| Daedo International CEO Park Chuen-wook poses with his wife during their new products showcase event in Barcelona, Nov. 11. / Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul |
By Baek Byung-yeul
BARCELONA -- Daedo International's founder and CEO Park Chuen-wook has built a successful life since he decided to live in Barcelona.
It seems like the name of the company originated from an Asian word, but Daedo International is a Barcelona-based company.
Park, who is ethnically Korean, moved to Barcelona in the early 1980s and founded the taekwondo equipment company in 1983. Though it is not so well known in Korea, Daedo has been recognized in European countries for manufacturing and selling quality products for martial arts not only for taekwondo but also for other combat sports such as karate and judo.
Explaining that Daedo means "great way" in Korean, Park said the company's name came from his grandfather.
"When I was young, my grandfather had always told me that you should seek to become a person who walks along the great way in your life. That is why I decided to use Daedo as our company's name," Park told The Korea Times in Daedo's headquarters office in Barcelona, Nov. 13.
Since its founding, Park has been working to increase the presence of the Korean martial art throughout the world. The company has been supporting numerous kinds of taekwondo competitions since the 1987 World Taekwondo Championships in Barcelona.
Though from the beginning the company produced taekwondo clothing, the company is now better known as a manufacturer of taekwondo electronic scoring equipment.
Ever since World Taekwondo (WT) decided to introduce the electronic scoring system at the 2012 London Olympics, Daedo has been providing taekwondo equipment for protectors and scoring systems to Omega, the official Olympic timekeeper.
Park said his management philosophy is simple. "My management philosophy is to produce a quality product and sell it at a reasonable price. It is very simple but hard to keep."
With his philosophy, the company has provided taekwondo electronic equipment for two consecutive Olympic Games. "Now, the electronic scoring system sector accounts for almost 30 percent of Daedo. We have invested five to 10 percent of our sales on research and development every year," said Park.
Park added his next goal is to provide electronic equipment for taekwondo at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as well. "Other than finding a new investment outlet, we have only focused on the taekwondo business. This is so we can offer better quality products to taekwondo practitioners," Park said.
Besides producing electronic scoring equipment, Park embarked on a new journey with his business.
In collaboration with Disney's Marvel Entertainment, Park launched Marvel superheroes-branded taekwondo protectors for children. Those products will go on sale in 20 countries by the end of the year.
"This is my new journey in this business. Though taekwondo has grown into a global sport, it still has a long way to go. To let more people enjoy the combat sport, we need to have more children in taekwondo clubs. But I have seen many of them quit taekwondo after a few weeks as they get less interested," he said.
"To overcome the issue, we decided to collaborate with Marvel early this year and now we are waiting for the results as the superhero-featured products will start selling at the end of this year."