Report on the Conference for the 100th Anniversary of Choi Hong Hi: Taekwon-Do and Life; How to View Choi Hong Hi

Abstract

<p>General Choi Hong Hi has long been a controversial figure in the Republic of Korea (ROK; South Korea) despite his extreme influence on Taekwondo. The “Conference for the 100<sup>th</sup> Anniversary of Choi Hong Hi: Taekwon-Do and Life; How to View Choi Hong Hi” was held on November 28, 2018 at the Korea National Sport University. This report on that conference intends to disseminate the speakers’ findings to a wider audience and establish new directions for academic discussions on International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) Taekwon-Do. This conference also illuminated some problems with Taekwondo literature; namely that ITF literature is greatly overshadowed by research on its Olympic counterpart. Additionally, it seems that the only ROK Taekwondo governing body interested in reestablishing General Choi’s legacy is the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation. Nevertheless, even though he was a taboo topic in the ROK a decade ago, the political climate in the ROK has changed and General Choi’s legacy is re-emerging slowly.</p>

Furthering taekwondo as an academic discipline: A report on Youngsan University’s 1st International Academic Taekwondo Conference

“…In this sense, Youngsan University's openness to invite these speakers indicated a willingness of cooperation and dialogue with ITF academics. As additional proof of this openness, none of the questions from the audience were hostile toward the ITF speakers, as it has often been the case at other such forums (Johnson & Lewis, 2018).…”

“…Most significantly, the conference represented a truly international academic event comparable to larger events, such as symposiums held by the IATR (International Association for Taekwondo Research; see, Lewis, 2017) or iACT (International Academic Conference for Taekwondo; see Johnson, 2019a). In contrast, other so-called international taekwondo academic conferences held recently in the ROK were not held in the lingua franca and featured only Korean scholars (see Johnson & Lewis, 2018), which limited their audiences and dissemination of findings.…”

“…As the question posed to Capener exemplified, there is still a rift in understanding taekwondo's history amongst many Korean and non-Korean academics: many Koreans still hold nationalistic views that deny the influence of Japanese Karate on their national sport and martial art (Moenig, 2013;2015a). Moreover, there has been a reluctance to acknowledge the contributions of the ITF to the worldwide popularity of taekwondo (Johnson & Lewis, 2018;Johnson, 2019b). Therefore, the decision to invite speakers who have advocated these controversial positions and give them a platform in front of a Korean academic audience was a significant step forward in providing an all-inclusive view of taekwondo in the ROK.…”

“…Longstanding academic conferences on martial arts in general have often concentrated on the Japanese and Chinese martial arts (e.g., Bugala, 2016;Cynarski & Kubala, 2013;Cynarski & Niziol, 2015;Vertonghen, 2012), and the Korean martial arts have been somewhat neglected in this process. However, in recent years, a niche area of this research has focused on taekwondo, the Korean martial art turned Olympic combat sport (see Johnson & Lewis, 2018;Johnson, 2019a). Taekwondo academic conferences are often supported financially by the World Taekwondo (WT; the governing body of Olympic Taekwondo) or, as in the case of Youngsan University's conference, by institutions of higher education (Johnson, 2019a).…”