Taekwondo is one of the most popular combat sports in the world and a deadly Korean martial art. It has a long and varied history, with origins dating back to Korea’s Three Kingdoms Period
(57 BCE – 668 CE), even though, as an art form in its own right, taekwondo's history dates only to the 1950s.The Three Kingdoms Period
The Three Kingdoms Period derives its name from the fact
that there were three powerful, separate political entities on the Korean peninsula during this era: Paekje, Koguryo, and Silla (though dozens of smaller tribal states also existed independently during
this time). The Paekje (also spelt Baekje) Kingdom was located in the southwest of the country and was established in 18 BCE.
The Koguryo (also spelt Goguryeo) Kingdom was established in
37 BCE. It was the largest of the three kingdoms and was located in southern Manchuria and northern Korea. Silla was for a long time the smallest of the three kingdoms of Korea and was established on
the southeastern tip of the Korean peninsula in 57 BCE.
Murals from the Koguryo dynasty from around this time depict people sparring (though some believe the figures are dancing). Stone sculptures from Silla have also been found that may depict organised fighting skills, and in Paekje, written documents that depict fighting techniques and stances have been discovered. In the seventh century CE, the kingdom of Silla brought the Three Kingdoms Period to an end by conquering first Paekje in 660 CE and then Koguryo in 668 CE. The era was a turbulent one, marked by perpetual fighting over territory. As the smallest and weakest military, Silla leaders decided that drastic action was needed, so the twenty-fourth king of Silla, Chin Heung (r. 540–576), formed a group of warriors that would become known as the hwarang (flower knights).
The hwarang were drawn from the ruling elite as young boys and trained in various martial disciplines, including the use of the sword, spear and archery. They also studied hand-to-hand combat styles known as soo bahk and taekkyon which are seen as forerunners to modern taekwondo. In order to mould these warriors into the best fighters in the land, Chin realised that he needed them to think and act in the right way as well as have the physical attributes, so he instructed Won Kang, a Buddhist monk and scholar, to develop a code of conduct for the hwarang to adhere to. The five rules he devised were:
- Be loyal to your king
- Be obedient to your parents
- Have honour and faith among friends
- Have perseverance in battle
- Never to take a life without just cause
The Further Development of Martial Arts in Korea
With the fighting skills and code of ethics ingrained in them, the hwarang, collectively known as the hwarangdo (the way of the flower knights), were able to help Silla go from being the most vulnerable of the three kingdoms, to defeating the Paekje and Koguryo kingdoms and unifying Korea for the first time. Later, during the Koryo Dynasty (918 – 1392), hand-to-hand martial arts, particularly soo bahk, gained popularity, used both as a sport and for military training. Soo bahk and taekkyon tournaments were held at royal festivals, with the winners gaining positions at the royal court and being tasked with teaching Korean martial arts within the military.
Confucianism replaced Buddhism as the main religion in Korea during the Yi Dynasty (1392 – 1910) and brought with it the idea that the ruling elite should concern themselves with soft arts such as poetry and music. The hwarang lost much of their relevance after this, and ultimately there was a ban on various fighting disciplines for everyone except those in the military. Despite this, in 1790 King Chong Jo commissioned one of his generals, Lee Duk Mu, to write an illustrated book to preserve the techniques of Korean martial arts. The book was called the Muye Dobo Tongji (a page of which is depicted above), and consisted of forty pages that covered soo bahk and taekkyon, as well as giving instructions on the use of weapons.
By the twentieth century, the Korean military was in sharp decline, which allowed the Japanese to successfully invade and occupy the country, bringing the Yi Dynasty to an end in 1910. Martial arts training was outlawed in the country; however, some masters continued to practice and teach, passing down their knowledge in secret to preserve Korea's fighting arts.
Modern Taekwondo Development
When Korea regained its independence after the Second World War, traditional Korean culture saw a resurgence giving rise to several martial arts academies known as kwans, the main five of which were:
- Moo Duk Kwan
- Ji Do Kwan
- Chang Moo Kwan
- Chung Do Kwan
- Song Moo Kwan
Soon after however, the world of taekwondo was divided leading to the creation of the two major governing bodies of today, the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) and the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF). The ITF considers General Choi Hong Hi as the founder of modern taekwondo. As a child, he learned traditional Taekkyon, and as a young man, he travelled to Japan, where he learned karate. Choi would later blend the two martial arts and use his position as an officer in the Korean army to help spread his style. In 1961, Choi used his status as a General to require that members of the armed forces and police officers study taekwondo, further spreading the art through the ITF.
In the same year, the Korean Taekwondo Association (KTA) was formed by twelve masters, led by Nam Tae-hi, (pictured below with a group of Vietnamese students). He became known as the father of taekwondo in that country after becoming the first to take it overseas, when he demonstrated taekwondo there and in Taiwan in 1959. The KTA does not regard General Choi Hong Hi as the founder of taekwondo, instead holding that the sport is an amalgamation of Korea's long tradition of martial arts.
The World Taekwondo Federation was formed by the KTA in 1973 and endeavoured to spread the art worldwide, with particular emphasis on the sporting aspect of taekwondo. In the same year, the first World Taekwondo Championships were held in Seoul and have since been held biannually. The WTF took a major step forward in taekwondo history when it was demonstrated at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 and again in Barcelona four years later, before being accepted as a competitive event for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. After this, the sport's popularity grew considerably, and taekwondo is practised today by millions of people in over 190 countries.
Written by Andrew Griffiths – Last updated 04/06/2023. If you like
what you see, consider following the History of Fighting on social media.
Further Reading:
Always Two on One: The Three Kingdoms Era of Korean History. [Internet]. 2026. Marquette University. Available From: https://academic.mu.edu/meissnerd/3kingdom-korea.html [Accessed February 13, 2026].Husky Tae Kwon Do. [Internet]. 2026. Michigan Technological University. Available From: http://husky.students.mtu.edu/Ver2_0/tkdhist.html [Accessed February 13, 2026].
Taekwondo History. [Internet]. 2026. Sunbae.net. Available From: www.sunbae.net/about-more/korean-martial-arts/taekwondo-history [Accessed February 13, 2026].
Teekan, E. [Internet]. 2026. Three Kingdoms period. Britannica.com. Available From: www.britannica.com/topic/Three-Kingdoms-period [Accessed February 13, 2026].
Williams, J. [Internet]. 2023. A Brief History of Taekwondo. Global Martial Arts University. Available From: https://globalmartialarts.university/2023/08/17/a-brief-history-of-taekwondo [Accessed February 13, 2026].
The images on this site are believed to be in the public domain, however, if any mistakes have been made and your copyright or intellectual rights have been breeched, please contact andrew@articlesonhistory.com.
