Political History of Tae Kwon Do
Written by:
Cut Kick
Tuesday, 9 June 1998 15:58
Newsgroup = alt.martial-arts.tae-kwon-doTKD Australia | Oh Do Kwan Australia | Wyllie TKD | Message box
Question:
I too was taught the date of April 11, 1955 by my instructor, Ebe Ghansah.
Iwill check the documentation he has given me however to confirm that (failing that I will give him a call). What is the correct date?
To answer your question will require a bit of explanation. This is what I previously wrote on the topic:
The first meeting to discuss unification occurred in July 1946, when GM Lee, Won Kuk (Tang Soo Do Chung Do Kwan),GM Noh, Byung Jick (Tang Soo Do Song Moo Kwan), GM Chun, Sang Sup (Chosun Yun Moo Kwan Kwon Bup Bu), and GM Yoon, Byung In (YMCA Kwon Bup Bu) met to discuss martial arts. GM Hwang Kee of the Hwa Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan was not present, because his two previous efforts at opening a dojang failed, and he had just joined GM Lee's Chung Do Kwan as a white belt, where he stayed and learned for six months before reopening his "Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan" in early 1947.
During the Korean War (1950-53), martial arts training was for the most part suspended. However, on May 25, 1953, during the Korean War, representatives of the Five Original Kwans (Chung Do Kwan, Song Moo Kwan, Yun Moo Kwan/Ji Do Kwan, YMCA Kwon Bup/Chang Moo Kwan and Moo Duk Kwan) met and formed the Korea Kong Soo Do Association. General Choi was NOT a member of this group and did not attend the organizational meeting, which was held in Pusan. In September 1953, GM Hwang Kee of the Moo Duk Kwan resigned from the Korea Kong Soo Do Association and formed his own group, the Korea Tang Soo Do Association.
In April 1955, a Committee was organized by General Choi to choose a unifying name for the art practiced by the original Five Kwans. At that time, the names Tang Soo Do, Hwa Soo Do, Kong Soo Do and Kwon Bup were being used by the Kwans. Attending this meeting were various business leaders and also Chung Do Kwan instructors GM Son, Duk Sung and GM Hyun, Jong Myun. General Choi, as Chairman of the Committee, is credited with suggesting the name "Tae Kwon". The committee unanimously agreed. However, the name was not immediately accepted by the other Kwans.
In November 1958, the Korea Tang Soo Do Association (under GM Hwang Ki) applied for membership to the Korea Amateur Sports Association ("KASA") but was denied because there was a rival organization, the Korea Kong Soo Do Association. KASA agreed to accept the application if both organizations united as one. Representatives of the two associations met and agreed to unite under the name Korea Soo Bahk Do Association. Before the application could be a approved, General Choi sent a petition delaying the proceedings because his school, the Oh Do Kwan was being left out of the process. On September 3, 1959, the representatives of the six Kwans agreed to unite under the name The Korea Taekwondo Association. General Choi was chosen as President, and Moo Duk Kwan's GM Hwang Kee was elected Secretary General. Other officers included Vice Presidents Noh Byung Jik (Song Moo Kwan) and Yoon Kwe Byung (Ji Do Kwan); Senior Directors Hyun Jong Myun (Chung Do Kwan/Oh Do Kwan), Lee Chong Woo (Ji Do Kwan), Lee Nam Suk (Chang Moo Kwan), Ko Jae Chun (Chung Do Kwan/Oh Do Kwan), Lee Young Suk (Song Moo Kwan); Directors Chung Chang Young (Moo Duk Kwan/Oh Do Kwan), Nam Tae Hi (Chung Do Kwan/Oh Do Kwan), Bae Young Ki (Ji Do Kwan), Uhm Woo Kyu (Chung Do Kwan); and Inspectors Kim Soon Bae (Chang Moo Kwan) and Cho Byung Shi (I forget). These men are seen in the group photo dated 9/3/4292 in General Choi's books. However, this organization would not last very long.
General Choi was elected partially because of his position as General in the Korean Army (under a military regime) and also because he made big promises to the heads of the original kwans to promote Taekwondo. However, the country was poor and had other more pressing concerns than spending valuable resources on martial arts. Roads needed to be built, and the country's standard of living needed to be raised before "frivolous" things like martial arts would be governmentally financed. Because the government failed to come through with the things General Choi promised, General Choi fell into disfavor with the other kwan heads. GM Hwang Ki pulled the Moo Duk Kwan out of this group, and the Ji Do Kwan later followed suit.
On May 16, 1961, a military group led by General Park Chung Hee and his brother in law Colonel Kim Jong Pil succeeded in a bloodless, coup d'etat.
On September 19, 1961, the newly formed Korea Tae Soo Do Association was created and this is considered the "true" inauguration of the KTA. Mr. Che Myung Shin (a non-martial artist) was chosen the First President and served until January 15, 1965, when he was replaced by General Choi. From September 1961 until January 1965, General Choi did not serve the Korea Tae Soo Do Association either as an officer or Director.
General Choi served a ONE YEAR term as President, during which time he convinced the Association to change its name to the Korea Taekwondo Association. This name change was completed on August 5, 1965. General Choi was replaced as President on January 30, 1966 by Song Moo Kwan founder Noh Byung Jik.
Less than two months later, General Choi formed the International Taekwon-Do Federation, on March 22, 1966. The ITF, from day one, was considered a PRIVATE organization, much like GM Hwang Ki's organization was private. It was NEVER the international arm of the Korea Taekwondo Association.
On January 17, 1971, Dr. Un Yong Kim (who was serving as Deputy Chief of the Presidential Protective Forces) was chosen as the new President of the Korea Taekwondo Association. Two months later, on March 20, 1971, President Park Chung Hee declared Taekwondo as Korea's national sport and funds were set allocated to build the Kukkiwon, which would serve as the Central Gymnasium and World Headquarters for Taekwondo. Construction was begun on the Kukkiwon in 1971, and was completed in November 1972.
During construction of the Kukkiwon, the 1st World Taekwondo Championships were planned along with the formation of a new world governing body, called the World Taekwondo Federation. Both were done at the same time, in May 1973 at the newly built Kukkiwon. A world governing body was needed in order for Taekwondo to be selected as an Olympic sport, which the Korean government felt was it's way to world legitimacy, in much the same way Judo had done for Japan at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Dr. Kim was chosen to head both the Kukkiwon and the World Taekwondo Federation.
General Choi was not included in this plan. In 1972, before the completion of the Kukkiwon and before the formation of the WTF, General Choi left Korea permanently and resettled in Canada. Because the ITF was not a governmental entity, but rather a PRIVATE organization, General Choi was allowed to take the ITF with him to Canada.
On January 8, 1977, nine of the largest Kwans (Chung Do Kwan, Ji Do Kwan, Moo Duk Kwan, Chang Moo Kwan, Song Moo Kwan, Han Moo Kwan, Oh Do Kwan, Jung Do Kwan, and Kang Duk Won) agreed to recognize the Kukkiwon as the ultimate promotional authority with respect to Dan certification. The kwan leaders realized that if the Kwans were to be truly united, then a single promotional body needed to be recognized for certification. That body was the Kukkiwon.
Prior to this declaration, most practitioners valued their Kwan Dan certificates and certification more so than the "official" certificates from the Kukkiwon, and prior to that, the Korea Taekwondo Association. By signing the declaration recognizing the Kukkiwon's ultimate promotional authority in Korea, the Kwan Heads voluntarily gave up much of their power and the prestige of their kwan names in order for Taekwondo to grow. This was part of the tremendous collective effort that characterizes the leadership and spirit of the WTF. Within the WTF framework, no single person can be given sole credit or even individual credit for the promotion to Taekwondo, since to do otherwise would take away from this collective effort and collective spirit.
So to answer your question, I would say that the true date of the unification of Taekwondo occurred on January 8, 1977, when the kwan leaders reconized the Kukkiwon as the sole Dan promotional body.
This page hosted by Geocities.com Get your own Free Home Page