A department teaching the nation's martial art taekwondo has been established at a four-year U.S. university.

Concordia University in Irvine, California opened its taekwondo department this year, becoming the first university in the world other than in South Korea to have a taekwondo department.

A ceremony celebrating the opening of the department was attended by the university’s President Jacob Preus, World Taekwondo Federation President Choue Chungwon and the department's newly enrolled students.

Concordia University plans to seek bilateral student and teacher exchanges to promote the spirit of the traditional Korean martial art and to deepen South Korea-U.S. relations.