Integration through sport: Pavel Tyan on Trude Kuh Television

Pavel Tyan, 1st Chairman of Hongik Ingan, was a guest at the studios of Trude Kuh Television. In conversation with editor-in-chief Georg Mahn, the topic was integration through sport. Pavel Tyan appeared as a trainer at DJK Frankenberg 1912 Aachen, where he set up a taekwondo group for children this spring. He accepted the invitation because the idea behind the interview overlaps closely with what Hongik Ingan stands for: giving children a place where they belong.

Since February 2022 he has worked with Ukrainian refugees, and he came to see that the children in particular need more than the help the state provides. They also need to keep their identity and stay connected with others who share their story. The group therefore offers a place to train in their mother language while growing into a German club. It is open to everyone, and children from Ukraine train alongside German children, children from other countries and a child with special needs. Today the group has more than thirty children between five and fourteen. What they practise goes beyond technique: resilience, discipline and respect, learned through regular training in a safe and reliable setting.

The first results came quickly. After three months a third of the group passed their first belt examination, and in early October nine of the children returned from their first international tournament with thirteen medals. Challenges remain, however, because many families who are still building their lives in Germany find the monthly training fee and the journeys to competitions hard to afford. Hongik Ingan supported the trip to Rotterdam .

You can watch the interview, in German, on the Trude Kuh Television website .