Today we spent the day in Bethany, MO where we normally have our tae kwon do testings. What made this day more special than all the rest was that Grandmaster Woo Jin Jung came to visit and help during the test.
Who is Grandmaster Woo Jin Jung you ask?
On December 31, 1971, Grand Master Woojin Jung landed at the Cedar Rapids, Iowa airport in the United States. The ground was covered with a meter of snow. Both confused and awestruck, he thought, 'This is the land for me to be challenged.' Upon his arrival in the U.S. from Korea, GM Jung had only $35 - he was almost penniless. His English was still poor and life was hard at first. His first job was a pump man at a gas station. Poor and hungry, living in a foreign country was much harder than he expected.
Today, he is known as one of the most successful Taekwondo masters in the U.S. He runs seven fitness clubs and owns several shopping malls. He operates a 36-acre Taekwondo training site in the Rocky Mountains and is the publisher of the world-famous magazine, TaeKwonDo Times. But he has not forgotten the hard work and perseverance that got him to where he is today. Working around his clubs, he seems like a janitor, picking up garbage and cleaning pools. It is a rare thing to see from such a successful businessman. It was because of Taekwondo that he was able to do best in the foreign country.
Profile
1962 Graduated from Kyeongnam Engineering High School
1963 Opened his first school in Yongdeungpo, Seoul
1965 Taekwondo instructor in Korea Army Ordnance School
1967 Instructor during Vietnam War
1969 Graduated from Hanyang Engineering College
1971 Immigrated to USA
1973 Opened a Taekwondo school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA
1979 Founded new schools and fitness centers
1980 Started Taekwondo Times with Master Chung E. Kim
1985-1988 Director of USA and Canada Visiting-Korea team
1986 This year's figure of Small Business Administration
1991 Made a Taekwondo Demo team of North and South Koreans living in USA
1992 Visited North Korea and reported the opening ceremony of Taekwondo Sanctuary for the first time. He had talks with Kim,Il-Sung
1993 Opened his seventh fitness center
1995 Chief of Taekwondo Sacred Place Construction Committee in Najin Sunbong Sect.
1996 Completed building Springs Taekwondo Research Institute in Colorado, USA
1999 Ran 45 Schools in three states, USA.
So you see he is a pretty important man. He basically brought Tae Kwon Do to the midwest. It was really neat today because he signed everyone outfits. But instead of signing his name he wrote their name on the outfit in Korean. It was really neat to have him there and he was very helpful with everyone and made a lot of good points to the students.
Here is a picture after the test with Grandmaster Woo Jin Jung and as you can see Ricky's name is written on his outfit. It was a great day in the world of Tae Kwon Do. Of course I just came to watch but I wish I had brought my outfit for him to sign.
