Park Young Ghil, the master who brought taekwondo to Italy, has died

Behind the two Olympic gold medals of Carlo Molfetta and Vito Dell’Aquila and the bronze medals of Mauro Sarmiento and Simone Alessio, since taekwondo officially entered the Olympic program in Sydney 2000, there is written in indelible letters the His name: Park Young Gil. The Korean maestro passed away at the age of 84 and his story has now become legend.

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In Italy, Park Young Ghil joined the brothers Sun Jae and Chung Hang in 1966 and, starting from the southern regions, began teaching this hitherto unknown discipline with them. Sun Jae was the first to arrive, sent from South Korea to spread taekwondo, and then held the role of president of Fita for a long time. Young Ghil has instead always held technical roles, contributing to the training, among many, of the current president Angelo Cito and the technical director Claudio Nolano, who lined up as an athlete in Sydney 2000. “Your teachings, your enthusiasm and your smile – writes Cito – will remain with us forever, together with taekwondo, the most precious asset that you have been able to teach and give us. Dear Master, you will always remain in our hearts, and I am sure that your mission to spread taekwondo, as you loved to tell us, will never end, not even up there.”

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Master Park Young Ghil was not just a teacher, but a true mentor and inspirer: for him taekwondo was an educational tool, a means of training new generations in the values ​​of respect, solidarity and discipline. And his journey across the length and breadth of Italy developed around taekwondo, contributing to the construction of communities united around this ancient martial art. 9th Dan black belt, Master Park never stopped teaching, continuing to transmit his knowledge with sweetness and passion, especially to the little ones, for whom he always had a kind word. His presence in the gyms was an irreplaceable point of reference, a link between the roots of the discipline and the future of the new generations. Through its presence at national, senior and junior events, taekwondo seemed shrouded in a supernatural, almost mystical aura. But the most fascinating thing to observe was the sensitivity with which Master Park observed every detail and the profound respect with which everyone approached him.

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In 2016, the Italian Taekwondo Federation, led by president Angelo Cito, honored him by naming him Honorary President of Fita, a heartfelt and deserved recognition for a life entirely dedicated to the spread of Taekwondo in Italy. “With the passing of Master Park Young Ghil, Italian taekwondo – writes Fita – loses one of its pioneers, but his legacy will live on through his students, the gyms he inspired and the teachings he transmitted. His words and gestures will forever remain in the hearts of those who were lucky enough to know him, while future generations will continue to walk on the path that he traced with such dedication.”