Historical Perspective

Development

In 1959, the heads of the major kwans were persuaded to unify under one organization called the Korea Tae Kwon Do or Tae Soo Do (depending on your point of view) Association (KTA), formed to oversee the development of the newly named art. The KTA became responsible for standardising the requirements for black belt testing, and for carrying out the tests and awarding belts. This caused friction with some of the kwans, who felt testing and promotions belonged to the kwan, as well as it being an important source of revenue.

It is often alleged that General Choi used his position in the military, and especially his relationships with General Lee Hyung-Keun, Commander in Chief of the Army, and Seong Man-Rhee, president of South Korea (until forced to resign on April 19th 1960 following a student-led uprising), to push through his vision of Tae Kwon Do. Given the apparent inability of the various kwans to agree amongst themselves, it would seem fair to think that, without this pressure, the kwans may never have united under a single banner at all, and Tae Kwon Do would never have existed as we know it today.

Dissent among the kwans that did not unify carried for six years. On May 16th 1961, the Second Republic under the leadership of Chang Myon was overthrown by a military coup led by General Park Chung-Hee, and on September 14, by official decree of the new military government (known as the Kwan Unity Act), the kwans were ordered to put themselves under the jurisdiction of the KTA. Those that did not submit, notably the Moo Duk Kwan of Hwang Kee, often found life outside the KTA was made difficult by the authorities; nonetheless, some have remained independent and flourish to this day.

In the late 1940s, following an unsuccessful insurrection against the Korean government, General Park had received a death sentence, later rescinded, from a military court martial panel that had included General Choi. After General Park's appointment as president, General Choi was forced to retire from the army and in 1962 was sent to Malaysia as ambassador. In his absence, the heads of the kwans decided to change the official name to Tae Soo Do. It was as the Korean Tae Soo Do Association that the art was finally recognised by the Korean Sports Union, the governing body for sports within Korea. It remained this way until 1965, when General Choi returned to Korea. He promptly got himself elected as president of the Korea Tae Soo Do Association, and arranged for the name to change back to Tae Kwon Do. In the same year he published Taekwon-Do: Korean Art of Self-Defence, the first Tae Kwon Do manual in English.

According to many reports, General Choi's manner was authoritarian and bullying, and caused friction between himself and many of the other kwan heads, particularly in his insistence that the art be called Tae Kwon Do rather than Tae Soo Do. His behaviour caused As a compromise, in 1966, General Choi was persuaded to resign from the KTA and found the International Tae Kwon Do Federation (ITF) in order to spread the art worldwide; thus on March 22 1966 the ITF came into being, initially incorporating 9 countries - South Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, West Germany, Turkey, Italy, Egypt, and the USA.

Over the next few years, the political climate in Korea worsened, causing General Choi to believe he was at risk of arrest due to his opposition of President Park's increasingly politically restrictive regime. General Choi firmly believed that Tae Kwon Do belonged to all mankind, and should remain free of any political leanings or interference. Following Park's election to his second term as president, the KTA began increasingly meddling in the affairs of the ITF, so in 1972 General Choi left the country to re-establish the headquarters of the ITF in Toronto, Canada. He remained firm in his resolve that Tae Kwon Do should be independent, even though the Korean authorities applied increasing pressure to return. Eventually, General Choi's desire to spread Tae Kwon Do to the world led to a second relocation. In order to facilitate access to the countries of Eastern Europe and the USSR, the Fifth ITF Congress meeting of December 1984 unanimously voted to relocate to Vienna, Austria, and in 1985, the ITF headquarters were moved. Also in this year, General Choi completed and published the Encyclopedia of Taekwondo, a 15-volume manual comprehensively documenting Tae Kwon Do.

While the KTA continued to be the national governing body for Korean Tae Kwon Do, the Korean government set up a rival international body in 1973, calling it the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF), based at Kukkiwon in South Korea. Since that time, Tae Kwon Do has been divided, and the systems have developed along different lines, so while the basic techniques remain similar, the names for those techniques, and patterns practised differ between the two styles. The main difference, however, is in the focus employed: ITF adheres to the original principles of General Choi's vision, as a true martial art with an all-round physical, mental and moral system underlying it. WTF-style has developed more along sport lines, resulting in its inclusion as a sport in the Olympic games. In 1980, WTF Taekwondo was recognised by the International Olympic Committee and became a demonstration sport at the Seoul Olympics in 1988. In the year 2000 WTF Taekwondo made its debut as a full Olympic sport at the Australian games.

Schism

Sadly, and perhaps inevitably, eventually cracks began to appear within the ITF organisation. The first sign of this was allegations being made that that Vienna faction was being controlled, at least indirectly, by North Korea or its agents within the ITF headquarters. While this may or may not be true, it is certain that the majority of key positions at the ITF were filled with North Koreans; this was explained as General Choi wanting to surround himself with his countrymen, seemingly a fair enough request for one exiled for so long from his homeland. Others, however, accused the North Korean contingent of exercising undue influence over the General, who at this time was beginning to suffer the effects of the illness that would eventually take his life.

At the 13TH ITF World Congress in Rimini, Italy, in July 2001, General Choi was elected to serve the first 2 years of a 6 year term, with his son, Master Choi Jung Hwa, elected to serve the remaining 4 years of this term. Allegedley, after this Master Choi informed the North Koreans that, while he would welcome them as members and an NGB, he would not have them interfering in internal ITF matters. However, Master Choi's supporters were subsequently accused of being disruptive and making proper administration of the ITF near impossible. Thus, a 'Special Congress' was held in Vienna on 12th January 2002, where it was decided to amend the Rimini result to the effect that General Choi would serve the entire 6 year term. The official reason given for this was that, as merger talks were imminent between the ITF and WTF, it would be better for General Choi to continue for the full 6-year term. However, an enquiry made to the WTF elicited the response that no approaches had been made to this effect.

In response, Master Choi's faction claimed that the January Special Congress was an illegal attempt to overturn the legitimate decision of the Rimini meeting, an opinion apparently shared by the ITF's own (and now ex-) legal adviser, Master Michael Tibollo (see Further Reading, link for 'The Breakup Begins ....') and several others. On 26 February 2002, Choi Jung Hwa was informed that he had been expelled from the ITF; this lead to an immediate split, with both General Choi (based in Austria) and Master Choi (based in Canada) claiming to be the legitimate head of the ITF. Subsequently, a number of other ITF members either left or were expelled by the Vienna faction, presumably for siding with Master Choi.

Further shenanigans ensued following General Choi's death in 2002. Initially, it was reported that General Choi's dying wish was that Mr Chang Ung, a North Korean government official, IOC Member and basketball coach, and also head of the North Korean TKD Federation although with no graded rank in TKD, would become succeed him as President of the ITF. This was seemingly confirmed at a special meeting in Pyongyang on September 20, 2002. Mr Chang then proceeded to take control of the ITF headquarters in Vienna, and to fill the top positions with North Korean Compatriots.

However, shortly after it emerged that the Pyongyang meeting had no legal standing. Furthermore, some delegates at this meeting, which was conducted in Korean and translated into the language of the delegate, believed afterwards that they had been tricked into giving Chang Ung their support, or that they had been told a vote had been taken when in fact none had taken place (and would, in any case, have been invalid). Others stated that the written version of the General's last words differed from that which they had been told at the time by their translators.

In any case, this method of appointing a president would not be in accordance with the ITF constitution, which demanded that a president be elected at a formal meeting of ITF members. According to this thinking, Vice-president Russell McLennan continued as president until the 14th ITF Congress Meeting, held in Warsaw, Poland on June 13, 2003, when elections were held in accordance with the Constitution of the ITF, and Master Trân Triêu Quân from Canada was unanimously elected President.

General Choi's actual words on the matter, although translated into English, were: "I have always worried about a successor to the president. However, my mind is set at ease for there is Mr. Chang Ung.". This caused a difference of opinion over the interpretation of General Choi's last words. Some believed he intended Chang Ung to take over immediately, in direct succession; whereas others believed that General Choi had intended for Chang Ung to present himself at congress and be elected to the post with the General's blessing, but in accordance with the ITF constitution. This situation promptly (further) split the organisation between those who believed that General Choi's last wishes should be followed as stated, and those who believed the rule of law, embodied in the ITF constitution, should take precedent - even pointing out that they had no objections to Chang Ung taking over the as president, as long as he was voted in correctly. This led to two groups based in Vienna claiming to be the 'real' ITF, the former, headed by Chang Ung (hereinafter known as ITF-NK) and the latter by Russell McLennan (ITF-V). Together with the group in Canada led by Master Choi (ITF-C) the stage was set for the fragmentation of the ITF:

• ITF-C claims legitimacy because Master Choi was elected at the 2001 Rimini Congress - the last unified congress before the death of General Choi. General Choi later attempted to overturn that result, although the attempt allegedly failed to meet the requirements of the ITF Constitution. However, Master Choi was expelled from the ITF (legitimately or not) and formed a second group, with himself as President, prior to his duly elected term, while General Choi was still alive and holding the office of President, which would appear to invalidate this group somewhat.
• ITF-NK claims legitimacy as the chosen successors of General Choi, which was later affirmed at their own World Congress in Greece during the 2003 World Championships, and subsequent Austrian Court proceedings; however these have since been overturned, and so the legal status remains dubious. In addition, the NK group is in discussion with the WTF regarding a merger, and it has been rumoured that they intend to apply for full membership; if this happens, it remains to be seen whether this leads to an equal partnership or whether ITF-NK will be subsumed into the WTF as a Mewmber National Association (MNA), as seems to be the expectation; this latter situation will certainly not satisfy the majority of ITF practitioners worldwide. Of the three, the basis for this group's claim seems the weakest, but they have some high-profile supporters.
• ITF-V claims legitimacy through the ITF constitution, which would invalidate the claims of the ITF-NK. Their status has subsequently been upheld by an Austrian court ruling (1). They have substantial support worldwide, the backing of law courts, and would seem to be heading in the right direction to continue General Choi's legacy. Now all they need to do is convince members of the other organisations of this...

1. http://www.tkd-itf.org/pub_web/ver_eng/PMTTQ122005.html

The Current Situation

Currently, then, there are three organisations claiming to be the head body for ITF Tae Kwon Do: One in Canada, under General Choi's son Master Choi Jung-hwa (known as ITF-C), and two based in Vienna, Austria (known as ITF-V, currently led by Master Trân Triêu Quân, and ITF-NK led by the North Korean faction under Mr. Chang).

A further mess occurs when you consider the NGBs. In the UK, the United Kingdon Tae Kwon-Do Association (UKTA) under Grandmaster Rhee affiliates itself to ITF-NK, whereas other national bodies, such as ITF-England (and ITF-Scotland & ITF-Wales) align themselves with ITF-V, as do the Irish National TKD Association. As if that wasn't bad enough, the largest (by members) TKD body in the UK is the TAGB, who are an independent organisation affiliated with none of the three ITFs but have set up their own international organisation, TKDI. Ironically, the TAGB split from the ITF as a consequence, amongst other things, of the political divisions; subsequently, other groups have split from the TAGB for very similar reasons.
The continental governing body for Europe, the All Europe Taekwon-do Federation (AETF) was founded in June 1979 in Oslo, Norway and currently has its headquarters in Lublin, Poland; since the split it has linked itself to ITF-C under Master Choi. More recently, however, a second organisation has appeared, also calling itself the All Europe Taekwon-do Federation but based in Zagreb, Croatia and having a completely different board of directors, and claiming allegience to Mr. Chang's ITF-NK (AETF/ITF-NK). Some, such as the United States TKD Federation (USTF) under GM Sereff have split entirely from the ITF, and now reside as completely independent entities, whilst continuing to honour the memory of General Choi by teaching TKD as he developed and promoted it; whi8le other bodies claiming to be 'the' governing body for TKD in the USA exist, with different political allegiences. This pattern is repeated around the world.

In addition, there are numerous other international (or at least allegedley so) organisations (e.g. GTF, GTK, ICTF, ITA, TKI, UITF & UTI) and numerous smaller national or local groups who practise ITF (or Ch'ang Hon, or similar) style TKD but have dissociated themselves from the ITF as a reaction to the political manoeuvring therein. Sometimes it's enough to make you cry.

More recently, Mr Chang has become embroiled over allegations made by Dr. Kim Un Yong, formerly head of the WTF. Dr Kim resigned from the WTF, and from his post as South Korean representative to and a vice-president of the International Olympic Committee, shortly before being arrested and convicted on charges of embezzling funds estimated at more than $3 million donated to the WTF and other organisations he headed, and accepting $700,000 in bribes (1). Dr. Kim alleges that he paid Mr Chang sums of money to promote sporting links between the two Koreas; Mr Chang's opponents allege that the money was paid to Mr Chang to use his position as ITF president to push through a merger between WTF and ITF, with the WTF taking the leading role in the new organisation.

Whatever the truth of this situation, it is a salutary reminder of why General Choi spent his life promoting Tae Kwon Do as "an international, non-governmental, non-political, non-profit organization of unlimited duration, which does not recognize differences of race, religion, sex or politics." It can only be hoped that this position be strengthened as an outcome.

(In an interesting development, Dr. Kim's successor as head of WTF, Koo Chun-seo, was himself arrested in December 2003 on charges of rigging his election in February 2002, and bribing fellow officials (2). Prosecutors have indicted Mr Koo, accusing him of using 300 "gangsters and taekwondo experts" to stop rivals attending the vote. Mr Koo was unanimously elected chairman of the martial arts association by the 17 delegates who were able to attend. He was also accused of paying over $20,000 to two association officials ahead of the vote. Mr Koo was arrested and charged along with Lee Seng-wan, an adviser to the association, who was once in prison for organising the disruption of an opposition political rally in 1987.)

As a final note for now, on September 20th 2006 in Lausanne, Switzerland at the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), a meeting took place between representatives of the IOC, the WTF and ITF-NK to agree on establishing a committee to integrate the two TKDs. December 2nd 2006 saw a mutual agreement to this effect signed in Doha, Qatar, between Chang Un (ITF-NK) and Chungwon Choue (WTF). No word as yet whether the other two ITF groups have an opinion on this, but if anything it is just the beginning of a long and drawn-out process, so don't hold your breath!

1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3381737.stm
2. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3293927.stm
3. http://www.bta-taekwondo.com/pdf/tkdka3.pdf

Legal Standing

The ITF-V has taken legal action to recover its headquarters building from the North Koreans and to recover a large sum of money that had been removed from its bank account. An Austrian court judgment (June 6th, 2003) states that Mr. Chang has no legal status in the ITF and that he and his supporters have no right to present themselves as representatives of the ITF. An Austrian Register of Association on 16 December 2003 asserts that MasterTrân is the correct holder of the ITF registration. However, in 2004, Mr Chang obtained a court ruling reversing this registration. A subsequent judgement on 27 October 2005 confirmed that Master Trân, and not Mr Chang, is the legitimate President of the ITF (although Master Choi's status does not appear to form part of this consideration). Mr. Chang's group subsequently filed an objection to this judgment, but that objection has been rejected by the court. Throughout this, Mr Chang has continued to assert his claim that he is the legitimate president of the ITF. The ITF-V viewpoint is outlined in a January 2006 Address by the President. Subsequently, the ITF-V wrote a letter to Jaques Rogge, then president of the International Olympic Committee outlining the judgement, and reccommending that he place Mr. Chang under investigation for ".. his illegal and unethical actions".

In addition, the ITF-V has had some success protecting it's claim to the "(ITF) International Taekwon-Do Federation" as a registered trademark:

• On December 5th 2006 in an Ottawan court, a judge ordered that the trademark registrations to the ITF trademarks held by Choi Jung-hwa were invalid and should be struck from the register (1) & (2). Having said that, as Master Choi points out (3), this ruling doesn't mean that ITF-C can't use the marks, or that ITF-V owns them per se, merely that they are not the exclusive trademarks of ITF-C in Canada, who are using them on behalf of the ITF.
• Similarly, on 22nd August 2006 the ITF-V announced that the Paraguayan Ministry of Industry and Commerce had struck out the registration entry previously obtained by Mr Chang, and had instead issued the ITF trade mark to Master Javier Dacak, President of both the Paraguayan ITF (FETREP) and the Panamerican Continental Taekwon-Do Federation. In this case, ownership of the trademarks has been awarded to the representative of the ITF-V.

Note that these rulings do not affect the legitimacy or otherwise of any group, merely the ownership of the registered trademarks to ITF in that country, however it could be taken as an indication of which way the situation is going. Watch this space for more legal fun and games...

1. http://decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca/en/2006/2006fc1459/2006fc1459.html
2. http://cas-ncr-nter03.cas-satj.gc.ca/IndexingQueries/infp_RE_info_e.php?court_no=T-2108-02
3. http://www.itf-administration.com/articles.asp?arturn=868

Tae Kwon Do in the UK

Tae Kwon Do was introduced into the United Kingdom by the then Master Rhee Ki Ha (V Dan) in 1967. A number of RAF Servicemen, who had trained under Master Rhee whilst stationed at RAF Changee in Singapore, expressed their desire to continue their Tae Kwon Do training on their return to Britain, and so they invited Master Rhee to come and teach them in the UK. The classes proved to be very popular, and eventually grew into the United Kingdom Tae Kwon Do Association (UKTA).

Grandmaster Rhee has, for many years, been a pioneer in the field of Tae Kwon Do, and is considered by many to be one of the best practitioners of Tae Kwon Do of all time. In 1964 he was the first person to leave Korea with the official description of 'TaeKwon-Do Instructor' as the occupation in his passport. On July 1st 1997, 30 years after introducing Tae Kwon Do to the United Kingdom, Master Rhee was promoted to Grandmaster IX Degree by General Choi himself, the first TaeKwon-Do practitioner to receive this honour, and one of only three to be promoted personally by General Choi, the other two being Grandmasters Hwang Kwang Sung & Chuck Sereff (both promoted December 8th 1997).

Grandmaster Rhee links:

• Grand Master Rhee page on United Kingdon TaeKwon-Do Association
• Grandmaster Rhee Biography on TKD-NL

Further References

The following links are a series of articles on the Alberta Taekwondo Community Message Board posted by Master Norm Moreland, consisting of letters and other communications passed around since the ITF began to fall apart:

1. Chronology of the Current ITF Situation
2. The Breakup Begins ....
3. The Breakup Continues ....
4. The General Dies
5. Yet Another Split??
6. The Fatal Blow ...
7. Merger? What merger?
8. It continues ....

The following links to a letter from Master Leong Wai Meng to the ITF regarding the events in Pyongyang at which Mr Chang was (allegedley) made president of the ITF: http://www.tkd-itf.org/pub_web/pdf/Appendix2UpdateLegal.pdf

Some other views on the History of TKD:

1. A History of Taekwondo
2. A History of Modern Taekwondo