Abstract
Many Korean universities grant undergraduate and graduate school degrees in part on coursework, theses, and dissertations that explore Taekwondo through various academic lenses in Taekwondo Studies programs, yet only a few individuals have traveled to the Korean Peninsula to study Taekwondo academically. Traveling internationally to earn a university degree in a martial art can be considered extreme martial arts tourism. This multidisciplinary study explores the motivations of non-Koreans who have studied Taekwondo academically in Korea as well as their aspirations after graduation. The study utilized a combination of autoethnographic techniques and interviews with individuals who have given up years of their lives, thousands of dollars, their home cultures, languages, and food, and their families to travel to a foreign university in order to study Taekwondo. Twelve participants were identified that met the selection criteria, but eight responded to the interview requests. The nine participants, including the author, came from a wide assortment of backgrounds, but all shared a passion for Taekwondo; now, most participants (n = 5) have jobs within the Taekwondo industry, including two professors in separate Departments of Taekwondo. This study’s findings elucidate why non-Koreans study Taekwondo academically and thereby offer suggestions on how to improve this educational market.
Subject
Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment,Geography, Planning and Development
Reference45 articles.
1. Spatial Diversity of Tourism in the Countries of the European Union
2. UNWTO Tourism Definitions,2019
3. Współczesne Formy Turystyki Kulturowej;Buczkowska,2009
4. Taekwondo Tourism to Republic of Korea as Synthesis of Sports and Cultural Tourism;Sverlov,2020
5. North Korea’s emerging martial arts tourism: a Taekwon-Do case study
Cited by
10 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献