Beijing-based student Li-Lian Ahlskog-Hou was asked to punch above her weight in the DPRK championships. [Natalie Thomas / For China Daily]

Li-Lian Ahlskog-Hou screamed "aiya" when she was invited to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to attend a taekwondo "get-together".

Only later did she realize she would be on the Chinese team at one of the world's largest taekwondo championships, though the team is not officially sanctioned by the government.

The 23-year-old Beiing-based journalism student, a taekwondo red belt, had competed many times in her home country of Sweden. But it is about a week after agreeing to participate when the penny dropped.

"My Chinese language skills are fairly basic and my coaches don't speak much English, so I didn't understand what they were asking me. Only after one evening when one of them took out his phone to translate the name of the competition for me did I actually get it.

"When I saw the words, 'world championships' appear on the screen I started screaming in the middle of the street. It was a bit of a shock."

She was on her way to the 7th International Taekwondo Federation championships, which highlights the most traditional form of the sport.

The rival World Taekwondo Federation, which held its championship in Seoul in May, has a strong emphasis on sparring. The WTF style became an Olympic sport in 2000.

Born to a Swedish mother and a Chinese father who migrated to Sweden in the 1970s, Ahlskog-Hou lived in Europe her whole life before coming to China in September 2009 to study for a master's degree in multimedia journalism.

Although she is not a Chinese citizen, Ahlskog-Hou is able to represent China because of technicalities related to how taekwondo governing bodies run competitions.

Ahlskog-Hou is the archetypal sports addict. Her home is filled with snowboards, skateboards and punching pads. Exercise is an integral part of her daily routine. She finally settled on taekwondo after trying out various martial arts in Sweden.