Tashkent 2026 World Taekwondo Junior Championships: A True Manifestation of WT’s Value of ‘World Peace through Taekwondo’

By Seok-jae Kang
Vice President, Asia Journalists Association 

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan: The 2026 World Junior Taekwondo Championships, which took place on April 12-17, 2026 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, were a great success embodying WT’s value of “World Peace through Taekwondo.”

The WT-promoted G-4 event drew 986 athletes from 115 countries and a refugee team, all aged between 15 and 17. The refugee team was composed of three athletes and one male coach from the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan, one athlete from the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan, and one athlete and one female coach from a refugee camp in Paris, French.

At the championships, which were held at the Martial Arts Sports Complex in Tashkent Olympic City, host Uzbekistan grabbed the overall men’s title, followed by Iran, Russia and Korea. In the women’s division, China won the overall title, followed by Croatia, Korea and Iran.

The Uzbekistan event has a great meaning in that it marked the 30th anniversary of the biennial championships, which started in 1996 in Barcelona, Spain. The next World Taekwondo Junior Championships will take place in Rima, Peru in 2028.

Two days prior to the opening of the championships, on April 10, there were a flash mob, involving 2026 Uzbekistan Taekwondo people, and a WT Taekwondo Performance at the Olympic City main Square.

Despite the uncertainty of their participation due to the conflict between the United States and Iran, the Iranian team managed to attend the championships after a three-day journey by land and air amid collapsing infrastructure. Proving their status as a Taekwondo powerhouse, Iran clinched four gold and three bronze medals for the second place in the men’s division, and fourth place in the women’s category.

The event well showed the world WT’s value of “Peace through Sport” as numerous countries currently impacted by the U.S-Iran conflict participated, including the United States, Iran, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and the UAE.

On April 12, WT President Dr. Chungwon Choue received an honorary doctorate, Ph.D. in physical education, from the Uzbekistan State University of Physical Education, recognizing his outstanding contribution to the global development of Taekwondo and international sports diplomacy.

During the awarding ceremony, Rector Rashid Matkarimov praised Dr. Choue’s leadership over the past two decades in solidifying Taekwondo’s status as an Olympic sport and elevating its global profile. He also highlighted Dr. Choue’s humanitarian efforts through initiatives such as the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation, which has supported refugees and displaced people around the world.

On April 15, WT President Dr. Choue received the Order of Friendship of Uzbekistan during a courtesy visit to the President of Uzbekistan, His Excellency Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the Kuksaroy Presidential Palace. 
President Mirziyoyev presented the Order of Friendship, the country’s high state honor, to President Choue in recognition of his personal contribution to the promotion of Taekwondo in Uzbekistan and his significant efforts to strengthen friendship and solidarity among people through sport.

On the second day of the championships, on April 13, the 2^nd Olympism and Peace Forum was held at the National University of Uzbekistan with the attendance of about 500 undergraduate and graduate students, including taekwondo students from the National University of Uzbekistan and the Uzbekistan State University of Physical Education and Sport, together with WT Council members and high-ranking Uzbekistan sports officials.

Also on hand were Korean Kim Young-sun, a member of the WT Advisory Board; Korean Kang Seok-jae, vice president of the Asia Journalist Association and a member of the WT Advisory Board; Swiss Daniel Cade, a WT Sustainability Committee consultant; American Marisa Schlenker, a WT Sustainability Committee member; and Korean Kim Deok-young, chairman of BoMI Construction. BoMI Construction opened a 30-story BoMI Finance Center in downtown Tashkent in September 2025.

WT President Choue said in his keynote speech at the forum, “In 2017, I visited your beautiful country and met with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. At that time, I suggested to him to create a Taekwondo faculty in this university. I heard that His Excellency instructed to create such a faculty and it is now a very active one.” Starting in 2018, the National University of Uzbekistan has run a Taekwondo department with a student quota of 30 per grade.

Dr. Choue said, “At every World Taekwondo Junior Championships, we organize such a forum focusing on Olympism and Peace, and provide you with relevant information to hopefully prepare you for a career in sport management. This year is the 30th anniversary of the World Taekwondo Junior Championships.” The 1^st Olympism and Peace Forum took place at International Conference Room of the Kangwon National University 60th Anniversary Hall in Chuncheon, Korea on October 1, 2024 on the occasion of the 2024 World Taekwondo Junior Championships.

He continued to say, “What is Olympism? Of course, we know it is a philosophy of life. But, what does that mean and how does that relate to society? This is one of the purposes of the forum, to share what Olympism means to our speakers and hope that, through their experiences, you can be inspired and find your own philosophy of life.”

“I have a motto in life: Peace is more precious than triumph. This motto was passed down from my late father to me. You know, there is an International Day of Peace every year on September 21st. It was actually my father who proposed to the United Nations in 1981, when he was the President of the International Association of University Presidents, that led to the creation of the International Day of Peace,” he said.

WT President Choue said, “When I became the President of World Taekwondo in 2004, I thought to myself that Taekwondo could promote human values of inclusiveness, respect, tolerance, courtesy, and integrity. Through this new vision of peace through sport, I launched the Taekwondo Peace Corps in 2008 to support developing countries.”

“You watched the video of the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation just now. It was a video commemorating the 10th anniversary of the THF. From one idea in 2015, it grew into a purpose and now, it has become a movement.

“I thought to myself: why not let other sports join us? That’s how the Hope and Dreams Sports Festival was born. Every year since 2021, we have organized the Hope and Dreams Sports Festival at the refugee camps in Jordan, and from this year, in Rwanda. This year, we could not celebrate our 10th anniversary because of the war in the Middle East. I hope to still organize something for the refugee children in the camps.

He said, “The third global peace movement of World Taekwondo that I initiated was the launch of the Taekwondo Cares program for grassroots development and support aid.”

During break time of the Olympism and Peace Forum, a series of group photos were taken by taekwondo students in taekwondo uniforms and other university students and dignitaries with a KCF (Korea Culture Foundation)-WT Taekwondo Cares Program banner in front, drawing special attention from the forum participants and adding a greater meaning to the forum. Since 2019, the Asia Development Foundation (ADF) and the KCF, both foundations are chaired by Korean Kim Joon-il, has contributed about 1 billion Korean won, about 700,000 U.S. dollars, to WT for the Taekwondo Cares Program, benefitting orphans and those in need in about 10 developing countries.

WT President Choue concluded by saying, “This year, World Taekwondo’s motto is “Reborn Together.” So, I hope that the forum has helped to inspire you today and help you be reborn with a strong sense of purpose in life.”