📌 Where Standards Are Set — The Path of a Poomsae Judge

In 2012, after returning to Korea for the first time in 17 years, I participated in a Poomsae judge training course held at Kukkiwon in March 2013. On the last day of the course, I heard someone calling my name from the back of the training room. Coincidentally, the trainee sitting next to me had the exact same name as mine. After confirming our birthdates, it turned out that the person looking for me was the head of the Poomsae Judging Committee of the Korea University Taekwondo Federation(KUTF). He carefully made a proposal: "Would you consider becoming a Poomsae judge?"

That moment marked the beginning of my judging journey, which started with a national competition held in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province. Later, after being appointed as a government-dispatched instructor through Kukkiwon, my judging activities expanded beyond domestic events to the international stage.

I served as a Poomsae judge at the World Taekwondo Hanmadang in Pyeongtaek (2015) and in Anyang (2017), as well as at the Asia Taekwondo Hanmadang held in Jakarta, Indonesia (2019). The journey of becoming a Poomsae judge meant more to me than simply making calls and scoring performances.

Through judging, I was able to revisit the forms I thought I had already mastered after years of training — to see them with a fresh perspective, refine them again, and learn anew. Even now, I continue this journey with humility.