2026 World Taekwondo Hanmadang, the Largest Festival of the Global Taekwondo Family, Opens

Five-day event runs from Saturday, August 1, to Wednesday, August 5;
Downtown Carnival Parade to take place on opening day

The 2026 World Taekwondo Hanmadang (hereinafter referred to as Hanmadang), the largest festival for the global Taekwondo family, will officially kick off at Kukkiwon.

Held at Kukkiwon for five days from Saturday, August 1st to Wednesday, August 5th, this Hanmadang brings together 4,261 members of the global Taekwondo community from 61 countries around the world to compete in a total of 170 events across 15 disciplines.

Hosted annually by Kukkiwon under the banner of “World United through Taekwondo,” the World Taekwondo Hanmadang is open to anyone holding a Kukkiwon Poom or Dan certificate, making it widely recognized as the ultimate festival for the global Taekwondo family, distinct from standard Taekwondo competitions.

This year’s Hanmadang features Individual Events: Power Breaking (Fist Breaking, Knife-hand Breaking, Side Kick/Back Kick Breaking), All-round Breaking, Record Competitions (High Jump Breaking, Long Jump Breaking, Speed Breaking), Authorized Poomsae, Self-Defense, Gyeorugi; and Group Events: Authorized Poomsae, Taekwondo Aerobics, Team Comprehensive Competition.

In particular, the Team Comprehensive Competition, which showcases high-level productions and advanced techniques, is expected to draw fierce competition for the top spot among university teams including Dong-A University, Jeonju University, Vision College of Jeonju, Korea National Sport University, Baekseok University, Sangji University, Shinhan University, Keimyung University, Yong In University, Kyung Hee University, Kyungmin University, Korea Nazarene University, Dankook University, Woosuk University, and Gimpo University.

Furthermore, attention is focused on whether Master Jeong Sang-min, who achieved a dramatic victory at the 2024 Mungyeong World Taekwondo Hanmadang, will be able to defend his title as the “Breaking King” in the Fist Breaking event.

This year holds added significance as two countries, Uganda and Fiji, are participating in the Hanmadang for the first time.

On August 1st (Sat), the opening day of Hanmadang, a Downtown Carnival Parade announcing the start of the event will take place at 4:00 PM.

Led by participating athletes from 61 countries and a military band, the parade will depart from the Iljumun Gate of Kukkiwon and march along a 1.21 km section of Teheran-ro, dyeing downtown Gangnam in the heat of Taekwondo.

Following the parade, at 6:00 PM, the opening ceremony will be held at the Central Training Hall of Kukkiwon, attended by Kukkiwon officials including Chairman Noh Soon Myung and President Yun Ung-suk; Taekwondo leaders including Choue Chung-won, President of World Taekwondo, Yang Jin-bang, President of the Korea Taekwondo Association, and Kim Jung-heon, Chairman of the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation; local officials including Kim Hyeon-ki, Mayor of Gangnam-gu; Taekwondo elders; and sports community figures.

This will be followed by a special demonstration performance presented only once a year, featuring all full-time and non-full-time members of the Kukkiwon Taekwondo Demonstration Team.

Under the theme of “Inheritance,” the special demonstration performance is expected to heighten the atmosphere of Hanmadang with overwhelming stage direction and high-difficulty breaking.

For the first time since its inception, this year’s Hanmadang will introduce a prize purse totaling 35 million KRW, aiming to further elevate professional tension and immersion in the competitions.

In addition, to raise the standard of the Hanmadang competitions, preliminary rounds for Power Breaking, Comprehensive Breaking, Taekwondo Aerobics, and Recognized Poomsae will be held at Kukkiwon on Sunday, July 26th, starting at 9:00 AM.

Hanmadang is hosted by Kukkiwon, organized by the Organizing Committee, and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Gangnam-gu, World Taekwondo, the Korea Taekwondo Association, and the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation.

To share the passion of Hanmadang with the global Taekwondo family, Kukkiwon plans to hold the 2026 Kukkiwon Video Content Contest from Monday, July 27th to Friday, August 7th.

Meanwhile, the Hanmadang Organizing Committee is accepting parade participants on a first-come, first-served basis (capped at 1,500 people) via the Hanmadang website (https://hanmadang.kukkiwon.or.kr), open to anyone who wishes to join freely.