Jun Chong is a South Korean martial artist, filmmaker, and actor.

Life and martial arts

Jun Chong was born in 1944 in South Korea. At the age of eight, he began training in the country's national martial art of

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

. While he won numerous competitions both nationally and internationally, Chong decided to try his hand at train in other forms of martial arts, including

Hapkido Hapkido ( , , also spelled ''hap ki do'' or ''hapki-do''; from Korean 합기도 ''hapgido'' ) is a hybrid Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other stri ...

Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

Aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in around 1 ...

, and

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

. Chong is currently a 9th-degree grandmaster in Taekwondo and after emigrating to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in the 1970s, he opened his own school, which continues to operate today. He has had his share of celebrity students, including

Phillip Rhee Phillip Rhee (born September 7, 1960) is an American martial artist, actor, director, screenwriter, and film producer, most famous for his role in the ''Best of the Best'' movie series. Life and career Rhee was born in South Korea and raised i ...

, Simon Rhee,

Lorenzo Lamas Lorenzo Fernando Lamas (born January 20, 1958) is an American actor. He is widely known for his role of Lance Cumson, the irresponsible grandson of Angela Channing—played by Jane Wyman—in the soap opera ''Falcon Crest'' (1981–1990), for ...

Sam J. Jones Samuel Gerald Jones (born August 12, 1954), known professionally as Sam J. Jones, is an American actor and former football player. He is known for playing the title character in the 1980 film ''Flash Gordon'' and for starring in the short-lived ...

, boxing legend

Sugar Ray Leonard Ray Charles Leonard (born May 17, 1956), best known as "Sugar" Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer, motivational speaker, and occasional actor. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professiona ...

, and

Heather Graham Heather Joan Graham (born January 29, 1970) is an American actress. After appearing in television commercials, her first starring role in a feature film came with the teen comedy '' License to Drive'' (1988), followed by the critically acclaime ...

. Chong is also the founder of the World United Martial Arts Organization (WUMAO), connecting martial arts schools from all over the world to support in the advancement and growth of martial arts.

Film career

Chong made his film debut in 1976 in a South Korean-made martial arts film shot on location in Los Angeles entitled ''Visitor of America'', with Chong being credited as 케리・郑 (Ke-li Chong) in the original Korean version and as Bruce K.L. Lea in the English-dubbed and altered U.S. edit known as

Bruce Lee Fights Back from the Grave ''Bruce Lee Fights Back from the Grave,'' originally released as ''Visitor of America'' (), is a 1976 Bruceploitation supernatural martial arts film starring tae kwon do instructor Jun Chong (credited as 케리・郑 Ke-li Chong in the original So ...

. In 1985, Chong founded his own production company, Action Brothers Productions. His first film as a producer and star was ''L.A. Street Fighters'', also known as Ninja Turf. The film would include some of Chong's students as cast members as well as martial arts legend Bill Wallace and a pre-fame Thomas F. Wilson of the

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...

trilogy. His second film, ''Silent Assassins'', had Chong team up with real-life student

and

Linda Blair Linda Denise Blair (born January 22, 1959) is an American actress and activist. She played Regan MacNeil in the horror film ''The Exorcist'' (1973), for which she won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for an Academy Award. The fil ...

. The film also had a brief fight scene between real-life brothers Phillip Rhee and Simon Rhee, who play a good guy and an assassin respectively. In 1990, Chong starred, produced, and choreographed the fight scenes for Street Soldiers, which he plays the martial arts teacher of a high school gang who want to take back the streets from a rival and more ruthless street gang. The film would mark the only Hollywood film from Korean-born martial arts film star

Hwang Jang-Lee Hwang Jung-lee (Korean: 황정리; born December 21, 1944), known to many with the spelling of Hwang Jang-lee is a Japanese-born Korean martial artist and actor. Hwang is perhaps best known for his role as "Thunderleg" in 1978's ''Drunken Mast ...

, who fought Chong in the film. After this film, Chong took a fifteen-year hiatus from films to focus on teaching. Chong returned in 2006 in the role of Master Chong in the

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

film ''Maximum Cage Fighting'', which he also produced under his Action Brothers Entertainment. In 2015, he made a cameo appearance as himself in the comeback film for

Underdog Kids ''Underdog Kids'' is a film directed by Phillip Rhee that premiered on July 7, 2015. Plot At the Mid-County Community Center, a coach quits teaching a ragtag team martial arts. Community Center leader Charlie is looking for a new coach when for ...

as a judge alongside fellow martial arts legends Richard Norton, Don Wilson,

Benny Urquidez Benny Urquidez (born June 20, 1952) is an American kickboxer, martial arts choreographer and actor. Nicknamed "The Jet", Urquidez was a non-contact karate competitor who later pioneered full-contact fighting in the United States. He made the tra ...

, and

Dan Inosanto 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'Ivoi ...

External links

* * 1944 births Living people South Korean male film actors South Korean male martial artists {{SouthKorea-taekwondo-bio-stub