Choi Hong-hi (9 November 1918 – 15 June 2002) was a

South Korean Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...

general, defector to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

, and

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

who was an important figure in the history of the Korean martial art of

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

, albeit controversial due to his attempt to introduce the martial art in North Korea, and his eventual defection to the North in 1979. Choi is regarded by many as the "Founder of Taekwon-Do"—most often by organisations belonging to the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF), the first international federation for Taekwondo, which he founded before the

World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo, called the World Taekwondo Federation until June 2017, is an international federation governing the sport of taekwondo and is a member of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF). The ''World Taekwo ...

split off in 1973 for political reasons.International Taekwon-Do Federation
(Headquarters Korea which is officially recognised by Korean Government on 24 June 2009).International Taekwon-Do Federation
(under Choi Jung Hwa, based in the United Kingdom). Retrieved on 15 January 2008; updated version retrieved on 9 October 2010.
(formerly under Trân Triêu Quân; now under acting President Pablo Trajtenberg, based in Italy). Retrieved on 15 January 2008; updated version retrieved on 9 October 2010.International Taekwon-Do Federation
(under Chang Ung, based in Austria). Retrieved on 28 January 2008; updated version retrieved on 9 October 2010.
Retrieved on 15 January 2008. Others, such as the

, now just World Taekwondo (WT), portray Choi as either an unimportant or a dishonorable figure in taekwondo history, whether by omitting him from their versions of taekwondo historyPresent Day Taekwondo (WT)
Retrieved on 29 January 2008. or through explicit statements,Son, D. S. (1959)
Letter in ''Seoul Shinmoon'' newspaper (16 June 1959)
Retrieved on 20 September 2007. due to the aforementioned controversy.

Early life

Choi was born on 9 November 1918 in Hwa Dae, Myŏngch'ŏn county, in what is now North Korea, which was then under Japanese rule.Park, S. H. (1993): About the author. In H. H. Choi: ''Taekwon-Do: The Korean art of self-defence'', 3rd ed. (Vol. 1, pp. 241–274). Mississauga: International Tae Kwon Do Federation. At the time, the place was named Meigawa-gun (Myongchon-kun), Kankyo-hokudo (Hamgyong-Pukto), Chosen, as part of the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent form ...

. Choi originally claimed that his father sent him to study calligraphy under Han Il Dong, who was also "a master of

Taekkyeon Taekkyon, Taekgyeon, Taekkyeon, or Taekyun (Korean: 태껸/ 택견/ 托肩, ) is a traditional Korean martial art. It is characterized by fluid, dynamic foot movement called "''pum balki''" or Stepping-on-Triangles. Taekkyon includes hands an ...

, the ancient Korean art of foot fighting" (Park, 1993, p. 241). He later recanted this story and said that he never studied taekkyeon and that it had nothing to contribute to taekwondo. Choi travelled to Japan, where he studied English, mathematics, and karate.Goldman, A. L. (2002)
"Choi Hong-hi, 83, Korean general who created Tae Kwon Do"
''The New York Times'' (29 June 2002). Retrieved on 26 December 2007. In

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...

, he met a fellow Korean with the surname Kim, who was a

karate (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fuj ...

instructor and taught Choi this martial art. Choi also learned Shotokan karate under Funakoshi Gichin. Just before he had left Korea, Choi apparently had a disagreement with a wrestler named Hu, and the possibility of a future confrontation inspired him to train; in his own words, "I would imagine that these were the techniques I would use to defend myself against the wrestler, Mr. Hu, if he did attempt to carry out his promise to tear me limb from limb when I eventually returned to Korea" (Park, 1993, p. 242). Choi attained the rank of 1st ''

dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoir ...

'' in karate in 1939, and then 2nd ''dan'' soon after.

Military career

Choi was forced to serve in the

Japanese army The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...

during World War II, but was implicated in a rebellion and imprisoned, during which time he continued practicing martial arts. Following the war, in January 1946, Choi was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Korean army. From 1946 to 1951, Choi received promotions to first lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel, colonel, and then brigadier general. Choi was promoted to major general in 1954.

Taekwondo

Choi combined elements of

Taekkyon Taekkyon, Taekgyeon, Taekkyeon, or Taekyun (Korean: 태껸/ 택견/ 托肩, ) is a traditional Korean martial art. It is characterized by fluid, dynamic foot movement called "''pum balki''" or Stepping-on-Triangles. Taekkyon includes hands an ...

and Oh Do Kwan

Karate (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fuj ...

and Tang Soo Do to develop a style of the martial art known as "

"; his organization spelt it Taekwon-Do, (태권도; 跆拳道), which means "foot, fist, art" or "the way of hand and foot" and it was so named on 11 April 1955.Kim, S. J. (2007)
History of Taekwondo
Retrieved on 18 September 2007. Choi founded the Oh Do Kwan, and held an honorary 4th ''dan'' ranking in the

Chung Do Kwan Chung Do Kwan, created by Won Kuk Lee in 1944, is one of the first of nine schools or '' kwan'' teaching Tang Soo Do. Later, the school began to teach what came to be known as taekwondo. This style of Tang Soo Do is known for its overall pow ...

. Due to accusations of dishonesty, Choi was stripped of his rank and position in the Chung Do Kwan. During the 1960s, Choi and

Nam Tae-hi Nam Tae-hi (남태희; 南太熙; 19 March 1929 – 7 November 2013) was a pioneering South Korean master of taekwondooriginal masters of taekwondo in promoting their martial art around the world, though these would be only the first of many such endeavors. ITF taekwondo organizations credit Choi with starting the spread of

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

internationally by stationing Korean taekwondo instructors around the world, and have consistently claimed that ITF-style taekwondo is the only authentic style of taekwondo, most notably in early sections of its textbooks.Franks, A. (1993): Taekwon-Do and imitators. In H. H. Choi: ''Taekwon-Do: The Korean art of self-defence'', 3rd ed. (Vol. 1, pp. 10–11). Mississauga: International Taekwon-Do Federation. He was also the author of the first English taekwondo syllabus book, ''Taekwon-Do'', published by Daeha Publication Company in 1965. In 1972, Choi went into exile in Canada after the South Korean government objected to his introduction of the sport into North Korea, and the South Korea government formed the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) in 1973 (renamed to WT in 2018). In 1979 he traveled and defected to North Korea where he was welcomed by the government and supported in his project of spreading Taekwondo to the world. He was remembered as the founder and champion of taekwondo.

Death

Choi died of cancer on 15 June 2002 in Pyongyang, North Korea, where he received a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of ...

in the

Patriotic Martyrs' Cemetery The Patriotic Martyrs' Cemetery is a national cemetery in North Korea located in Sinmi-ri, Hyongjesan-guyok, Pyongyang. Founded on September 17, 1986, it is officially reserved for people who contributed to the "liberation of the country" and "s ...

. On his funeral committee were: *

Choe Thae-bok Choe Thae-bok (born 1 December 1930) is a North Korean politician. He is a member of the Politburo and the Secretariat of the Workers' Party of Korea, and was Chairman (speaker) of the Supreme People's Assembly for nearly 21 years, from 1998 to ...

Kim Jung-rin Kim Jung-rin () (7 December 1923 – 28 April 2010) was a North Korean politician who was an alternate member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, as well as a member of the Politburo and party secretary. ...

Kim Yong-sun Kim Yong-sun (1934 – 26 October 2003) was a North Korean politician. At the time of his death, he was vice-chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland. He was reported to have been killed in a car accident. He a ...

* Kim Yong-dae *

Ryu Mi-yong Ryu Mi-yong (14 February 1921 – 23 November 2016) was the chairwoman of the North Korean Chondoist Chongu Party. She was a standing committee member of the 10th Supreme People's Assembly. She was known as a defector from South Korea to the No ...

* Ryom Sun-gil *

Kim Kyong-ho Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese fo ...

Sung Sang-sop Sung may refer to: *Sung, Cambodia, commune in Samlout District, Battambang Province * Singing (past participle of the verb "to sing") Chinese history *Song (state) (宋) (11th century BC – 286 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, ...

Pak Sun-hui Pak or PAK may refer to: Places * Pakistan (country code PAK) * Pak, Afghanistan * Pak Island, in the Admiralty Islands group of Papua New Guinea * Pak Tea House, a café in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan Arts and entertainment * PAK (band), an A ...

* An Kyong-ho * Kang Ryon-hak * Chang Ung * Hwang Pong-yong * Kim Yu-ho Choi is listed in the Taekwondo Hall of Fame with various titles: "Father of Taekwon-Do," "Founder and First President of the International Taekwon-Do Federation," and "Founder of Oh Do Kwan."Taekwondo Hall of Fame
Retrieved on 12 January 2008. Choi is survived by his wife, Choi Joon-hee; his son, Choi Jung-hwa; two daughters, Sunny and Meeyun; and several grandchildren.

Explanatory notes

a. The spelling of "taekwondo" varies widely in English usage. The WT and affiliated organizations typically use "taekwondo," while the ITF and affiliated organizations typically use "taekwon-do" (as Choi used this spelling). In Wikipedia, the default spelling is "taekwondo." This article follows this standard, but uses "taekwon-do" when referring specifically to the ITF or affiliated organizations' names. b. In Park's (1993) article, the note on Choi's promotion to 2nd ''dan'' in karate is followed by a note about the outbreak of World War II, which would suggest that Choi's 2nd ''dan'' promotion occurred no later than the early stages of that conflict (''c.'' 1939–1940).

References

External links

Obituary: General Choi Hong-hi Biography
in ''Moosin Magazine'', 19 January 2015.

in ''The Guardian'', 9 August 2002.

in ''The Daily Telegraph'', 26 June 2002.

at the Taekwondo Hall of Fame, including a photograph of Choi's grave. {{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Hong-hi 1918 births 2002 deaths 20th-century philanthropists International Olympic Committee members Korean generals Martial arts school founders Martial arts writers People from Myongchon County South Korean emigrants to North Korea South Korean male karateka South Korean male taekwondo practitioners