Founder of Taekwon-Do

The founder of Taekwon-Do is Choe Hong Hui (November 9, 1918－June 15, 2002).

Born in Myongchon County (today’s Hwadae County) in North Hamgyong Province of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, he learned calligraphy and Thaekkyon, a traditional martial art of Korea, in his childhood.

After Japan’s defeat in August 1945, he studied martial arts with a dream of further developing the traditional martial art of the Korean nation, and founded Taekwon-Do in April 1955.

In March 1966, he founded the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF), whose mission is to spread Taekwon-Do across the world and develop it, and became its first president. He also formed the Asian Taekwon-Do Federation in April 1968, the European Taekwon-Do Federation in June 1979, the Pan-American Taekwon-Do Federation in 1987, and the Oceanian Taekwon-Do Federation in 1994.

He organized the Asian Taekwon-Do championships in 1969 as the first international Taekwon-Do games, the Taekwon-Do world championships in 1974 and the junior Taekwon-Do world championships in 1993, thus providing an origin of international Taekwon-Do games and opening the way for their development.

In September 1999 he formed the International Martial Art Games Committee (IMGC) in Argentina with an aim to develop the world martial arts and achieve the unity of martial art practitioners, and became its first chairman.

In his lifetime he held Taekwon-Do demonstrations and short courses in over 80 countries and regions in the five continents of the world. He met state leaders of more than 20 countries and over 100 personages in the political, social, scientific and martial art circles to spread Taekwon-Do.

During his visit to the homeland on several occasions he met President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il . He was highly appreciated by Kim Il Sung that he had done a very good deed as he founded Taekwon-Do, a development of the traditional martial art of the Korean nation, and widely spread it to the world.

The ITF sponsored, in Pyongyang, the capital of the DPRK, the events to mark his birth anniversary and its founding and hold memorial services for his demise so as to hand down to posterity the indelible imprints he had left on the development course of orthodox Taekwon-Do.

The remains of Choe Hong Hui, who lives an eternal life, are buried at the Patriotic Martyrs Cemetery in Pyongyang.

Recollecting the life of Choe who made efforts to spread Taekwon-Do and promote the continuous development of the Taekwon-Do world championships, people are convinced that Taekwon-Do is a valuable asset of mankind for world peace and friendship and will be a sport enjoyed by all in the 21st century, too.

Yang Ryon Hui