History of Taekwondo
Timeline
| Period | What Happened |
|---|---|
| 1940s | After Japanese occupation ends, Korean martial artists establish independent schools (kwans). Influenced by karate, Chinese martial arts, and indigenous Korean fighting traditions. |
| 1955 | General Choi Hong Hi proposes the name “Taekwondo” to unify the various Korean martial arts schools. |
| 1966 | International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) founded by General Choi. |
| 1973 | World Taekwondo (WT, formerly WTF) founded in Seoul. Kukkiwon established as the world headquarters. |
| 1988 | Taekwondo demonstrated at the Seoul Olympics. |
| 2000 | Full Olympic sport in Sydney. Electronic scoring introduced in later years. |
| Today | Over 80 million practitioners in 210+ countries. One of the most practiced martial arts in the world. |
Two main organizations: WT (World Taekwondo / Kukkiwon) governs Olympic-style Taekwondo. ITF maintains a different rule set with more hand techniques and different forms. Most schools in the U.S. follow WT/Kukkiwon standards.