The History of Tae Kwon Do

Tae Kwon Do has been developed in line with the development of the Korean history. In origin, Tae Kwon Do was developed around 50 BC in the form of Kwon Sul, hand skill. Above all, Taek Kyon is the prototype of the contemporary Tae Kwon Do. And when the national identity was formed throughout the Era of three kingdoms, Koguryo, Paekche, and Shilla. In Koguryo, Taek Kyon was the unarmed combat skills that developed through the wars with North China. One of the wall paintings of the tombs, Muyongch'ong, shows two warriors engaged in hand-to-hand fighting. In Shilla, the young-aged patriotic martial arts organization, 'Hwarang', was formed to defend the nation from the invasions and to unite the kingdoms of Korea. Hwarang contributed to the unification of the three kingdoms. In Paekche, some archives were published about Taek Kyon.

However, after the World War II, there were various styles of Taek Kyons. And it was required to reunify them. As part of such efforts, on April 11, 1955, a meeting was held to unify the various Kwans under one name, Tae Kwon Do. The masters met again in September 1961 and organized the Korea Tae Kwon Do Association. In the mean time, one of the leaders of the association, General Choi, realized a great potential of Tae Kwon Do to become a worldwide martial art and began to send demonstration teams all over the world. As the art grew, the masters saw a need for a worldwide organization. On May 28, 1973, General Choi founded the World Tae Kwon Do Rederation(Kukkiwon).

Now, the Korean government recognizes this organization as the official international regulating body of Tae Kwon Do.