Tae Kwon Do Tutors | A Martial Arts Blog

If Tae Kwon Do is a Korean martial art, does that mean someone needs to know Korean?

No, you don’t need to know Korean. Or at least probably not. It can be helpful though! Here are 5 reasons why you should learn Korean!

Universal Vocabulary!

For one thing, the terms for techniques and forms for example, often differ between schools, particularly in the US. If someone knows the Korean term, or is at least familiar with it, this can help with understanding what an instructor means when they say a cat stance vs. a tiger stance (hint, they’re the same thing) or a push kick vs. a front kick (these often differ slightly between schools).

Traveling! Where is the (taekwondo) library?

The next benefit to learning Korean is that it can be very helpful if you decide to travel to Korea. While the Kukkiwon (the headquarters for Tae Kwon Do) formally uses Korean and English, knowing Korean can certainly help leave an impression. Besides, it would probably be a lot easier to communicate if you know how to say something in the language commonly used there.

Cultural Literacy!

Speaking of Korea, learning their language can help learn about their culture as well. I have often found when learning new languages that I also become more aware of the culture of that language. This is partially because every language book I have (except perhaps the dictionary) often also have information surrounding the definitions of words and the cultural affiliation in the location.

Humility… we all need it…

Another significant, but often unrealized, impact of learning Korean is that it also teaches one humility. Especially a person who is familiar with European languages like English, French, or Spanish. While it does have an alphabet, the words in it often are completely unrelated to English. That, of course, doesn’t make it easy for an English speaker to learn, but then again, becoming a black belt isn’t terribly easy either!

It’s Cool! We’re Cool!

Lastly, it’s cool. It’s certainly very interesting to people to hear that someone knows Korean. That someone might one day be you. Consider that. Korean is a very fun, interesting, and (in our case) useful language. While it is certainly not necessary for doing Tae Kwon Do, it can certainly be a fun thing to learn! It could very much be worth exploring if you’re interested!

Good luck!