Unification of Kwans

Following the liberation of Korea on August 15, 1945, Taekwondo entered a new phase. Most of the masters thought all the traditional and various martial arts schools should be united during the Japan occupation The leaders and pioneers wanted to distinguish Korea's own martial arts from other foreign arts and re-establish traditional Korean fighting skills. Unifying and developing Taekwondo into a National Sport became the agreed objective for the Taekwondo leaders and pioneers, however, unification of the Korean arts was slow. Fragmented by the pre-war secrecy of their teachings and the post-war confusion of reconstruction, it took years before the different arts were able to consolidate into a single martial art. During this period of war, several kwan leaders who were living in the Korean wartime capital of Pusan formed an alliance and vowed to created a governing body.

In 1946, the founders of the five major kwans agreed to associate and organize a unified Association. Representatives Lee Won Kuk (Chung-do-kwan), Chun Sang Sup (Joseon-yu-moo-kwan Kong-soo-do-bu), Yoon Byung In (YMCA Kwon-bup bu) and Ro, Byung Jick (Song-moo-kwan) had several meetings to accomplish their objective. Despite their eagerness and agreement, there were misunderstandings that could not be overcome.

After the attempted association failed, each Kwan concentrated on training its younger generation. Unexpectedly, the Korean War broke out and many leaders were separated from their kwans and scattered north and south. This was a period of chaos and disorder.

During the Korean War, the Taekwondo men who were refugees in the temporary capital city of Pusan, agreed to organize an Association and finally decided to found the Korea Kong Soo Do Association. The organizing members were Ro Byung Jick, Yoon Kwe Byung, Son Duk Sung, Lee Nam Suk, Lee Chong Woo, Hyun Jong Myun, Jo Young Joo, and Kim In Hwa. To build public confidence, the association included non-Taekwondo men but the key players were the Taekwondo practitioners. The first President, Jo Young Joo, was head of the Association of Korean Residents in Japan.

Less than a month after the founding of the new association, Moo Duk Kwan President Hwang Kee withdrew from the association because he was not given a position on the Central Testing Committee. A month after Kee's withdrawal, Chung Do Kwan President Son Duk Sung withdrew for the same reason. Therefore, the attempt for the complete unification of all the kwans did not work.

After Hwang Kee returned to Seoul, he personally organized the Korea Tang Soo Do Association and was eager to join the Korea Amateur Sports Association. After Yoon Kwe Byung and Ro Byung Jik realized the seriousness of the situation, they submitted a petition to stop the Korea Tang Soo Do Association from joining the Korea Amateur Sports Association and were successful.

The new President of the Korea Kong Soo Do Association was Lee Joong Jae, who was the ROK Minister of Finance, with Min Kwan Sik's recommendation. The Chief Director was Ro Byung Jik and the Secretary General was Lee Chong Woo. The role of the Korea Kong Soo Do Association was to test and qualify promotions and issue official recognition of dan rank. To unify all the dan ranks, the seniors were promoted to 4th dan.

The first and second promotion tests of official recognition were held in the temporary central dojang of the Chung Do Kwan, which held classes in Si Chun Church (Hope Wedding Hall) in the evenings. The third and fourth promotion tests were held at the Chae Shin Bu Dojang (next to the old Capitol Building), which was run by Lee Nam Suk. Ro Byung Jik and Yoon Kwe Byung took full charge of the testing committee, but Hwang Kee had trouble relating and did not participate. After a few months, the association began to breakup.

In 1953, majority of the kwan masters met and chose Tae-soo-do as the name for Korea's developing martial art. The masters agreed to merge their various styles under the new name for the mutual benefit of all the schools. However, two years later, a movement developed to find a new name for this evolving art.

Taekwondo Gets Its Name

The year 1955 signaled the beginning of Taekwondo as a formally recognized martial art in Korea. As previously mentioned, in the 1950's, General Choi Hong Hi had developed and was teaching a new style of Taekkyon he called Taekwondo to the Korean army, air force, and police. At the time, his Taekwondo was a merely Korean version of Shotokan karate that he had learned in Japan.

On April 11, 1955, a special board composed of many martial arts grandmasters, archeologists, historians, and prominent leaders met to develop a new name for Tae-soo-do. Attending the board were  Mr. Yoo  Hwa  Chung; Mr. Son Duk Sung   director of the Chung Do Gym; General Choi Hong Hi Commander of the 3rd District and head of the chung-do-kwan; General Lee Hyung Kun the Joint Chief of Staff; Mr. Cho Kyung Kyu the Vice Speaker of the National Assembly; Mr. Chung Dae Chun Senator, Mr. Han Chang Won President of Political Newspaper; Mr. Chang Kyung Rok; Mr. Hong Soon Ho; Mr. Ko Kwang Rae; and Mr. Hyun Jong Myung.

At this meeting, some members favored the names Tangsoo and Kongsoo, but General Choi proposed that the new art should be called Taekwondo. Duk Sung Son says that he passed a piece of paper to Choi suggesting the name and that Choi took credit for it. Since Taekwondo translates to "tae" meaning a kick or strike with the foot, "kwon" meaning a punch or strike with the fist, and "do" meaning the way of, it described the arts use of strikes using both hands and feet. The name Taekwondo was unanimously adopted by the board, but  Mr. Yoo said " I completely agree with the name of Taekwondo submitted by General Choi Hong Hi, I think, however, it would be utterly significant that we have the approval from the President Synghman Rhee since giving a name to a martial art is so important". All the members unanimously agreed. The name was sent to President Rhee.  At first, President Rhee rejected the name, preferring to use the traditional name Taekkyon. General Choi approached Mr. Kwak Yong Joo, the President's Chief of Staff, and Mr. Suh Jung Hak, the Director of the President's Protective Forces, and explained to them that this was a new art, much different from the old art of Taekyon. He asked them to try to persuade the President to accept the new name. Finally, Choi  received permission from President Rhee to use the new name Taekwondo.

After receiving the President's approval, Choi ordered the old Tangsoo signs in front of his Oh Do Kwan and Chung Do Kwan to be replaced with the new Taekwondo signs. And He  instructed to the legendary Master Nam Tae Hee that Taekwondo soldiers say "Taekwon" when they salute each other. The name of Taekwondo gradually spread through the military ranks through Oh Do Kwan and to civilian students through Chung Do Kwan. The Third Military District Command in Tae Jon became one of the main centers of this new art.

Although most of the kwans merged under the common name of Taekwondo, there were a few who did not. It has never been clear which of the original eight did merge but Moo-duk-kwan remained a separate art called Tang-soo-do and Hapkido remains as a recognized separate art in itself. The new Taekwondo name appealed to the newly nationalistic Koreans since it was a totally Korean expression. It also had a close connection with the old name Taekkyon, in both pronunciation and meaning. It indicated that the art employed both hands and feet, unlike terms such as tang-so (Chinese hand) or karate (empty hand), which imply hand techniques only. Since this eventful meeting, Taekwondo has been recognized worldwide as the name for the Korean martial arts.