Sport in South Korea
Taekwondo, a popular martial sport is often claimed to have historical origins on the Korean peninsula with origins said to have been traced as far back as the 1st century BCE. However, such historical claims are difficult to empirically verify and separate from the influences of neighboring counties. The sport rose to prominence following the end of Japanese occupation with the end of WWII. Formalized rules were established in 1961 and in 1988 the sport became an Olympic event. The name "Taekwondo" literally means "way of foot and fist", although the modern emphasis lies on the kicks. This may be a way to help legitimize the sport's connection to the traditional practice called Taekkyeon, which originated in Korea during the Goguryeo period in the 4th century. Taekkyeon uses open hands and the feet, where as the use of clenched fists is not permitted. The motions are smoother and more curvilinear than in Taekwondo. Although both disciplines start with the sound "tae" in English, there is no relationship.
Shūdōkan
Of the nine schools, or Kwan's (Kan) that merged to form Taekwondo, four of those schools have lineages that trace back to Toyama Sensei through three Korean men who trained in Japan while Korea was under Japanese occupation. These three men were Kim Ki Whang, Dr. Yoon Kwey Byung and Yoon Byung In. Dr. Yoon and Yoon both trained with Toyama Sensei and are both listed in his student role books as ""Shihan"." Both these men taught a mixture of Toyama Sensei's methods along with the Chuan Fa they learned in Manchuria, before the Taekwondo unification movement. At that time, they founded Tang Soo Do or Kong Soo Do schools in Korea. The first Kwan (Kan) where they worked as teachers was the Yunmookwan (later: Jidokwan). Kim Ki Whang received his 3rd dan from Toyama Sensei and had moved to the United States in the early 1960s to teach Taekwondo. Later, the Chang Moo Kwan, Han Moo Kwan and Kang Duk Won branched off from the first Kwan. This is according to Han Moo Kwan founder Kyo Yoon Lee as written in his book Global Taekwondo 2009, and, A Modern History of Taekwondo, by Won Sik Kang and Kyong Myung Lee (1999).