Buena Park partners with South Korean company to promote taekwondo

Los Angeles Times

27-02-2025

Kukkiwon, a South Korean taekwondo company, is partnering with Buena Park for future events and economic growth as it expands its reach into the United States.
Branch leaders in seven U.S. states, including California, have recently been appointed by the company.
Jinseob Kim, secretary general of the Kukkiwon California branch, attended the Buena Park City Council meeting on Feb. 25 as council members considered a two-year agreement allowing the company to use its public facilities for five days at no cost.
'I hope that the city of Buena Park and Kukkiwon will grow together,' Kim told council members on Tuesday.
Buena Park is home to a sizable Asian American population, Orange County's second Koreatown and an outdoor mall that serves as a hub for local Korean Americans.
By establishing a presence in Buena Park, Kukkiwon pledged to promote and recommend the city's hotels for international and out-of-town guests at its events. City officials hoped that a boost in tourism would also help surrounding retail and restaurants.
But not all were pleased by the proposed partnership.
Yong Choi, a former Buena Park planning commissioner, warned of a taekwondo takeover by Kukkiwon while raising questions of fairness regarding the facilities agreement.
Choi, who teaches taekwondo and owns a martial arts business himself, claimed that Kukkiwon earns profits from issuing Dan certificates recognizing a person's rank in the martial art.
Kukkiwon does have an interest in expanding its Dan certification reach.
According to statements made by the organization in the press, only a quarter of California's 1,400 taekwondo schools issue Dan certificates.
Choi feared that the company's growing presence in Buena Park would force other local taekwondo small businesses to close.
'They have [the] power to control,' he said. 'I don't think that's right or an equal opportunity for the local business people.'
Choi stated that if there's a facilities-use agreement between the Buena Park and Kukkiwon, the same terms should be extended to other smaller businesses.
After an initial discussion at the Jan. 28 council meeting, Kukkiwon sought all-day use of the city's Community Center Ballroom for an inaugural event as well as a four-day use of its Veterans Hall for a weekend event starting in late May.
Any other events at city facilities would be at the usual rental rate.
Councilman Carlos Franco briefly raised the issue of granting a 'potentially unfair advantage' to a private company. He asked what the rental rates were for the city's Veterans Hall and Community Center Ballroom.
According to city documents, the Veterans Hall rents for $89 an hour, including staff. The Community Center Ballroom rents for $167 an hour, with staffing included.
'This is strictly a business agreement in terms of bringing more economic benefits to the city by accommodating all the international and possibly out-of-town visitors,' said Mayor Joyce Ahn, in support of the arrangement with Kukkiwon.
Kukkiwon is expected to draw up to 4,000 people to the area by hosting the World Taekwondo Hanmadang at the Anaheim Convention Center in July.
Ahn commented that no small business can match that.
Choi objected that Anaheim's resort hotels would be in a better position to benefit.
Councilwoman Lamiya Hoque recommended that there be a one-year evaluation of the agreement and its economic impact on Buena Park with the second-year of the contract being contingent on demonstrated success.
'I think it would be for council's benefit to see what would come from that within the year,' she said.
The proposed amendment to the agreement found favor with the rest of the council, which unanimously approved the partnership.
Ahn noted that Kukkiwon isn't a nonprofit and that bigger international events will be hosted outside of Buena Park.
'That said, the visitors will be encouraged to use the hotels in Buena Park,' she said. 'We're not expecting 3,000 or 4,000 hotel stays.'
The agreement also calls on Kukkiwon to strengthen collaboration and outreach with local taekwondo schools in the city.