Chapter 11: Taekwondo Development

1953: Kang Duk Won

A second incarnation of Chang-moo-kwan, Kang Duk Won was founded after the Korean War by Hong Jong Pyo and Park Chul Hee, who had practiced martial arts at the YMCA Kwon Bup Bu.

The Kang Duk Won (house of teaching generosity) was founded in the Shin Sul Dong district of Seoul after YMCA Kwon Bup Bu's founder, Yoon Byung In, was kidnapped to North Korea. Hong Jong Pyo and Park Chul Hee had conflicts with Lee Nam Suk and Kim Soon Bae in the YMCA Kwon Bup Bu, so they left and formed Kang-duk-kwan. Park Chul Hee, the second Kang Duk Won Kwan Jang, said: "After the Korean War when the members were scattered the Chang Moo Kwan and Kang Duk Won came out of the YMCA Kwon Bup Bu's root."

The first Kang-duk-kwan black belts were: Lee, Kum Hong (later he was World Taekwondo Federation General Secretary); Kim, Yong Chae (later was 5th President of the Korea Taekwondo Association); Lee, Jung Hoo; Lee, Kang Hwi; Han, Jung Il; Kim, Pyung Soo; Ji, Seung Won; and Im, Bok Jin. Later the Kang Duk Won constantly moved from Chang Sin Dong to Chung Jin Dong, then to Suh Dae Moon Gu, then to Seoul Gymnasium, then to Suh Dae Moon Gu Lottery, and other places. When Lee Kum Hong became the third Kwan Jang, the Kang Duk Won moved to In Sa Dong and settled there.