Kukkiwon (), also known as World Taekwondo Headquarters, and home of the World Taekwondo Academy, is where the official

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 ...

governing organization was established by the

South Korean government The Government of South Korea is the union government of the South Korea, Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of sta ...

.Min, B.-H. (2005)
Kukkiwon, the spiritual home of Taekwondoists
(11 July 2005). Published on the website of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the USA. Retrieved on 10 January 2010. It is supervised by the International Sports Division of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea: Bureau of Office
Retrieved on 9 January 2010.

History

Kukkiwon is based at 635

Yeoksam-dong Yeoksam-dong is a ward of Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Teheranno runs through Yeoksam-dong and has some of the tallest buildings in Seoul, comprising a collection of corporate headquarters and high-rise office buildings. Economy T'way Airlin ...

in the

Gangnam-gu Gangnam District ( ; , ) is one of the 25 local government districts which make up the city of Seoul, South Korea. Gangnam translates to "South of the (Han) River". Gangnam District is the third largest district in Seoul, with an area of . A ...

district of

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

.Life in Korea: Kukkiwon
Retrieved on 8 January 2010.GangNam-Gu Internet Broadcasting Station: Cultural facilities
Retrieved on 8 January 2010.Seoul Global Center: Kukkiwon
Retrieved on 8 January 2010. Construction of the main building commenced on 19 November 1971, and was completed on 30 November 1972, with the organization being officially named on 6 February 1973.Kukkiwon, World Taekwondo Headquarters: Kukkiwon history
Retrieved on 25 May 2007.Gillis, A. (2009)
From spooky Kukki to WTF
''Totally Tae Kwon Do'', 1:31–32. Retrieved on 10 January 2010. In May 1973, the

Korea Taekwondo Association Korea Taekwondo Association ( 한국 태권도 협회; 韓國跆拳道協會; KTA), originally the Korea Tang Soo Do Association (1961),Park, S. H. (1993): About the author. In H. H. Choi: ''Taekwon-Do: The Korean art of self-defence'', 3rd ed ...

and Kukkiwon hosted the first

World Taekwondo Championships The World Taekwondo Championship is held every two years by World Taekwondo. Competitions 1 Wuxi, China, was originally selected to host the 2021 World Taekwondo Championships. Due to the impact of the Global COVID-19 pandemic, Wuxi gave up ...

, with 200 taekwondo competitors from 17 countries in attendance.Korea Taekwondo Association: History
Retrieved on 20 January 2010.Park, Y. H., & Seabourne, T. (1997): ''Taekwondo techniques & tactics: Skills for sparring and self-defense'' (p. 13). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics (). Kukkiwon has had a permanent taekwondo demonstration team since September 1974. Un Yong Kim was the first President of Kukkiwon,Parandeul Tours: Kukkiwon (World Taekwondo Headquarter)
Retrieved on 11 January 2010.
Retrieved on 11 January 2010. and resigned from the position on 15 November 2001.
Retrieved on 11 January 2010.Toi-Gye Taekwon-Do: Olympic Tae Kwon Do
Retrieved on 12 January 2010. Woon Kyu Uhm of 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 powe ...

was elected President on 2 March 2004. The President in late 2005 was Yong Gye Um.Tae Kwon Do New Zealand (2005)
Taekwondo New Zealand goodwill visit to WTF Headquarters and Kukkiwon Headquarters
''Fight Times''. Retrieved on 11 January 2010. On 10 December 2009, Seung Wan Lee of the

Jidokwan Jidokwan is one of the original nine schools of the modern Korean martial arts that became Taekwondo and was founded in what is now South Korea at the end of World War II. Its name translates as "School of Wisdom". The Jidokwan in Korea stil ...

was elected as Kukkiwon's next President.Kim, J., & Jung, D. G. (2009)
Seung Wan Lee elected as Kukkiwon Chairman
''MOOKAS'' (11 December 2009). Retrieved on 30 January 2010.Kukkiwon (2009)
Announcement for selection of "Kukkiwon Overseas Branches"
(31 December 2009). Retrieved on 13 January 2010. In mid-2010, Won Sik Kang became the president;New Kukkiwon President: Won Sik Kang
''Tae Kwon Do Times'' (4 June 2010). Retrieved on 13 November 2010. he was also the current president of Song Moo Kwan, Korea. President Kang stepped down at the end of his term of office in early 2013. After him the interim president while awaiting an election was Grandmaster Kyu Sok Lee, who also serves as Secretary-General for the Asian Taekwondo Union. Kim Chung Gun later acted as the Chair-in-Office. The next president was Grandmaster Lee Kyu Hyung (9th dan) after being provisionally named by the Director of the organization’s board as of August 20, 2013;Lee Kyu Hyung, new President of Kukkiwon
''World Taekwondo Media'' (20 August 2013). Retrieved on 22 August 2013. he resigned after a short period, claiming he was unable to perform the role to the best of his abilities due to political issues. The current president is Grandmaster Lee Dong Sup, elected on January 28, 2021. Flags Kukkiwon Seoul

References

External links

Kukkiwon official website

Kukkiwon official website

Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism
{{in lang, ko
Kukkiwon at Google Cultural Institute
Sports organizations established in 1972 Sports venues in Seoul Gangnam District Organizations based in Seoul Taekwondo organizations

History

See also

References

External links