 Korean Cultural Highlights |
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| Taekwondo is Korea's best known martial art and an officially acknowledged international sport that originated in Korea and is today practiced worldwide. Taekwondo uses the whole body, particularly the hands and feet. It not only strengthens one's physique, but also cultivates character via physical and mental training. Coupled with techniques of discipline, this self-defense martial art has become a popular international sport in the last quarter century, with thousands of Korean instructors now teaching taekwondo in more than 150 countries worldwide. |
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| The evidence of taekwondo's existence as a systemized defense operation using the body's instinctive reflexes can be traced back to ceremonial games that were performed during religious events in the era of ancient tribal states. |
| In ancient history |
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With this historical background, taekwondo (also known by its older name, taekkyeon) secured the status of Korean's traditional martial art. During the Three Kingdoms period (57 B.C. - A.D. 668), taekkyeon became a required military art; it was emphasized to enhance national defense and battle capabilities, and was practiced in the Musadan (a military organization) that was responsible for national defense. Taekkyeon was also practiced in Silla (57 B.C. - A.D. 935) in order to reinforce national development, and was the basic martial art of the Hwarang (Flower of Youth Corps). |
| Goryeo Dynasty |
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| This tradition was further developed during the Goryeo Dynasty (A.D. 935-1392). According to historical records from the time, taekkyeon was considered a martial art necessary for the defense and prosperity of the nation, and as a consequence its standards were raised at the national level, leading to further systemization and popularity, while also confirming the existence of clear judging criteria for competitions. According to historic records, men with outstanding taekkyeon techniques were awarded government posts and taekkyeon was also enjoyed as a folk sport by many people and was deeply rooted in Koreans' lives. |
| Joseon Dynasty |
| Later, during the Joseon era (1392-1910), military arts regained their prominence due to political circumstances in the early period of the Dynasty's foundation and the need for national defense. People who were skilled in taekkyeon received preferable treatment, and taekkyeon was chosen as a military art. However, during Japanese colonization (1910-1945), taekkyeon was suppressed, but was secretly passed on among certain masters even during this period. |
| Taekwondo in modern Korean history |
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| After national independence in 1945, taekkyeon's revitalization began, aided by restored personal freedoms. It was during this period that a new word, "taekwon," was coined and began to be widely used. Concurrently, the characteristics of the master-trainee relationship in taekwondo changed to emphasize the characteristics of taekwondo as more of a sport than a martial art. The Korea Taekwondo Association was founded in September 1961 and taekwondo became a sport. It became a member organization of the Korea Amateur Sports Association in 1962, and the following year taekwondo was chosen as a regular entry for the National Sports Festival.
 In 1971, taekwondo was recognized as a national sport and the Korea Taekwondo Association established etiquette criteria to guide those practicing taekwondo. The World Taekwondo Headquarters, also known as Kukkiwon or Gukgiwon was opened in 1972 to function as the central practice hall and competition stadium for taekwondo .
In the hope that taekwondo athletes all over the world can become of one mind and taekwondo an international cultural icon, Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on Sept. 4, 2008, a four-year plan to promote taekwondo in Korea and express the country's will to support taekwondo as its cultural heritage. As the birthplace of the martial art, Korea has long taken pride in taekwondo.
In June 2008, the Korean government officially made Sept. 4 Taekwondo Day, to mark the decision of the International Olympic Committee to make Taekwondo part of the Olympic Games at its 103rd meeting in Paris on Sept. 4, 1994.
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Taekwondo, as international sports
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 Founded by the World Taekwondo Headquarters, the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF), with its headquarters in Seoul, was officially approved as the governing body of the sport by the International Olympic Committee in 1980 and has a membership of 188 countries as of 2009. Domestically, the Korea Taekwondo Association has a membership of about 3.8 million, constituting the largest affiliate of the Korea Sports Council.
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| Taekwondo, as Olympic sports |
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| Taekwondo was a demonstration sport in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and became an official Olympic medal event beginning in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Athletes in more than 170 countries train and compete in international Taekwondo matches.
In 2008, former South Korean Olympic taekwondo champion Moon Dae-sung was elected a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes' Commission during the Beijing Olympics. Moon is a taekwondo athlete who won a gold medal in the heavyweight division in the 2004 Athens Olympics, after defeating Alexandros Nikolaidis of Greece. Moon also won the gold medal in the Busan Asian Games in 2002. |
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Timetable of the modern history of taekwondo
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| 1961 |
| The Korea Taekwondo Association was founded. |
| 1962 |
| The Korea Taekwondo Association became a member organization of the Korea Amateur Sports Association and Taekwondo became a sport. |
| 1971 |
| Taekwondo was recognized as a national sport.
The Korea Taekwondo Association established Taekwondo etiquette criteria. |
| 1972 |
| The World Taekwondo Headquarters, also known as Kukkiwon or Gukgiwon, was opened. |
| 1980 |
| The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) was approved as the governing body of the sport by the International Olympic Committee. |
| 1988 |
| Taekwondo was a demonstration sport in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. |
| 1994 ~ present |
| Taekwondo was adopted by the IOC as official sport of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. |
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| Basic movements |
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| The following 14 Taekwondo techniques have been selected as the basic movement of Taekwondo to be trained correctly and perfectly so that other techniques may be easily applicable |
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| * Source: World Taekwondo Headquarters |
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One should master all those basic movement before becoming a Dan grader (black belter), otherwise, the pratice of distorted movements will deprive the trainees of becoming an excellent instuctor in the future. It is also recommended to divide the basic movement into 3 groups so that the beginners may train step by step without feeling boresome; the first step will be from No.1 to No.5 the second group from No.6 to No.9 and the third from No.10 to No.14.
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* Matters of attention
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| 1. Any variation of movement should not be allowed. |
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2. One should go through a long time training to become responsive automatically.
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| 3. One should become proficient in making each movement. |
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Taekwondo competition rules
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| The training methods of taekwondo can be differentiated into "gibondongjak" (basic movements), "pumsae", "gyeorugi", "dallyeon" and "hosinsul" (self defense). Gibondongjak refer to the use of the hands and feet which are the basis of taekwondo. They include chigi (striking) techniques by use of fists and the outer side of the hand. Pumsae refers to training patterns that are performed alone with an imaginary counterpart. Gyeorugi is an application of pumsae to an actual situation in order to demonstrate techniques of attack and defense. Dallyeon involves strengthening body parts such as one's hands and feet, through the use of various kinds of equipment, in order to increase one's power for attack and defense, while hosinsul consists of techniques to defeat a rival's attack and effectively counterattack. |
| Changes in Taekwondo rules |
| In December 2008, the WTF announced that it will make changes in international Taekwondo regulations and competition rules to make the sport more exciting. The new rules include changes to the competition area and award points. To find out more about Taekwondo competition rules, click here |
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