Chapter 11: Taekwondo Development

In 1946-1947, Choi Hong Hi, now a first lieutenant in the Korean Army's Second Infantry Regiment, taught martial arts to both Koreans and Americans stationed at Tae-jon. He continued to rise rapidly through the military ranks, and, in 1948, Major Choi Hong Hi became the martial arts instructor for the American Military Police School in Seoul. In late 1948, Choi was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and, in 1949, to full colonel. Also in 1949, he visited the Fort Riley Ground General School in Kansas, where he gave a public demonstration of Korean karate.

With the beginning of the Korean War, when North Korea attacked across the 38th parallel into South Korea, interest in Korean martial arts increased.