General Choi Hong Hi (9 November 1918 – 15 June 2002) is recognised as the principal founder of Taekwon-Do. He was born in the Hwa Dae district of Myongchon County, in the mountainous north-east of a Korea then under Japanese colonial rule (the region lies in present-day North Korea).
As a frail and rebellious youth he was expelled from school for taking part in agitation against the Japanese authorities. His calligraphy teacher, Han Il Dong, was also a master of Taek Kyon — an ancient Korean foot-fighting art — and began teaching the boy this art partly to build up his weak body. In 1937 Choi travelled to Japan to continue his education. In Kyoto and later Tokyo he took up Karate, training in the Shotokan system associated with Funakoshi Gichin and reaching the rank of 2nd dan while studying at Chuo University.
During the Second World War Choi was conscripted into the Japanese Imperial Army and stationed in Pyongyang. There he became implicated in an independence movement among Korean student soldiers (the so-called Pyongyang Student Soldiers' Incident) and was imprisoned. He later said he passed his eight months in prison practising and teaching martial arts to his cellmates and even a warder; he narrowly escaped a death sentence when Korea was liberated in August 1945.
“Taekwon-Do is a martial art that has no equal in either power or technique. … It is a martial art for self-defence as well as a way of healthy life and a noble character.” — Gen. Choi Hong Hi
After liberation, Choi became one of the founding officers of the new South Korean army, commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1946 and rising over two decades to the rank of major general. He combined what he knew of Taek Kyon and Karate with his own study of the physics of motion, and used his military positions to teach and spread the developing art among soldiers — and to American servicemen stationed in Korea.
When Japanese rule ended in 1945, a number of independent martial-arts schools — called kwans (관, “gym” or “school”) — opened across Korea. Their founders had typically trained in Japanese Karate, Chinese arts or older Korean methods. The original kwans are usually counted as:
| Kwan | Founder | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Chung Do Kwan | Lee Won Kuk | “Blue Wave School”; the largest early kwan. Choi held an honorary 4th dan from it. |
| Moo Duk Kwan | Hwang Kee | Parent of Tang Soo Do and Soo Bahk Do lineages. |
| Song Moo Kwan | Ro Byung Jick | Founded 1946 in Kaesong / Seoul. |
| Yun Moo Kwan / Jidokwan | Chun Sang Sup / Yoon Kwae Byung | Influential Seoul school. |
| YMCA Kwon Bup Bu / Changmookwan | Yoon Byung In | Brought Chinese-influenced technique. |
| Oh Do Kwan | Choi Hong Hi & Nam Tae Hi | The “Gym of My Way”, founded in the military in 1954–55. The engine of Taekwon-Do's spread. |
Choi's Oh Do Kwan, established within the 29th Infantry Division, became the most powerful force behind the new art, working closely with the civilian Chung Do Kwan. Unifying these rival kwans under one name and one technical-moral framework was the central political project of Choi's career — and it was never entirely completed, which is part of why Taekwon-Do later divided into different streams.
On 11 April 1955, a specially convened board of masters, historians and prominent figures met to choose a single name for the unified art. Choi advocated “Taekwon-Do” — a name whose sound evokes the old Taek Kyon, yet clearly expresses foot (tae), hand (kwon) and the way (do). The name was adopted, a date now marked as the art's official birth.
The patterns (tul) were developed gradually, not all at once. Choi's 1959 Korean-language book and his 1965 English book Taekwon-Do: The Art of Self-Defence set out an early curriculum that contained around twenty patterns (including the now-retired Hwa-Rang, Chung-Gun and others). The full set of 24 patterns — one for each hour of the day — was finalised later and published in the Encyclopedia. The pattern Ko-Dang was replaced by Juche in 1986, which is why some schools still teach Ko-Dang today.
A chapter often overlooked outside the region: from 1962 to 1964 General Choi served as the Republic of Korea's Ambassador to Malaysia. He used the posting to promote the art in South-East Asia, gave demonstrations, and is said to have continued composing and refining patterns during his time there.
The connection runs deeper still: when the ITF was founded in 1966, Malaysia was one of the founding member nations, alongside Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, West Germany, the United States, Turkey, Italy and the United Arab Republic (Egypt). Taekwon-Do therefore had an early and official foothold in Malaysia and Singapore — long before the art became a global phenomenon.
This is why Malaysia and Singapore have some of the oldest Taekwon-Do lineages outside Korea, dating back to the federation's very first years.
Key milestones in the development of the art and the International Taekwon-Do Federation.
Choi Hong Hi is born in Hwa Dae, Myongchon County, in Japanese-occupied Korea.
Choi studies in Kyoto and Tokyo, trains in Shotokan Karate to 2nd dan, and attends Chuo University.
Imprisoned in Pyongyang over the student-soldier independence affair; freed when Korea is liberated in August 1945.
Commissioned as a second lieutenant — one of the original officers of the new South Korean army.
Choi and Nam Tae Hi establish the Oh Do Kwan in the 29th Infantry Division — later honoured in the pattern Hwa-Rang.
A special board officially names the new art, unifying the kwans under a single name and philosophy.
Choi publishes the first Taekwon-Do book and leads a team to South Vietnam and Taiwan. The Korea Taekwon-Do Association is formed, with Choi as president.
Choi serves as ROK Ambassador to Malaysia, promoting the art across South-East Asia and continuing to develop patterns.
Choi leads an official tour through West Germany, Italy, Turkey, the United Arab Republic (Egypt), Singapore and Malaysia, and publishes his English-language book.
The International Taekwon-Do Federation is established in Seoul with nine founding nations — Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, West Germany, the USA, Turkey, Italy and the UAR (Egypt). Choi is its first President.
Amid political pressure at home, Choi relocates the ITF headquarters to Toronto, Canada.
A separate, Korea-based World Taekwondo Federation (now World Taekwondo, WT) is founded in Seoul, formalising the split between the ITF and the future Olympic branch.
The inaugural ITF World Championships are held in Montreal, Canada.
Choi leads the first ITF demonstration team to North Korea (DPRK) — a move that deepened his estrangement from the South Korean government and shaped the federation's later geography.
Choi completes the definitive 15-volume Encyclopedia, codifying technique, theory and all 24 patterns.
The ITF establishes its headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
The ITF World Championships are held in Pyongyang, reflecting the federation's strong roots in the DPRK at the time.
General Choi Hong Hi dies in Pyongyang. His legacy lives on in millions of practitioners worldwide.
After Choi's death the federation splits. Three main bodies each use the “ITF” name (see below).
Grand Master Trần Triệu Quân, a Vietnamese-Canadian president of one ITF, dies in the Haiti earthquake — a notable, often-forgotten event in the federation's modern history.
It surprises many students to learn that there is no longer a single ITF. After General Choi's death in 2002, leadership disputes split the federation into three main organisations, each legitimately using the name “International Taekwon-Do Federation”:
Despite the politics, all three share the same 24 patterns, the same tenets, the sine-wave motion and General Choi's technical heritage, so a student of one can recognise the art of another. Several smaller independent groups also teach the ITF curriculum.
ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) preserves the patterns, sine-wave motion and self-defence focus developed by General Choi, and spells the art Taekwon-Do. WT (World Taekwondo, formerly the WTF, founded 1973) is the sport-focused, Olympic branch, governed separately, using different forms (poomsae), different sparring rules and the spelling Taekwondo. This site focuses on the ITF tradition.
Before the famous 15-volume Encyclopedia (1983), Choi had already published Taekwon-Do books in 1959 (Korean) and 1965 (English) — and condensed one-volume editions followed for students.
The characteristic up-down “sine-wave” motion was formalised in the 1980s. Older film of the same patterns shows a flatter, more Karate-like execution — which is why styles differ between schools.
Choi's 1965 book taught around 20 patterns. The set grew to 24, and Ko-Dang was swapped for Juche only in 1986.
General Choi was a career diplomat as well as a soldier — his ambassadorship to Malaysia (1962–64) helped seed Taekwon-Do across South-East Asia.
Grand Master Nam Tae Hi, co-founder of the Oh Do Kwan and a hero of the Korean War, is often called the “right hand” of Taekwon-Do's early development.
The same Cold-War politics that split Korea also split Taekwon-Do — the ITF's roots reach into both North and South.
Each tul is a living history lesson — named for a hero or moment from Korea's past.
Explore patterns →The stances, sine-wave motion and techniques that define the ITF style.
Learn techniques →How ITF tournaments work, from patterns to power breaking.
See competition →