Jeollanamdo’s Newest Attraction: The Formula One Grand Prix of South Korea

I've always considered Formula One as the pinnacle of motorsport and as an avid fan, I follow all races live on TV, even if it means waking up at 2 AM just to catch the Brazilian Grand Prix and Canadian Grand Prix live. And while watching the just concluded Telefonica Formula One European Grand Prix the other night, it came to my mind that Korea will be playing host to one of the races in 2010. The Korean International Circuit will be the newest leg to be included in the 2010 F1 calendar and the 5th circuit in Asia after Japan, Malaysia, China, and Singapore.

About the circuit

The Jeonnam Circuit features a lot of pioneer features in race circuit design: First, it has been conceived as a dual-structure track, it has 2 inter-changeable tracks or two tracks in one venue. The 5.6 km track is intended for international motorsports events such as F1 Grand Prix, while the permanent track which is 3.04 kms in length will be used for domestic races for automobile and motorcycle races. Second, it is the only track in Asia which will run counterclockwise. Of the 17 races in the F1 calendar this year, the tracks in Turkey and Brazil are the only circuits which were designed as such. Third, the Jeonnam Circuit will have 2 separate sets of pits and paddocks for the F1 and the local events, the very first circuit to ever have different facilities within the same circuit. And finally, the Korean circuit will be the only track to have the ocean in the background. A lot of first in formula one.

Of course, lest I forget, the track was designed by no other than Hermann Tilke, the person responsible for designing majority of the F1 tracks.

A glimpse of the track 

The host

Yeongam County in Jeollanam Province will be the newest host of Formula One starting 2010. It is near the town of Mokpo and roughly about 240 miles south of Seoul. Home to various attractions of Korea such as Mount Wolchul otherwise known as Soguemgang or Little Geumgang; Dogapsa Temple; and Gurim Traditional Village the birthplace of loess pottery.

With its numerous tourist attractions and the addition of the Formula One race, Korea is definitely proving itself as a destination of choice for international travelers; a major player in the tourism industry.

Taekwondo: An international sport made in Korea

I’m not much of a martial arts fanatic, I do love watching sports, but the sports in my menu are basketball, formula one, tennis, golf, a bit of soccer and baseball (a bit seasonal though, only during world cup season and world baseball league period). But after writing about the Taekwondo Peace Corps (you might want to read my blog dated August 18, it talks about the group, the concept of which was espoused by a Korean, the president of the World Taekwondo Federation, Dr. Chungwon Choue), I guess writing about the sport would be a nice sequel, so to speak.

Taekwondo is a form of Korean martial art and at the same time the national sport of South Korea. Considered as one of the most systematic and scientific Korean traditional martial arts, taekwondo is a method of self-defense that uses both the hands and feet. Taekwondo goes beyond punching, jumping, kicking, and breaking boards. More than developing physical fighting skills, it develops the character and personality of an individual through physical, mental and spiritual discipline.

Taekwondo is deeply rooted in Korean history, starting out as a defensive martial art and later developed as a recreational activity, it was then transformed into a way of training the body and mind. Even its name has undergone different changes, from Taekkyon or Subak, Sunbae, Tae Soo Do, and eventually Taekwondo.

Taekwondo has three basic components: pumsae; gyeokpa; and gyeorugi. Pumsae is consistency of defensive and attacking movements against an imaginary opponent or opponents. It is a practice which is devised to be performed in following the Lines of Movement in a systematic and consecutive way against an imaginary opponent or mulit-opponents by using various Taekwondo techniques of hand and foot. Gyeokpa is the so called power test - breaking of tiles, bricks, boards etc. by different parts of the body and specific techniques. Gyeorugi or sparring, is when two people gain attacking and defensive skills through close combat.

Taekwondo has undeniably evolved from being an ordinary form of martial art to a popular international sport. As evidently shown with the results of Taekwondo in the Beijing Olympic Games, of the 32 medals up for grabs, 22 countries won at least one medal. As expected, Korea took home 4 golds out of the 8 up for grabs, to reaffirm its supremacy in the sport. Surprisingly, there were some winners whom you might not have expected to excel in taekwondo, countries such as Iran (a female athlete at that) won a gold; Dominican Republic went home with a silver, and so did Thailand, Greece; Italy, and Norway; while Brazil; Cuba; Kazakhstan; Nigeria; Venezuela; and even the war-torn country of Afghanistan were just some of the winners of a bronze medal. These results are a living testament to the popularity and universal appeal of taekwondo.

Now-a-days, taekwondo is used as a medium to spread peace, thru the Taekwondo Peace Corps.

Taekwondo, more than a sport, it is a way of life.

Yang Yong-eun: Bolting From the Blue to Become Golf's Newest Sensation

As a golfing fan, I try to follow the games live on TV as much as I can, especially the Majors, and, whenever my favorite players are in the tournament. Like many golf aficionados, I was more or less expecting Tiger Woods to win the just concluded Major tournament, the US PGA. He has been playing one heck of a game since his return to the golfing world this year after more than 10-months of hiatus due to his surgery. And he returned as a better version of the old Tiger, I should say. Every time he plays, the feeling is like no amount of lead is safe as long as Tiger is around and lurking behind the leaders.

Another reason why I expected Tiger to win is that he has a perfect record on US soil of winning every tournament where he enters the final round on top of the leaderboard. So, when his game collapsed on the final round of tournament, the record was broken and it was really a huge surprise. So who tamed the most formidable golf player in the world? Well, the guy is virtually unknown as he is ranked 110th in the world. The lucky guy is a 37-year old Korean who goes by the name Yong-eon Yang.

With Y.E. Yang’s win, he not only moves in the world golf ranking from 110 to 33 (what a win in the Majors can do to your ranking; and of course the win is worth US$ 1.35M) but he also became an instant superstar, catapulted to the limelight of the golfing world. Furthermore, he set the record as being the very first Asian born player to ever win a Major.

Looking through his golf resume, in 2006 he won the Korean Open and in 2009, he won the Honda Classic and of course the just concluded US PGA .

Golf is a learning curve, whenever you play with the best players; your game also develops and improves. The earlier wins of Yong-Eon were baby steps that have prepared him to win a Major. His focus on the game during the last round was something that is evident, scoring eagles and birdies especially in the back nine. And he never showed any signs that he was intimidated at the sight of Tiger, more so being paired with the World’s Number 1. As in the case of even the seasoned players in the league, whenever they are paired with Tiger on the final round, their game more often than not goes south. But not in the case of this overnight sensation, while he was making birdies and eagle, Tiger was making bogeys in the last round that will leave you dumbfounded and in total disbelief.

With this win, Yeong Eon has restored not only Korea’s, but Asia’s place as well, in the world of men’s golf. He is now ranked 33rd in the world, and if he sustains his winning form, climbing the ranks would be no problem. KJ Choi has made it to as high as 6th in the World Golf Ranking, proof that Koreans have what it takes to slug it out with the best golfers in the world. This win also meant, he has booked himself a place in the President's Cup this coming October in San Francisco.

I do hope that Yong-Eon wins more tournaments particularly in the US and European circuits to prove that his winning the PGA Masters is no fluke. But for now, I’m just happy that finally an Asian has won a Majors, and that Tiger is human afterall.

Taekwondo Peace Corps

I first heard of the Taekwondo Peace Corps (TPC) while watching a special feature on cable TV a few days ago. Out of curiosity, I tried to find out a little bit about the organization and as I expected the concept was espoused by a Korean, as Taekwondo is very much Korean.

The idea of a Taekwondo Peace Corps was first raised by World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) President Chungwon Choue at an international workshop on sports and peace in Leuven, Belgium on September 2007. Then again, in another international forum on sport and peace held in Monaco in December of that same year, WTF President Choue again raised the same concept, but these time expanding it to involve all the summer Olympic sports, and called it “Sports Peace Corps”.

Launched by the World Taekwondo Federation in Suwon, South Korea on July 5, 2008, the Taekwondo Peace Corps is promoted by the World Taekwondo Federation and organized by the Goodwill, Cooperation and Service (GCS) International, a United Nations-recognized non-governmental organization, both organizations headed by Dr. Chungwon Choue. TPC’s goal is to bring peace through sports. Not only will TPC provide technical enhancement of Taekwondo to WTF member associations but it will also enhance the over-all image of the sport in the international sport community.

The TPC initially dispatched 27 members to five countries, namely, Russia, Paraguay, India, Pakistan and China, during the summer of 2008. The second dispatch was made during the winter of 2008 where 32 members were sent to eight countries: China, Russia, Pakistan, Paraguay, India, Egypt, Morocco, Bolivia, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. This year, the following are the dispatched countries: El Salvador, India, Isle of Man, Samoa, Bhutan, Nigeria, Mongolia, Angola, Philippines, Poland, Azerbaijan, and Mexico.

If TPC will be carried out successfully, Dr. Choue envisions of expanding the program to involve all Olympic sports into a “Sport Peace Corps”, in cooperation with the United Nations and the International Olympic Committee.

Spreading peace thru Taekwondo, that’s the Taekwondo Peace Corps.

The Sparkling Lady Golfers of Korea

Aside from taekwondo, name one sport that is dominated by Koreans. Clock is ticking…1,2,3…. Okay, how about ladies golf. For the past year or so, the women of Korea have really been capturing the golf world by storm. Ever since Se Ri Pak catapulted Korea to the golfing world in 1998, Korean golfers have become byword in the sport. Every LPGA game I get to watch on TV, more often than not, there’s a Korean name, or Korean sounding name in the leaderboard. Just look at the following statistics:

- According to the latest Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking (the ranking is updated every week and is considered the official ranking in world women’s golf), as of July 27, 2009, there are 2 Koreans in the top 10: Jiyai Shin in #4 and In Kyung Kim in #8; moreover, there are 17 Koreans in the top 50, the most of any nationality, followed by the USA which has 13 and Japan with 7.

- Of the 17 tournaments already played this year, starting from the HSBC LPGA Brasil Cup last January to the Evian Masters Presented by Societe Generale held last July 23 - 26, six (6) were won by Koreans.

- Again, of the 17 concluded tournaments, there are only 2 players who have won 2 events, and one is Korean, Jiyai Shin, the other is world # 1 player, Lorena Ochoa. The rest of the 13 tournaments were won by 13 different players, 4 of which are Koreans.

- In terms of the Masters, Eun Hee Ji won the U.S. Women’s Open.

Such an ensemble of talented golfers, and I can only say WOW!!!

Out of curiosity, I started finding out how many golf courses are there in Korea. And, here is what I found out. There are at least 66 golf courses scattered from Seoul to Jeju. Here’s how the 66 golf courses are distributed:

Chungcheongnamdo – 2
Chungcheong - 2
Gangwondo – 5
Gyeonggido – 34
Gyeongsang – 9
Jejudo – 9
Jeolla – 1
Busan – 2
Seoul - 2

No wonder Korea is beaming with so many talented golfers, golf courses are aplenty in the country. Korea is a golfer’s paradise. So, when visiting Korea, aside from enjoying its sights and sounds, you can also enjoy its many excellent golf courses. If you’re the golfing enthusiast, you won’t be missing your game since you can tee-off in any of the numerous courses in Korea, you just have to make your reservations in advance.

Enjoy your round of golf and happy tee-off!!!