Philippe Taipa Pinerd

My name is Hyocksung Kwon and I graduated from Yonsei University in Korea. I majored in Political Science and International Relations, where I trained Taekwondo with Phillip. I currently run three Taekwondo schools in Southern California area. This is the story about my French brother.

I met Phillip when I was sophomore in college, Yonsei University.It was so rare that any foreigner come to Korea to train taekwondo then, at least aspiring to be an Olympian.There were a lot of foreign exchange students at Yonsei University at that time but Phillip was different from the beginning.

First, he excelled at Taekwondo sparring, probably better than most of us. It was a little shocker for us - that a white boy could kick like that. Secondly, I had never seen any foreigner who could speak Korean like he did. And most importantly, he had this kind heart. He had a very unique sense to find out someone who needed help. He was broke but always willing to help and serve others. He was more Korean than most of Koreans. He even had Korean tempers.

The following is my fondest memory with Phillip.

We had a small incident at one of the tournaments we participated in. There was a dispute over the scorings with another Taekwondo team (Seoul National Univ.).The verbal argument quickly escalated into a brawl between two teams on the floor. Fists and chairs were flying everywhere.Competitors and referees fled.All the ongoing matches were stopped and it was a complete chaos and mayhem.In the middle of this craziness, I saw Phillip was fighting too. I was aghast and shouted to him in Korean:

"Hey Phillip, you’re a foreigner.You shouldn’t get involved like this."

“ F@&# !, my brothers are fighting, then I’m fighting with them! “

After the order was restored and the tournament resumed. Phillip became the first foreigner who won a medal at any Korean college tournaments.

We had good times and bad times together, but he never changed who he was.

One thing we had to endure during our college years was a brutal treatment of military dictatorship.Almost every day there were protests and violence on the campus throughout Korea.Riot police came into our campus and shot tear gas to disperse and arrest student activists.

One day after training while we were at the shower, tear gas canisters exploded outside the window. We started crying and coughing. Out of anger and frustration, made a knucklehead move. He smashed the window glass with his fist and had a big cut! Him bleeding profusely, I had to take him to campus hospital ER to get it stitched.The only minor problem was student insurance that Philippe didn’t have. I had to beg the hospital staff that they gave us a free treatment. And somehow they did. He still carries the scar on his hand.It could have been a lot worse.

The next day, with the biggest smile on his face, he said, “Hey, I had a lot of Bulgogy (Korean Beef) for the lost blood”.

We were all crazy and giddy young college kids but Phillip had a different mind set and a clear goal as an athlete. He trained harder than anyone else. We trained together and hung around together. He had a magical charm attracted people around him. Maybe it was his sense of humor or it might have been his uncanny linguistic ability. Or might it have been his mischievous, yet kind personality?

He even offered a liver transplant for my father who was dying from a liver cancer. It is not an easy thing to offer but that was just a typical Phillip.

After my father passed away, I joined Marines and Philip became a celebrity in Korea, featuring on books and Radio programs. Had there been internet at that time, he would’ve been a way bigger star.

Now as we are reconnected after 30 years on the other side of the world, I see a man with faith, wisdom, maturity, and knowledge that comes with age. He still has that burning passion and love for the art. He is the same Phillip I met 35 years ago.

I met Phillip for the first time 35 years ago at Seoul Yongam Temple, where I've been staying with a stoic appearance, with eyes and a heart like a Korean. Shouting with a Taekwondo spirit, he was practicing Taekwondo movements. Speaking Spanish, English, French, African languages, and Korean, he diligently performed kicking movements in front of the Buddha Hall where the Buddha is enshrined.

What could the Buddha have said?

Could the young man in his mid-twenties also have had enlightenment deeply embedded in his heart and mind? A young martial artist who spent several years in Korea learning Korean and Taekwondo.

During my college days, I also went with my younger brother Phillip to Yangyang on the East Coast of Gangwon Province, to Naksansa Temple, Sinheungsa Temple, climbed to the peak of Daechongbong in Seoraksan (pictured), and stood at the front of Naksasa Temple taking pictures together while looking out at the vast East Sea. Both Phillip and I must have had numerous thoughts about our uncertain future, much like the raging waves.

I also returned to the temple after completing my military service from September 1985 to March 1988 and saw my younger brother, who had returned with a pure heart like that of a child with blue eyes.

Your study abroad life wasn't financially abundant, and with a heart that felt cold, poor, and difficult, staying in Korea, persevering through late nights, enduring difficult and strenuous exercises, you probably never thought that the sweat and effort you put in would lead to being invited as a Taekwondo instructor in multiple countries.

The sight of performing thousands of kicks in the courtyard in front of Yongamsa Temple and in the pine forest behind the Buddha Hall still remains vivid in my memory.

France - where a small apple seed has grown into a great fruit tree that withstands harsh winds and sunlight from Korea, teaching people around the world...

Days of traveling together in our youthful vigor, carrying backpacks, taking trains and buses to Gangneung, stopping at small restaurants to fill our stomachs with just a few coins, and leaving footprints in various places...

The memories we shared have passed like the wind, flowing away in the blink of an eye, enough to grow into the age of 35...

As time passed, one day, a voice on the phone saying that he became a professor at Keimyung University in Daegu. After that, the contact was lost for a while, but later there was news of him teaching Taekwondo in faraway Costa Rica, followed by news of him staying in Peru...

Once again, a Facebook call from him teaching Taekwondo in Mexico during the winter of 2021. Now, both of us are carrying the wrinkles of a face that signifies we are 50 years old, looking towards the age of 60.

Closing my eyes and reminiscing about the past... It's truly proud to see the young Taekwondo sapling growing into a magnificent tree, teaching Taekwondo aspirants all around the world! Like monks silently practicing in temples.

Could my younger brother, Phillip, also have been navigating the voyage of enlightenment, silently practicing in a Taekwondo uniform?

Martial arts are a way. Actions speak louder than words. Looking at him, someone who progresses not just through actions but also through the heart, over the past 50 years of my life as a monk at Bongwon Temple, I sometimes think that perhaps Phillip could be a great mentor in my life. In Buddhism, regardless of age, both young and old, everyone and everything in the world can be considered a mentor, as actions and teachings are not confined by age.

I think perhaps in a previous life, my younger brother Phillip might not have been a sibling but rather a companion in practice.

If I were to know about my past life... would my present appearance be the result of the karma I cultivated in my past life? If I wished to know about my future... the appearance of my present actions would be the future me, as taught by Buddha.

A few years ago, I made a promise to lead an art performance troupe to Costa Rica but couldn't keep it. Now, I am determined to keep the promise and head to Mexico, the opposite side of the Earth from South Korea. Mexico is not unfamiliar in my memory. As I recall the past moments...

From July 12th to 20th, 2003, Korea participated in the 8th Zacatecas International Dance Festival (Zacatecas, Mexico) with 33 members led by the authority of Korean dance, Professor Kim Hyang-geun from Changwon National University.

Even though nearly 20 years have passed, the warm hearts of the Mexicans and their passionate dancing still remain vivid in my eyes and ears. The kindness ingrained in these people... Their smiles might be the smiles of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ

At the performance venue in front of the cathedral where the cross was erected, the lively laughter in the manner of the descendants of the Maya civilization, coupled with the intense rhythms and body movements resembling the sun, awakened many things for foreigners. Furthermore, during an early morning Mass with performance groups from various countries participating in the festival at the cathedral, upon the priest's suggestion to perform Korean Buddhist music as a Mass song in front of the statue of the Virgin Mary, I, wearing monastic robes, sang for about five minutes. Reflecting on that moment, it was a time that transcended Eastern and Western cultures and South American countries, reminding that the realm of enlightenment can transcend temples, cathedrals, and churches.

As I reflect on memories of Phillip, I feel as if my body and mind are back in Mexico. Amidst the trials of uncertainty that COVID-19 has brought upon the entire world, I wonder if Phillip's resounding Taekwondo shouts might startle even the coronavirus and Omicron, making them flee. The vigorous voices of Mexicans, sweating and exercising, seem to echo even to distant Korea. Phillip, your voice also seems to reach here..

2022, sending a few memories carried by the wind to Mexico, where the sun blazes brightly during Korea's winter...

Download the testimonial in Korean - original language