Photo source: Korea Taekwondo Newspaper

It was reported that Lee Kang-il, President of the Texas Taekwondo Association, received the Hero Award at the 2021 South-Central Federation of Korean American Associations (5 states: Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Mississippi) extraordinary general meeting on September 5 (Sun), in the presence of state assembly members, city council members, and presidents of regional representatives.

Alumnus Lee Kang-il, who is currently actively serving as the President of the Texas Taekwondo Association, Auditor of the Korean American Taekwondo Association, General Secretary of the South-Central Association, and Director of the Hanyang University International Foundation, said that he was honored to receive the award on Taegondo Day on September 4th and that he would do his best in the tasks given to him.

In his acceptance speech, the Awards and Disciplinary Committee of the Korean American Association of the South-Central Region announced that they were awarding the Hero Award to commemorate his tireless efforts for the unity of the 2.5 million Korean community in the United States and his courage as a Taekwondo practitioner to stand up against injustice even in difficult situations. Alumnus Lee Kang-il stated that he had not thought it was anything extraordinary or something anyone could do, but he was very happy and deeply moved to receive such a big award at the General Assembly.

Photo source: Korea Taekwondo Newspaper

Alumnus Lee Kang-il played for Seongdong Commercial High School (currently Songgok High School), Hanyang University College of Physical Education, the Marine Corps national team, and was a founding member of the Sangmu team, as well as the Seoul Metropolitan Subway Corporation. He studied abroad at Tennessee State University in the United States in 1989 and established a specialized Taekwondo school in California in 1990, producing over 16,000 students to date. He settled in Killeen, Texas in 1996 and took the lead in promoting Taekwondo. Through his consistent volunteer work in the Korean community, he received the Presidential Commendation as a representative of the United States on World Korean Day in 2015.

Article Source: Korea Taekwondo News  USA President Lee Kang-il. Received the Hero Award at the South-Central Federation of Korean Americans on Taekwondo Day, September 4 (koreatkdnews.com)