Korean sport of Taekwondo returns on a second silver bullion round with a dramatic fist-bump

While it is the Chiwoo Cheonwang that is the most widely known issue from the Korean Mint, KOMSCO, they do maintain a neat selection of series highlighting various elements of Korean culture and history. Starting in 2019, it was the turn of the sport of Taekwondo. The one-ounce silver round depicted an advocate of the sport in action executing a spinning high kick.

A nice design, it was a more low-key release than the iconic Chiwoo, and even the other series that KOMSCO strike, like the ZI:SIN and the Korean Tiger, but as a debut release, it seems to have sold well regardless. Time for the second annual issue and it’s a far more dynamic looking design, perhaps taking some cues from the last Tiger issue.

A very cool design, the artist has managed to pull off the extreme perspective with aplomb and the whole thing looks anatomically spot-on. There’s always the risk that something like this will end up looking a little odd, but no such qualms here. Just the series title and the composition are inscribed on the main face, and both are place sensibly out of the way of the main action. The obverse face is a common one to the series and is a stylised representation of the Korean flag yin-yang symbol that hints at a fast spinning motion.

For security purposes, the mints clever struck ‘lenticular-like’ mark is placed near the centre. Depending on how you hold the coin, you will either see 999 (the fineness) or Ag (the metal) displayed. KOMSCO have some interesting plans for lhis technique involving backgrounds which we’re hoping come to pass. The mintage of this one is up slightly from the 25,000 of the first coin, to 30,000 here, but we’d suspect this will sell easily given the great imagery used. Distributed by CoinsToday.kr, you should be able to pick these up shortly.

MINTS DESCRIPTION

In recent years, Korean pop culture including music, fashion, food, and movies has become of interest and influence globally. Taekwondo is known as one of the first parts of Korean pop culture that was introduced globally in the 1960’s, it has been an official Olympic Sports since the Sydney Olympics in 2000. The spirit of Taekwondo respects peace and impartiality and cultivates the spirit of self-overcoming.

As Taekwondo transformed into a combat sport, kicking techniques, especially high kicks, have been more emphasized than hand techniques. However, Traditional Korean martial arts were more reliant on techniques using the hands. The hand techniques are executed in a number of ways from standing, jumping, spinning and rushing forwards. Especially forefist punching with rushing forward would be fatal for the opponent player.

REVERSE: On the reverse is designed under the theme of the ‘Punching Man’. Hand techniques like punching are fast and have high accuracy rather than kicking techniques. And forefist punching is very destructive enough to leave fist mark on basal plane.

OBVERSE: Korean flag is common design for whole series planned for Taekwondo medal. In the Korean flag, especially ‘4 gwe’ is expressed in a vortex shape to reveal dynamic feature of Taekwondo. The spirits of Taekwondo resemble oriental cosmology and harmonisation meaning of Korean flag.