History of Taekwondo

From Kukkiwon - organization of Taekwondo
  i. Taekwondo Origin

The Korean martial arts faded into obscurity during the late Gojoseon Dynasty, the first state on the Korean peninsula, B.C. 2333 and developed during the Three Kingdoms period.

According to the history, Three Kingdoms Much attention philosophy, martial-ism with emphasis on Three Kingdoms period, and various martial arts were developed. Goguryeo was a strong state in Northeast Asia with strong military power, and their martial arts were well developed.

Taekwondo Today('60s)
Korean martial arts could not be practiced because of the regulations against that activity and the policies of repression of the Japanese government during the Japanese colonial period.

After achieving independence, some leaders of Taekwondo tried to secure their own legitimacy and improve Taekwondo after August 15th, National Liberation Day. After achieving independence, modern Taekwondo Dojangs appeared, such as Chungdoguan, Songmuguan, Mudukguan, Joseon Yeonmuguan kwonbubbu, and the Central YMCA Kwonbubbu, and the instruction of techniques began.

The Korea Taesudo Association was founded on September 16th, 1961. Later, the name of the Korea Taesudo Assocication was changed to the Korea Taekwondo Association.
Taekwondo Today('70s)
Kukkiwon was founded as the KTA(Korea Taekwondo Association) central Dojang on Novermber 30th, 1972, and since then has played an important role in the distribution and perpetuation of the tradition of Taekwondo. The 10 Dojang derived from 5 Dojang, and then these were united into one organization according to the decision of the committee members of Taekwondo Main Center in 1978. Kukkiwon devotes itself to spread Taekwando culture, spirit and history worldwide, increasing the best competitive power of Taekwando as a martial art in life.

Taekwondo Today('80s)
n the 1980s, the association focused on the universities, especially the university departments or majors. The alumine of Taekwondo were very influential in the drafting Taekwondo's policies and, thus, its development.

To date, Taekwondo Department have been founded in 60 universities. Taekwondo major is also accepted in universities of many foreign countries.

Taekwondo Today('90s)
Taekwondo became a demonstration sport on September 17th, 1988 in the 24th Seoul Olympics, and this became a bridgehead to spread Taekwondo world wide.

Taekwondo became an official Olympic sport at the 103th IOC Assembly in Paris, France. The Korean Language become an official language of the Olympic Games, joining English, French, and Japanese. Taekwondo is now an international martial art in 203 countries, and includes 80 million practitioners.