Taekwondo Participation As Serious Leisure for Life Satisfaction and Health (Report‪)‬

Introduction Taekwondo originated in Korea 2,000 years ago as a traditional martial art and is practiced by many people across the globe. Based on a national survey administered in 2005 by the Korean government, there are 70 million Taekwondo practitioners in 190 countries throughout the world (Kim, 2006). Taekwondo has played a major role in disseminating some of the basic philosophical beliefs and cultural principles of Korea. Korea's traditional culture was founded on the basis of the philosophy of Han, representing heaven, earth, and human beings, as well as the philosophy of yin-yang and the five elements of the universe (metal, wood, water, fire, and earth) (Lee, 2001). Lee emphasized that participation in Taekwondo often means that a person is determined not only to attain the highest skill level of Taekwondo techniques, but the person is ultimately trying to achieve simsin-ilyeo (unity between mind and body), cheonin-hapil (oneness with heaven and earth), and then to become a hongik-ingan (a humanitarian).