Revised version february 2026

The Korean General Choi Hong-Hi is generally regarded as the founder of Taekwon-do. He is often honured with a photo in the Dojang, during training and tournaments.
In my opinion, that honour is questionable for the following reasons.

In the beginning of Taekwon-do, (around 1950) Choi Hong-Hi was the leading figure of the newly established Taekwon-do organization the ITF. He had a ‘right hand’ Nam Tae-Hi and 12 talented young Taekwondo practitioners around him who formed as a demonstration team to promote ITF style Taekwon-do.

Regarding his personal martial arts development, as Choi writes, there are significant doubts:
– Receiving instruction from a teacher in a Japanese prison camp is highly unlikely, as the camp authorities would never have allowed that.
– Having had personal lessons from the founder of Karate, Funakoshi, is questionable, as it is known that he kept very precise records of who studied with him. Choi’s name does not appear here.
– Of the Dan ranks that Choi has acquired, it is known that at least the fourth and sixth Dan have been ‘Honorary’, which means that no exam needs to be taken for them and thus there are no technical requirements.

The qualities of Choi should, in my view, primarily be seen as organizational and promotional aspects. With that, he made Taekwon-do great, which is certainly his merit. Over time, substantive and organizational changes have occurred, which have alienated many practitioners and his early supporters. Nevertheless, enough leading figures remained, and the ITF grew into a true world federation it is today.

Taekwon-do originated in South Korea at a time when there was already a divide between the strictly communist North and the liberal South. It is noted that at one point there was a conflict between the South Korean government and Choi Hong-Hi, which led him to flee to Canada. The reason for this conflict has never become clear, but observing the course of Choi’s life (he ultimately emigrated to North Korea) one can only conclude that this was the essence of the conflict. Choi’s sympathy towards North Korea drove him out of South Korea.
Taekwon-do has thus been split in two.

I personally never met Choi, but there are many videos available on the internet showing him teaching, and his own example is actually very poor. You never see him teaching in a Dobok. His stances and techniques are extremely poor, and you never see him performing any patterns, kicking, or hand techniques. Actually, it is mainly his stories and legacy that carry weight. I personally believe Choi is not technically worthy of that status.

What bothers me most is that Choi moved to North Korea and openly supported the regime there. This regime can only be seen as extremely oppressive to its people and a danger to freedom and world peace.

By venerating Choi, you legitimize North Korea, which in my opinion is a mistake. Calling out ‘Juche’ after the 15th Tul is legitimizing that oppressive regime.
(Actually, the 15th Tul Juche is the official state ideology.)

I suggest changing the name of the 15th Tul (JucheTul) to something else for example ‘Goryeo’, which is the name of the original Korea as a state.