Young Syrian refugees cap Rome taekwondo tour with private Colosseum visit

Seven Syrian refugee children from displacement camps in Jordan capped a week-long taekwondo tour of Rome with an exclusive early-morning visit to the Colosseum on Sunday, The Korea Times reported.

The visit, organized by the Italian Taekwondo Federation, highlights taekwondo's growing role as a gateway to international competition for displaced youth — a story of particular resonance for the Korean-American taekwondo community in Southern California.

The seven athletes, ages 7 to 14, are based at the Azraq and Za'atari refugee camps in Jordan, The Korea Times reported. During their Rome stay, they competed in the Kim and Liù youth tournament at Foro Italico, held concurrently with the Rome 2026 World Taekwondo Grand Prix.

Earlier in the week, the young competitors joined World Taekwondo President Choue Chung-won for a meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, according to the Korea Times.

The Sunday morning Colosseum visit was reserved exclusively for the refugee children and World Taekwondo delegates — no other visitors were present. Inside the ancient arena, the World Taekwondo Performance Team and the FITA Ciao Team staged taekwondo demonstrations for the group, The Korea Times reported.

The site carries particular significance for the sport: in June 2019, World Taekwondo held the first medal ceremony for any modern sport at the Colosseum, according to the Korea Times report.

As their Rome itinerary concluded, the young athletes were preparing to return to their camps in Jordan, the Korea Times reported, carrying memories of a papal audience, international competition and a private dawn inside one of the world's most celebrated monuments.

The Rome visit is part of World Taekwondo's continuing effort to use sport as a bridge to international inclusion for displaced youth living in refugee camps.