9:28am Tuesday 19th February 2008
By Bill Marshall
Taekwondo may have been what brought them to the United Kingdom but one suspects that a trip to Old Trafford was never far from the minds of 45 South Koreans, 35 of whom were children.
Glen Warne, who admits to being a Liverpool fan, said: "They were aged between seven and 14 and every one of them was a Manchester United fan because of Korean international Ji-Sung Park.
"Among the trips we arranged for them was a visit to Skipton Castle - they wanted to see a king's house' - the National Media Museum in Bradford and Old Trafford."
Warne, chief instructor of host club Saber Taekwondo, said: "They had been to Germany for three days and Switzerland for two days prior to coming to us, and we hosted them either with club members, in hotels or in clubs.
"The brick-breaking exhibition by 8th Dan Grand Master Kim Dong Du at Shipley Community Centre went really well, but the patterns demonstrations by the youngsters opened the eyes of our children and their parents because the Koreans are so technically gifted.
"Each of the children, who were on a student exchange, were black belts with the World Taekwondo Federation, which is Olympic recognised.
"Also the Korean Masters, who included university lecturer Master Kim 7th Dan and Master Park 6th Dan, a world-renowned patterns champion, taught our Saber students at Windhill Community Centre. Master Park has demonstrated in America, Europe and many other places."
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