experiences of both South Korea and Vietnam and as fostering friendship between the two countries. At the same time, it established an educator-student relationship between South Koreans and Vietnamese, symbolically positioning South Korea as a more modern and superior nation within the Cold War order. South Koreans, widely portrayed as Taekwondo masters, were represented as the most formidable anti-communist warriors. Their material ability was depicted not merely as individual skill but as a symbol of disciplined bodies and minds unified in national military strength.
These dual images of Taekwondo were embedded within a broader Cold War strategy. They functioned to legitimize South Korea’s participation in the Vietnam War and to rearticulate South Korea’s position within the Cold War international order. The image of Taekwondo, circulated abroad and then relayed back to South Korean society through the press, became part of a process through which national identity and international status were constructed and internalized.