By Lee Hana

Video = America's Got Talent's official YouTube channel

The demonstration team of the Seoul-based World Taekwondo (WT), the martial art's world governing body, has advanced to the semifinals of "America's Got Talent" (AGT), a U.S. reality competition show on NBC.

The team on Aug. 25 secured one of the top five semifinal spots through a public vote online. Its quarterfinal performance at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles was televised on Aug. 24.

As the last to perform among the 12 quarterfinalists, the squad staged a three-minute act under the theme "Peace is more precious than triumph," showcasing gravity-defying kicks, powerful punches and dynamic acrobatics. 

Judges Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel gave a standing ovation, with Mandel calling the team's performance "the best act of the night" with real moves that do not rely on CGI like Marvel Comics characters. 

In January last year, WT made it to the finals of "Italy's Got Talent" after getting the golden buzzer. In spring this year, AGT extended an invitation to the team to audition. 

Now in its 16th season, AGT is one of the most popular audition programs in the U.S. and is open to all performance genres.

Eleven semifinalists will each compete in two rounds to compete in the finale with five competitors from each of the rounds on Sept. 14, and a chance to win the grand prize of USD 1 million.

hlee10@korea.kr