Chuncheon to host world's largest taekwondo festival starting Wednesday

Chuncheon, in Gangwon Province, is set to spend the month of July as a "city of taekwondo," showcasing South Korea's standing as the birthplace of the martial art.

The city will host the Gangwon-Chuncheon 2026 World Taekwondo Culture Festival and the 2026 Chuncheon Korea Open International Taekwondo Championships at Songam Sports Town from Wednesday through July 22. Mayor Yuk Dong-han, who also chairs the Chuncheon Leisure and Taekwondo Organizing Committee, is leading the effort to make the twin events a global showcase.

Chuncheon has built its reputation as a taekwondo hub over 27 years, having launched the country's first international open taekwondo competition in 2000.

The city has further cemented its role as a global center for the sport by attracting the headquarters of World Taekwondo and continuing to host international competitions.

Chuncheon plans to run the events as a comprehensive international sports festival encompassing sport, culture and tourism, further solidifying its status as the world capital of taekwondo.

The two competitions will draw more than 5,000 participants from 88 countries — a roughly 43 percent increase from last year — making them the largest editions on record.

The World Taekwondo Culture Festival will feature the World Taekwondo World Cup Team Championship Series, a world taekwondo demonstration and breaking competition, the World Para Taekwondo Open Challenge, and an open cultural festival competition. The Korea Open International Taekwondo Championships will include G2-rated sparring and poomsae events, open sparring and poomsae, and virtual taekwondo — bringing high-level competition from athletes around the world.

The World Taekwondo Culture Festival welcome ceremony is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on July 14, and the Korea Open opening ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. on July 18, both at the Air Dome Arena in Songam Sports Town.

Both ceremonies will feature AI-powered media facade performances designed to promote Chuncheon's image as the world taekwondo capital to athletes and spectators from home and abroad.

Singer Kim Yeon-ja will perform at the welcome ceremony, while the Army Taekwondo Demonstration Team and a K-pop performance group will take the stage at the Korea Open opening ceremony.

Teams from the SBS Sports entertainment program "Naeil-eun Taekwon Wang," a taekwondo competition show, will compete in the open division team event, adding content that makes the sport more accessible to general audiences.

Throughout the competition period, a dedicated performance zone will host busking acts, band concerts and magic shows to keep the festival atmosphere alive. A deep-water soloing festival combining Uiam Lake and rock climbing, along with survival education and lake swimming experiences, will round out the program — blending sport, culture and leisure into a single multi-faceted event.

One of the defining features of the Chuncheon international taekwondo competitions is that they consecutively stage World Taekwondo-sanctioned events that award official world ranking points.

The World Taekwondo World Cup Team Championship Series and the World Para Taekwondo Open Challenge carry a G4 rating, the Korea Open sparring and poomsae events a G2 rating, and virtual taekwondo a G1 rating. World Taekwondo's G-rating system reflects the prestige and ranking-point value of each international event, with points awarded according to grade.

This year's competitions are designed not only to offer smooth viewing of the matches but also to integrate diverse cultural content, bringing together sport, tourism and the local economy into a comprehensive international event.

The organizing committee said it has installed large shade structures and evaporative cooling units to prepare for extreme heat, and is working to ensure full readiness of on-site infrastructure including competition venues, a registration center, and promotional and retail booths.

Chuncheon is also launching its first downtown tourist shuttle bus service to improve visitor access to the city center. The shuttle will circulate among Songam Sports Town, the Samaksan Lake Cable Car, the folk market, Myeong-dong, the Soyang River Skywalk and a suspension bridge, helping participants explore Chuncheon's major tourist attractions and commercial districts.

On July 18 and 19, the Chuncheon Myeong-dong Merchants' Association will host its own events, offering local food experiences, discount coupons, busking performances and family street activities to draw visitors to Myeong-dong and boost local spending.

The international taekwondo competitions will extend the festival stage beyond the arena and across the entire city. By linking international sport with cultural events and tourism, the competitions are expected to elevate Chuncheon's brand as the world taekwondo capital and inject fresh energy into the local economy.

Meanwhile, Chuncheon plans to maintain its standing as the global center of taekwondo in September, hosting the World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships and a World Taekwondo Executive Committee meeting in succession.

The Executive Committee meeting will bring together IOC members and senior World Taekwondo officials to discuss global taekwondo policy and future vision.

Chuncheon is also pushing ahead with construction of a World Taekwondo headquarters building. The facility will rise at Songam Sports Town with a total floor area of 3,200 square meters across four above-ground floors and one below-ground floor, and will serve as a global taekwondo hub featuring an exhibition hall, an auditorium and a virtual reality taekwondo experience space. The city aims to break ground this year and complete the project by 2028.

"Taekwondo is Chuncheon's pride and its most powerful asset for elevating the city's brand," Mayor Yuk said. "We will do our utmost until the very end to use this competition to share Chuncheon's appeal with the world and to be remembered as an international sports festival created together with our citizens."