THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: If everything goes well, South Korea and Kerala might forge a bond in yoga. The office bearers of the Korean Yoga Federation are here in the city to pursue the prospects of Kerala being an integral player in teaching yoga in South Korea. A team of delegates has arrived in the city and hopes to initiate talks with the state government on the possibilities of Kerala's participation in teaching yoga to South Koreans.
Ji Hee Kim, secretary, Korean Yoga Federation and Seung-Hwan Lee, president of the federation and also the vice-president of Asian Yoga Federation is in the city along with other officials as part of the initiating talks with the government. The duo was in the capital city last year as part of the eighth edition of the Asian Yoga Championship. It was the zeal showed by Keralites in adapting yoga into their lifestyle that set the idea of such a partnership in motion.
"Last time, when we visited Kerala, we were impressed by the people here, of how they had adapted yoga and meditation into their lives. So we wanted to introduce the culture of yoga and Ayurveda to South Korea," says Ji Hee Kim who has found her inner peace through yoga. "The people here do Ayurveda, yoga, and meditation as a habit. It is an integral part of their life, like they take a meal or tea. In Korea, it has more of a fitness element to it," she says.
The idea is to introduce the healing elements of yoga amongst the South Koreans. "The people in Korea lead a very stressful and competitive life. So we thought of introducing the healing elements of yoga," Kim adds. "We are here to promote yoga, Ayurveda and meditation to Korea. If we bring our business here, it will help the state as well," Lee chips in.
Yoga arrived in South Korea 40 years ago. But it has only become popular in the past 15 years. Sports yoga is being taught in schools in South Korea, in the middle school and high school, while yoga as a means to fitness has become popular amongst the youngsters. With the boom in the economy, the Koreans lead a stressful life, Kim says.
"The people work really hard, like 12 hours a day. And they don't have much time to work out. They need to exercise to keep themselves healthy and need an avenue to relieve their stress. And yoga can help," says Ji Hee Kim. At a time when Korea is battling pollution due to fine dust, Kim feels yoga is the best solution.
"The fine dust pollution is such that it is not advisable to rely on any kind of outdoor sports activities. Yoga is the best in terms of indoor sports," she adds.The members of the Yoga Association of Kerala are elated at the prospects of this possible yoga connection.
"This is the first time that a foreign country has approached us to help them in teaching yoga. This is great news and that they approached Kerala for this implies our state is making giant strides in the field of yoga," says advocate Balachandran, president, Yoga Association of Kerala.