In Korean, a Taekwondo school or training hall is called a 도장 dojang.
The ‘j’ in dojang is pronounced short like the ‘j’ in ‘juice’, and not long like the ‘s’ in ‘vision’ or the ‘g’ in ‘beige’.
도장 dojang literally means hall of the way – the ‘way’ being Taekwondo. 도 do means ‘way’ and 장 jang means ‘hall’ or ‘place’.
What should you not say?
Do not call a Taekwondo school a dojo. This is a Japanese term used in Karate to describe a training hall. dojang and dojo sound similar because they are cognates – dojang is the Korean pronunciation of the Japanese dojo.
Taekwondo schools are generally not called ‘kwans’ anymore. The martial arts schools that existed in Korea in the mid-twentieth century were called kwan, but modern schools generally are not.
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If you'd like to learn more about the Korean terminology used in Taekwondo, consider buying this book: Taekwondo Terminology. It contains an extensive dictionary of terms used in Taekwondo, as well as explanations on how to pronounce Korean words, and aspects of Korean grammar.
