With territory of just 468 sq.km high in Europe's Pyrenees Mountains and a population of only 80,000, the Principality of Andorra is one of the smallest countries in the world. But in that tiny mountain nation is a Korean Taekwondo master who has been training the locals in the Korean sport for thirty years. Moon Dong-geun, or Master Moon as he is called, is a minor celebrity in Andorra; locals greet him warmly as he walks through the streets. And thanks to Moon, the Andorrans have developed an appreciation of the country they know as "Corea."
The story begins three decades ago. In June 1977, Moon, then just 25 years old, was finishing up an eight-month stint as a Taekwondo trainer in Barcelona, Spain. "A student in Spain told me that it'd be easy to build up a Taekwondo school in Andorra because the sport was totally unknown there. At the time there were at least 50 Korean Taekwondo teachers in Spain, so I took a big risk and jumped into this virgin market."
In February 1978, Moon opened a small, 150-sq.m gym in Andorra. "It wasn't long after Bruce Lee had died so there was a lot of interest in the sport. I had 70 people signed up just one month after I opened." Moon has since trained more than 2,000 students, among them the son of former Prime Minister Marc Forne Molne. Every year the police force of the Spanish city of Seo De Urgel sends about 20 trainees to learn the martial art from Moon.
"Andorrans tend to be wary of outsiders since it's a small mountain country. It wasn't easy to gain their trust. I didn't drink because I didn't want to create a bad impression of Korea or Taekwondo. Rumors spread quickly here because it's so small." Married to a local woman, he now has a daughter, Nadia, and a son, Carlos, who trains at Moon's gym. Moon has hung on to his Korean nationality, and some Korean customs. "Every day before class, I make my students salute the Korean flag. I tell them they should show respect to the country that started the sport they like." Moon has recently appeared on Andorran TV to help publicize the sport.
Ernest is an Andorran civil servant who has been training with Moon for 25 years. "Moon is a very considerate teacher," Ernest says. "He teaches each student according to their individual abilities. Master Moon is like an ambassador representing Korea in Andorra."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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