The Birth of Taekwon-do:
General Choi Hong Hi
Taekwon-Do was founded by General Choi Hong Hi in 1955 for the Korean military as a highly efficient tool of self-defence. Born on November 9th, 1918 in Myong Chun District, Korea, learned Taekkyon as a child and Karate as a young man. Imprisoned for rebelling when forced to fight in WWII for the Japanese, he refined what he knew of the martial arts into a system that was to be developed and later known as Taekwon-Do. When liberated in 1945, he rose quickly through the ranks of the South Korean military, where he taught his art to all soldiers in the army. Retiring as a two star General, he used his contacts through the military and his role as Ambassador to spread Taekwon-Do to every country in the world for over four decades. Taekwon-Do was founded, developed and promoted by General Choi Hong Hi right up
until his death in 2002.
Early Life
General Choi Hong Hi was born on November 9th, 1918 in Myong Chun District, Korea. Because he was a frail and sickly child his parents worried, but it was clear from an early age that he had a strong and indomitable spirit. He was expelled from school aged 12 for directing a mass student walkout in protest against the Japanese authorities in control of Korea, after which his parents sent him to learn calligraphy and Taekkyon, the ancient Korean art of foot fighting.
In 1937, he was sent to Japan to further his education. Before leaving, he was involved in a heated argument with a massive professional wrestler who threatened to tear General Choi limb from limb if he ever saw him again. This added impetus to General Choi’s investment in the martial arts. In Japan, he learned Shotokan Karate, in which he attained his black belt. This, along with Taekkyon, provided the inspiration for the development of Taekwon-Do.
With the outbreak of WWII, he was forced to enlist in the Japanese army. He was soon implicated as one of the leaders of the Pyongyang Student Soldiers’ Movement and was imprisoned in a Japanese camp. Here, he practised martial arts and began to develop his own, refining what he had learned.
The Naming and Early Life of Taekwon-Do
Technically, 1955 signalled the beginning of Taekwon-Do as a formally recognized martial art in Korea. During that year, a special board was formed which included leading master instructors, historians, and prominent leaders of society. Several names for the new martial art were submitted. On April 11th, the board summoned by General Choi Hong Hi decided on the name of Taekwon-Do which had been submitted by him. This single unified name of Taekwon-Do replaced the different and confusing terms; Dang Soo, Gong Soo, Taek Kyon, Kwon Bup, etc.
In 1959, Taekwon-Do spread beyond its national boundaries. The father of Taekwon-Do and nineteen of his top black belt holders toured the Far East. The tour was a major success, astounding all spectators with the excellence of the Taekwon-Do techniques. Many of these black belt holders eventually went on to spread the art to the world. In this year, General Choi Hong Hi was elevated to the status of President of his newly formed Korea Taekwon-Do Association and Deputy Commander of the 2nd Army in Tae Gu.
Taekwon-Do in the 1960s
In 1960, Taekwon-Do was made a compulsory subject for the entire armed and police forces in South Korea. It also saw Choi return to Korea as the Director of Intelligence of the Korean Army. Later that same year, he assumed command of the Combat Armed Command with direction of the infantry, artillery, armoured, signal and aviation schools. The next year he was assigned command of the 6th Army Corps.
In 1965, Ambassador Choi Hong Hi, retired two star general, was appointed by the Government of the Republic of Korea to lead a goodwill mission to West Germany, Italy, Turkey, United-Arab Republic, Malaysia, and Singapore. This trip is significant in that the Ambassador, for the first time in Korean history, declared Taekwon-Do as the national martial art of Korea.
This was the basis not only for establishing Taekwon-Do Associations in these countries but also the formation of the International Taekwon-Do Federation as it is known today. In 1966, the dream of the sickly young student of calligraphy, who rose to Ambassador and the Association President of the most respected martial art in the world came true. On March 22nd, the International Taekwon-Do Federation was formed with associations in Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, West Germany, the United States, Turkey, Italy, Arab Republic of Egypt and Korea.
In the late 1960s the author visited France, as the chief delegate of the Korean Government, to attend the Consul International Sports Military Symposium held in Paris. Taekwon-Do was a major topic on the agenda. Delegates from 32 countries witnessed demonstrations of Taekwon-Do by a team of experts. That same year, the United Kingdom Taekwon-Do Association was formed by First Grand Master Rhee Ki Ha, and Choi visited Spain, the Netherlands, Canada, Belgium and India with the hope of spreading Taekwon-Do. He oversaw preparations for the First Asian Taekwon-Do Tournament that was held in September 1969 in Hong Kong. Immediately after the tournament, the author undertook a worldwide tour of twenty-nine countries to promote Taekwon-Do.
Taekwon-Do in the 1970s
General Choi’s international tours continued, each with growing success. During the months of November and December 1973, General Choi Hong Hi and a specially selected I.T.F. Demonstration Team, consisting of Kong Young II, Park Jong Soo, Rhee Ki Ha, Pak Sun Jae and Choi Chang Keun, all 7th degree black belts, toured Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Far East. A total of 13 countries were visited and new I.T.F. branches established in 5 of these countries. The tour was an overwhelming success with a total of more than 100,000 people watching the demonstrations in Egypt alone. At each stop, the general and the Demonstration Team were hosted by ranking representatives of the local governments.
In November and December of 1974, he led the 4th International Taekwon-Do Demonstration Team consisting of 10 of the world’s top instructors to Jamaica, Curacao, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela and Surinam.
In 1975, Taekwon-Do alone had the privilege to demonstrate at the Sydney opera house for the first time since its opening. General Choi Hong Hi visited Greece and Sweden to conduct seminars later in this year. In the middle of 1976 he toured Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Europe to inspect Taekwon-Do activities, giving seminars at the same time.
September 1977, the founder of Taekwon-Do visited Malaysia, New Zealand and Australia. Later that year he visited Sweden and Denmark to aid in the formation of their National Associations of Taekwon-Do.
In May of 1978, General Choi Hong Hi toured Malaysia, Pakistan, Kenya and South Africa accompanied by Rhee Ki Ha. In this year, he led the 5th International Taekwon-Do Demonstration Team consisting of Choi Chang Keun, Rhee Ki Ha, Park Jung Tae and Liong Wai Meng to Sweden, Poland, Hungary and Yugoslavia. In September of the same year the Second World Taekwon-Do Championships was held in Oklahoma City, U.S.A.
In June 1979, the All Europe Taekwon-Do Federation was formed in Oslo, Norway. After this historic event, General Choi Hong Hi toured Sweden, Denmark, West Germany, France and Greenland accompanied by Khang Su Jong and Rhee Ki Ha. In November of that year he led the 6th International Taekwon-Do demonstration team consisting of Kim Jong Chan, Choi Chang Keun, Rhee Ki Ha, Park Jung Tae, Lee Jong Moon, Chung Kwang Duk, Kim Suk Jun and Michael Cormack to Argentina.
Taekwon-Do in the 1980s
The year 1980 was indeed an unforgettable one for the father of Taekwon-Do, both for himself and the future of his art. He and 15 of his students, including his son Choi Joong Hwa, made a monumental trip to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. This was the first time Taekwon-Do was introduced to the people of North Korea, Choi’s birth place.
In June of 1981, the author led the 8th International Taekwon-Do Demonstration Team to Tokyo, Japan. In October, he conducted a seminar for the founding members of Taekwon-Do in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
During the months of October and November of 1982 he toured Greenland, the United Kingdom, West Germany, Austria, Denmark, Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Finland, accompanied by Master Han Sam Soo, Park Jung Taek and Choi Joong Hwa to promote Taekwon-Do.
In February 1983, the author toured Latin America including Argentina, Columbia, Panama and Honduras to conduct a full scale seminar. During the months of March, April and May he toured Santa Barbara, California, Europe and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to conduct last minute preparation of the encyclopedia, the last product of his life-long research.
In October and November of the same year, he made a visit to Yugoslavia and Italy accompanied by Park Jung Taek and Choi Joong Hwa to prepare photographs to be used for the Encyclopedia.
In December 1983, the 5th I.T.F Congress meeting was held in Vienna, where it was unanimously decided to relocate the I.T.F. here by March of the next year. Also at the meeting, President Choi Hong Hi was re-elected for another term. Mr. Jun Chin Shik, the President of Japan International Taekwon-Do Federation, masters Lee Suk Hi and Rhee Ki Ha were elected as Vice Presidents with master Park Jung Tae as Secretary-General.
In April 1983, President Choi Hong Hi visited Puerto Rico accompanied by Tran Trien Quan, the President of the Canadian Taekwon-Do Federation, James Limand Kim Suk Jun to attend the 1st Latin American General Choi’s Cup. In June, he visited East Berlin to attend the opening ceremony of the 24th I.O.C. Congress.
In November of the same year, General Choi Hong Hi, accompanied by Secretary-General Master Park Jung Tae and Tran Trien Quan, visited Norway to honour the opening of the 1985 Scandinavian Taekwon-Do Championships.
In June 1986, the founder took DPRK Taekwon-Do demonstration team to the People’s Republic of China. This visit eventually became the motivation for the Chinese people to adopt the Korean martial art, Taekwon-Do.
In August 1988, the Father of Taekwon-Do was at last able to realize his ultimate dream of introducing and teaching his art without regard to religion, race, national or ideological boundaries, by leading the I.T.F. demonstration team to Moscow, U.S.S.R.