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.
Yun Mu Kwan
Yun Mu Kwan (연무관, the 'Hall or Institute for Martial Study') is the name of a now all but forgotten Korean karate (Kong Soo Do) style, one of the original five styles or "kwans" that arose in Korea after World War II in emulation of the karate systems practiced in Japan and Okinawa. It was begun by Korean karateka Chun Sang Sup, after his return from Japan, where it is generally thought that he studied Shotokan karate under the direct or indirect tutelage of that system's founder, Gichin Funakoshi, an Okinawan educator who first brought karate to Japan from the Ryukyu Islands (annexed by Japan in the nineteenth century). Chun taught at the Yun Mu Kwan for only a few years before disappearing during the dislocations of the Korean War which began in 1950. Many of his former students eventually began training again at a different location under different teachers and under a new name: Jidokwan (meaning the 'Hall or Institute for Wisdom's Way'). The Jidokwan was subsequently rolled up, along with most of the other Korean "kwans" into the newly systematized Korean national combat sport of "Taekwondo" (meaning "Foot Fist Way") in the mid 1950s. This new, unified Korean martial art emphasized different training and fighting methods than did the older Japanese karate styles from which it was derived, including stressing higher, fancier kicking and more acrobatic movements. Unlike the other kwans, however, the "Yun Mu Kwan" name disappeared very early in the history of Korean karate and so was never formally consolidated into the new Korean national sport of taekwondo—although some practitioners of Korean karate today still make use of the name. Most, but not all, have adopted the techniques, training methods and competitive rules which characterize modern taekwondo.