The event is due to return in person for the first time since it was held in Taipei in 2018, with the 2020 edition in the Danish city of Herning cancelled due to COVID-19.

The International Federation has staged online poomsae challenges since the beginning of the pandemic to maintain the interest and involvement of young people.

The World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships first took place in 2006, and this year's entrants list provides record figures.

With 20 countries from Asia committed to sending competitors - 21 from Europe, 14 from the Americas, seven from Africa and one from Oceania, more nations are set to be represented than ever before.

The entry list totals 784 athletes and 194 officials.

The Korea International Exhibition Centre in the South Korean city of Goyang is the venue for competition at the Championships, which is set to be staged from April 21 to 24.

Plans are already in place for the Opening Ceremony, including the usage of media art, an LED lights display and a World Taekwondo demonstration team performance.

South Korea has recorded a steep rise in COVID-19 cases with almost 340,000 infections recorded yesterday.

Prior to the current wave, the country had received praise for its aggressive response to tackling the pandemic.

COVID-19 restrictions have already forced the delayed World Taekwondo Championships to be moved from Wuxi in China to Cancún in Mexico.

However, Goyang signed the host city contract to hold the World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in September last year.

Poomsae is a demonstrative form of the martial art, providing a non-combat alternative to sparring to ensure that taekwondo can reach different audiences.