Song Deok-Gi (); (19 January 1893- 23 July 1987) was a Martial artist from Korea. One of the last practitioners of the ancient martial art 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 and ...

, he helped convey the art during the

Japanese Occupation of Korea Between 1910 and 1945, Korea was ruled as a part of the Empire of Japan. Joseon, Joseon Korea had come into the Japanese sphere of influence with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876; a complex coalition of the Meiji period, Meiji government, military ...

(1910-1945) and the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

(1950-1953). Based on his efforts, the South Korean government acknowledged

as the 76th

Important Intangible Cultural Properties of Korea The Intangible Cultural Heritage (, ''Muhyeong Munhwajae'') are aspects of intangible culture that the government of South Korea has officially designated for preservation in accordance with the 1962 Cultural Property Protection Law. They are p ...

and recognized him as a Human Cultural Asset (

Ingan-munhwage A Living National Treasure (인간 문화재; ingan munhwajae), literally meaning ''human cultural asset'', is a South Korean popular term for those individuals certified as Holders of Important Intangible Cultural Properties (중요 무형 문 ...

). He used Hyeonam (현암; 玄庵) as a pen name.

Biography

Song Deok-Gi was born in 1893 in Sajik-dong, Seoul, in a family of

practitioners. He was introduced by his father to renowned

Master Im Ho (임호; 林虎) when he was 12 years old and began training under his tutelage for about 10 years. At that time,

was practised as a martial art and a folk game by people in the vicinity of Seoul. Song learnt in a glade located on the flanks of the

Inwangsan Inwangsan is a mountain with a height of 338 meters, located in Jongno-gu and Hongje-dong, Seodaemun-gu, central areas of Seoul, South Korea. The name literally means "mountain of generous king" in Korean. The mountain covers an area of 1,086,69 ...

mountain near the Archery center called Hwanghakjeong (황학정; 黄鹤亭). At the time, the High-village or Widaepae (윗대패) designated those who lived inside of Seoul town walls and Araedaepae or Low-village (아랫대패), those who lived outside . Song Deok-Gi was from the Widaepae so he competed a lot with Araedaepae. Both village had their own style and techniques. After the Japanese annexion of Korea, indigenous martial arts became prohibited under Japanese cultural assimilation policies. Nevertheless, Song kept practising his

skills in secret and never stopped training. He also practised Korean archery (

Gungdo The Korean Bow ( ko, 각궁, Gak-gung hanja: , or ''horn bow'') is a water buffalo horn-based composite reflex bow, standardized centuries ago from a variety of similar weapons in earlier use. Due to its long use by Koreans, it is also known as Gu ...

) and became the first official referee of the sport. In 1958, he showed a demonstration of

Korean martial arts Korean martial arts (Hangul: 무술, Hanja: 武術, ''musul'' or Hangul: 무예, Hanja: 武藝, ''muye'') are fighting practices and methods which have their place in the history of Korea but have been adapted for use by both military and non- ...

in front of the president

Lee Seung-man Syngman Rhee (, ; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965) was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Ko ...

for his birthday with Kim Sung-hwan (1904?-1958), another pupil of Im Ho. This event sparked the renaissance of

and introduced the art to a new public.

Career

Song worked as a physical instructor for the Korean Army and the Royal guard before its dissolution by the Japanese. Later on, he became a professional soccer player and even won the Cup of Joseon in 1922. After the

, he was virtually the only practitioner able to teach

left. In the following decades, he passed on his knowledge to a new generation of masters, thus laying the seeds for the art's regeneration. Until his passing, he was known as "The Last Taekkyon Master of

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

". The first of June 1983, Song became a

national treasure The idea of national treasure, like national epics and national anthems, is part of the language of romantic nationalism, which arose in the late 18th century and 19th centuries. Nationalism is an ideology that supports the nation as the fundame ...

was designated as the 76th

by the

Cultural Heritage Administration The Cultural Heritage Administration () or CHA, formerly the Cultural Properties Administration, is the agency of the South Korean government charged with preserving and promoting Korean cultural heritage. It is headquartered in the city of Dae ...

. To this day, it remains one of only two martial arts which possesses such a classification (the other being

Ssireum ''Ssireum'' (Hangul: ) or Korean wrestling is a folk wrestling style and traditional national sport of Korea that began in the fourth century. In the modern form each contestant wears only a belt (satba) that wraps around the waist and the th ...

). This recognition attracted many more students and helped secure the transmission of the art. Most leaders of the current Taekkyon Associations started their formation during that time. Song established the Widae Taekkyon Preservation Society with his student Lee Jun-Seo the same year. He died aged 94 in 1987.

Honors

* Skill Holder of Intangible Cultural Asset No. 76 Taekkyon. * Living National Treasure No. 283. Relinquished after his death.

Biography

Career

Honors

See also

References

Further reading