Chapter 11: Taekwondo development
1946: Ji Do Kwan
Founded by Chun Sang Sup, on May 3, 1946, as the Choson Yun Moo Kwan Kong Soo Do Bu.
When Chun was a teenager, he learned Judo and karate while studying abroad in Japan. After WWII, he opened the Choson Yun Moo Kwan Kong Soo Do Bu at the former Judo school, Choson Yun Moo Kwan, in Seoul where he taught Judo and karate and he began to recruit new members. He had a slender figure and looked ordinary, but was an intellect and always wore suits.
The Choson Yun Moo Kwan was in Seoul, but the major development and structural growth was spread from Chun Ju, Cholla Buk Do as a center. Chun opened another school in Kunsan, Cholla Buk Do in May 1947, and spread his school's reputation from Jun Joo to Kunsan, I Ri, Nam Won, Jung Uep and further. However, during the Korean War Chun was kidnapped to North Korea, the Choson Yun Moo Kwan Kong Soo Do Bu was abolished, and it was renamed Ji Do Kwan (Wisdom Way School).
The Ji Do Kwan was opened and operated by Yoon Kwe Byung and Lee Chong Woo until 1967. However, during the process of unification with the Korea Taesoodo Association, Yoon and Lee had conflicts. With Lee Chong Woo (Ji Do Kwan) as the leader, Lee Nam Suk (Chang Moo Kwan), Uhm Woon Kyu (Chung Do Kwan), Hyun Jong Myun (Chung Do Kwan/Oh Do Kwan), and others planned to unify, but Yoon Kwe Byung and Hwang Kee (Moo Duk Kwan) declined. Some Ji Do Kwan graduates were Bae Young Ki, Lee Chong Woo, Kim Bok Nam, Park Hyun Jung, Lee Soo Jin, (ung Jin Young, Lee Kyo Yoon, Lee Byung Ro, Hong Chang Jin, and Park Young Kuen. When taekwondo tournaments became active from the beginning of the 1960's to the 1970's, the Ji Do Kwan distinguished itself due to its kyorugi (sparring). Some major representatives were Lee Seung Wan, Cho Jum Sun, Hwang Dae Jin, and Choi Young Ryul. Ji Do Kwan's representing annex was the Han Moo Kwan, but Lee Kyo Yoon said the Han Moo Kwan root is not Ji Do Kwan, but rather the Choson Yun Moo Kwan. This shows the debate of the origins of the school. Ji Do Kwan's first Kwan Jang was Chun Sang Sup, the second was Yoon Kwe Byung, and the third was Lee Chong Woo.