There are many reasons why the history of Taekwon-Do is so cunfusing and has often been so distorted. First and foremost is the problem of having The same name of Taekwon-Do applied to different activities Is Taekwon-Do a martial art or a martial sport, both or somewhere in between? Was Taekwon-Do a developed in the Korean military for self defense or in the civilian arena to be a national sport, or some combination thereof? Am i confusing you even more yet? Do not worry, hang in there and read on. Hopefully it will get clearer if you remain open minded to what happened, when it happened and who made it happen. These are the easy aspects of Taekwon-Do’s history,and they are fairly straight forward. The why is often more complicated. However understanding the context of the times when it all took place should even help the understanding of the opinion based why.
We know from the study of history not connected to Taekwon-Do that Korea suffered under a long and brutal occupation by the colonial power of Imperial Japan. This period covered the start of the 20th Century and lasted till August 15, 1945, when Japan surrendered ending World War II. During this time span the Korean language was outlawed. Schools were forced to abandon Korean subjects, including history and were teaching Japanese in place, to attempt the further subjugation of the Korean people. Koreans were forced to take Japanese names. Korean makes were conscripted into the Japanese military compelled to fight for Japan. Korean females were turned into comfort woman (prostitutes) for the Japanese soilders. There was a far reaching attempt to eradicate Korean culture anid history with the goal of making Korean Japanese. In effect the proud and distinct sovereign people, culture and Nation of Korea were being absorbed into the expanding Japanese Empire.
