For the first time in its ten-year history, the biannual World Junior Taekwondo Championship is being held in Korea, the birth place of Taekwondo. Suncheon City, which is located in Korea's southern Jeollanam-do Province has been selected as the site of 5th World Junior Taekwondo Championship, which will be held June 12-18, 2004.

The international competition, which is open only to participants between the ages of 14 and 17 years, will draw the best of the best, and only competitors recommended by the National Taekwondo Association with an official Dan certificate issued by Kukkiwon, the World Taekwondo Headquarters will be eligible to compete. Participatory events are divided into two divisions-- Gyeorugi (sparring) and Poomsae (movement) competitions, meaning that both individuals and teams will be able to compete for the top prizes. In total organizers anticipate more than 5,000 participants, including competitors, media, organizers and family members, from 80 countries around the world will attend the event.

In addition to the comprehensive competitive schedule, there are numerous ceremonies, cultural activities and tours that may be joined by all visitors to the competition. The opening and closing ceremonies as well as regularly scheduled cultural performances will demonstrate a wide variety of traditional Korean cultural to the audience, while related outdoor events will include food vendors and shopping booths.

Of particular interest to visitors will be the one-day sightseeing tours of the area, which will be available daily. Suncheon, which is home to 105 nationally designated cultural relics, is located in a romantic setting, surrounded by lakes, parks and scenic mountain vistas. The city's most popular attraction is also one of Korea's most famous temples, Songgwangsa, which is considered one of the three representative temples in Korea. The temple is particularly famous for its numerous wooden structures and its Zen meditation center for foreign monks. Another well-known Suncheon attraction is Suncheon Bay, a lake-style bay with numerous estuaries that is popular with birdwatchers because of the flocks of Hooded Crane that winter there. For more information about the Junior Taekwondo Event or about sightseeing in Suncheon, contact the KNTO at 800/868-7567 or visit the internet at www.tour2korea.com.