About KUEFI


Jimi Kyuyoung Jung Chairman, Korea USA Elite Fencing Invitational Committee President, Korea Collegiate Fencing Federation International President, Stanford Fencing Association	KUEFI 2013 has clear goals: 1. To teach the public about fencing’s educational advantages and spread awareness about the enormous benefits of being ‘a student AND an athlete’ in Korea 2. To ensure healthy growth of the sport of fencing and secure financial stability for both US and Korean collegiate fencing programs 3. To foster Korean world sports leaders beyond the elite athletes As one of the most traditional sports in the world, fencing teaches “care” and “etiquette” which are old traditional ethical virtues. Moreover, sportsmanship such as obeying and respecting the referee and opponents are emphasized in fencing. By naturally encouraging good manners, fencing allows young people to develop righteous characters in an excessively competitive world. The “Education Through Athletics” seminar during KUEFI 2013 will help trigger our effort to promote the student-athlete model in Korea. In Korea, a top 5 country in the Olympics, there is a common misconception that athletes cannot be academically good students; the educational and personal developmental advantages of sports are not highlighted. These realities lead to a lack of world sports leaders in Korea. By sharing experiences of coaches and athletes of top-tier universities in US, I wish to develop an appropriate model of college athletics in Korea. After the great success in the 2012 London Olympics Fencing events, there are a number of Korean collegiate fencing teams that did not get any of the public’s attention. All of the universities and fencers under the Korea Collegiate Fencing Federation are working as hard as they can to enhance their national prestige. Please pay extra attention to these collegiate fencers and coaches during non-Olympic periods. With your interest and support, we will be able to see further success in Rio 2016. I sincerely hope for the healthy growth of Korean and US collegiate fencing programs both in stature and funding. Furthermore, I wish for both Korean and US fencers and their staffs to continue to build a strong mutual respect and friendship during KUEFI 2013. I would like to specially thank the Korean Fencing Federation, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, our dear sponsors and distinguished collegiate fencers and staff to allow KUEFI 2013 in Jeju Island, one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, to happen.Thank you very much.




Michael Aufrichtig Fencing Coach, Columbia University	On behalf of the United States Colleges invited, I want to thank the entire organizing committee and the people on the Island of Jeju for your hospitality. I also want to congratulate Korea Fencing on your remarkable results at last year’s Olympic Games and this year’s World Championships. One year ago I had asked Jimi, why was it so important to invite us to come to Korea; his answer was that the fencers in the USA were showing the benefits of being elite athletes and excellent students. In the USA our college fencing championships (NCAA Championships) are said to be one of the hardest competitions ever. I just flew from the World Championships in Budapest and based on the results from the men’s Foil World Championships you just might agree. Our college champion from Stanford was 11th, our bronze medalist from Notre Dame was 10th and our other bronze medalist from Penn State was WORLD CHAMPION. Yes, Miles Chamley-Watson who was third at our college championships, won the World Championships…AMAZING! All three of these athletes were going to class; training, flying around the world to fence and when they had time, they would eat and sleep. But they did it with excellent results on the strip and in the classroom. Historically our Olympic and World medalists are college graduates or students. USA’s two time Gold Olympic Medalist Mariel Zagunis went to Notre Dame. One of our Silver Medalist from the 2008 Olympics Sada Jacobson went to Yale. The bronze medal women’s epee team from the 2012 Olympics was half Princeton and half Notre Dame. The 2013 US World team in Budapest consisted of 16 college graduates, 6 current college students, and two high school seniors. Our student athletes are succeeding. So many matches are decided by one touch or in the last few seconds. This takes a lot of effort to train the body and the mind. The experience of being a “Student Athlete” forces one to have to think under extreme pressure at 14-14 and in final exams, take big risks on the strip and for that important paper due right after a world cup. Because of this it is not a surprise that in the United States we see a constant pattern of great fencers becoming amazing doctors, politicians’ entrepreneurs, businessmen and philanthropists. We have proven that you do not need to choose to be a student or a fencer but you can do both. This might even give you that extra ammunition to be an Olympic or World Champion. Once again, thank you for having us as your guest. May both Korea and USA have success on the fencing strip and together make the world we live a better place.



Geunmin Woo The Governor of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province	Greetings Everyone! I would like to welcome Korean and American fencers who came to participate in the third Korea USA Elite Fencing Invitational this year. It is a true honor to host this event in Jeju for Korean collegiate fencers and Ivy League school fencers who are leading the future of the world fencing. And I would like to extend my gratitude to everyone involved in setting up this invitational including Mister Jimmy Chung, the president of Korea Collegiate Fencing Federation. I still remember the Korean National fencer, Aram Shin’s face at the London Olympics last year. ‘The misjudgment incident, the paused last second’ is still in my head. It is time for everyone to gather to prevent the recurrence of the similar accidents. Jeju Island has been a famous visiting place for various heads of state. 17 years ago, Jeju’s beautiful sceneries and exotic culture mesmerized former president Clinton; he did not stop complimenting Jeju. This island was elected as one of the seven wonders of nature and a triple medalist of UNESCO awards. Jeju has been establishing its international reputation as a treasure island. Fencing has a profound relationship with Jeju. Since December 2011 when Lourus fencing team under Lourus Co., Ltd. decided to have Jeju as a home team, the team has won the individual and team matches from 2013 Shanghai Asia Fencing Championship and therefore enhanced Jeju’s international status. I believe that Jeju has air, land, and sea that are perfectly suitable to enjoy sports. With a great passion to develop Jeju as a ‘sports paradise’ by utilizing the gift of nature, I have been promoted the sports industry as a new growth engine. Jeju’s wonderful scenes and sound of waves breaking on the beach will be a part of friendship and union that you will obtain from this event. I sincerely wish that the time you will spend here would be special and meaningful. Thank you



Jun Sik Bang CEO Publisher of Sports Chosun	I would like to extend my gratitude to everyone who participated in the third Korea USA Elite Fencing Invitational this year. KUEFI, host by Korea Collegiate Fencing Federation, is an annual event that Korean and American Fencers gather to compete and build friendship. Korea’s fencing status became the second in the world by achieving two gold medals, one silver medal, and three bronze medals from the last year London Olympics. KUEFI is a special opportunity for collegiate fencers who do not have many international experiences. Fencers from the top universities in the states such as Stanford, Princeton, and Brown, and future fencing stars from Korea and USA get to compete against each other. Collegiate fencers who experienced this invitational like Bongil Goo (London Olympics Team Sabre gold medalist) and Minkyu Kim(Sanghai Asia Fencing Championship Team Foil gold medalist) are having outstanding performances at the international level competitions. This year, we added on more meaningful value to KUEFI besides skills and friendship: Education through Athletics. A government policy to become an athletically advanced country from just a nation strong in sports, augmentation of physical education, prevention of school violence, and support for retired athletes. All of these problems of the world of sports are related to this topic. Instead of nurturing sports machines and study machines, we attempt to establish a healthy environment that students can play sports and study together, so they can improve their quality of lives and dreams. In the middle of the invitational, there will be Education through Athletic Seminar. I wish that the experiences from student athletes of athletically advanced countries can suggest the direction that Korean sports should take. I would like to thank all government officers and donators including Jong Gil Park, the second vice-minister of Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, Gang Young Song, the CEO of NEST, and Jung Taek Chung the CEO of KSPO for actively supporting our value – ‘Education through Athletics’. Also I would like to express my appreciation to Jimmy Chung, the president of Korea Collegiate Fencing Federation for successfully leading this event for three years, Korea Collegiate Fencing Federation for supporting, fencers and coaches from the States for visiting the end of South Korea, and Korean fencers, leaders, and family for training hard through this hot weather. I sincerely encourage this event, which will be full of enthusiasm, youth, fair play, and friendship.