TAK9 Club Brings South Korean Table Tennis Excellence to the U.S.
by Barbara Wei
Hyun Joo Woo and Changwoo “Daniel” Lim opened TAK9 Table Tennis Club in May 2024, Offering a Unique Korean Table Tennis Experience for its Members
Hyunjoo Woo’s experience raising her two sons, Connor and Jacob Lee, propelled her to open a table tennis club to share her knowledge of the sport with others in the community. Connor and Jacob had reached the elite cadre of table tennis athletes by the time they were teenagers; their success prompted their mother Hyunjoo Woo to believe in the possibility of a club that could help other parents. Hyunjoo then met Coach Changwoo “Daniel” Lim who shared her goals of opening a club and dreamt of a professional club in a Korean community specializing in Korean table tennis traditions.
Opening a club is no easy feat. Hyunjoo Woo knew she needed sponsorships and support to have the club she envisioned: professional, clean, quality equipment, and focused on developing the next generation of high-level players. She went straight to the original South Korean table tennis superstar for support – Kim Taek Soo, 1992 double Olympic bronze medalist. Although Hyunjoo didn’t have a prior relationship with Kim Taek Soo, he believed in her vision of building a bridge between the U.S. and Korea through table tennis and offered her club a sponsorship with XIOM, a Korean table tennis company. Kim Taek Soo’s support did not end there, he opened doors for Hyunjoo and Changwoo to hire coaches from Korea and create partnerships and programs to send U.S. players to Korea to train. With the blessing of a table tennis great, Hyunjoo and Changwoo set forth on opening the doors of TAK9 in May 2024.
“It’s not just a table tennis club, it’s a Korean table tennis club. It’s not just open to Korean community members, it’s open to everyone, so everyone can experience Korean table tennis.” – Hyunjoo Woo, Founder TAK9
TAK9 Table Tennis represents what’s possible when table tennis passion, culture and community come together. Hyunjoo is most proud that TAK9 “welcomes everyone…we give them all the same opportunity. We also provide a very clean, indoor space to give a nice impression to people.” In their first 5 months, TAK9 already has more than 50 members and provides programs for juniors, seniors and three different leagues for beginner, intermediate and elite players. On Friday nights, they promote women in the sport by hosting “Ladies Night” for women players to train with each other. Later this year, the club will host their first USATT sanctioned tournament. With big dreams for sponsoring juniors, cross cultural exchanges with Korean table tennis players and a future national level tournament, TAK9 has only just begun to realize their potential.
About TAK9 Table Tennis Club
Located in Palisades Park, NJ, TAK9 Table Tennis club offers 8 premier Butterfly tables in a clean 3000 sq. ft. space decorated with bright lights and purple paint. TAK9 currently offers junior programming, leagues and private coaching, and is open 10 AM to 10 PM Monday through Saturday, and 2 PM to 7 PM on Sunday. Learn more about this new club at https://www.tak9club.com/.