S. Korea invites young Lebanese taekwondo students for visit

SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Thursday it has invited a group of 15 young Lebanese students learning Taekwondo from its peacekeeping troops to visit the home of the martial art.

They arrived in Seoul earlier in the day and will visit a leading taekwondo
center in the capital and learn about Korean culture, the Joint Chiefs of Staff
said in a press release.
The students, who range in age from 10 to 16, won the trip after scoring highly
in a recent taekwondo competition organized by the South Korean troops. They will
return home on Feb. 10.
About 360 soldiers are stationed in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre as part of
a United Nations peacekeeping unit that deals with violence along the border with
Israel.
Deployed in July 2007, South Korea's Dongmyeong unit has performed patrol
missions in Lebanon and aided reconstruction efforts under the U.N. command.
Taekwondo is practiced by some 60 million people around the world, according to
its advocates.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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