Modern history of East Asian martial arts
Taekwondo was developed from karate for use in the Republic of Korea Armed Forces from 1954. For this purpose, karate terminology needed to be "nationalized". The name "taekwondo" is due to shotokan practitioner and army general Choi Hong Hi. After the Korean War, Taekwondo was further developed into a purely sportive discipline, since 1973 overseen by the World Taekwondo Federation. 
During 1964-1966, Choi Hong Hi continued to promote taekwondo, working to put together a world-class exhibition team. Taekwondo's emphasis on jumping and flying kicks dates to this period. While taekwondo was based off karate, the structural changes made in the 1950s and 1960s were significant, and it cannot now be considered a branch of karate, but is a standalone modern martial art. Taekwondo was presented at the Summer Olympics as a demonstration sport in 1988 and 1992, and became an official Olympic discipline in 2000.
Kyongwon Ahn
Ahn was born in 1937 in Seoul, Korea, and began training in the martial arts began when he was 12 years old. He served an internship with his instructor, Chang Bok Lee, as the Master Instructor for the South Korean and American armies from 1955 to 1967. In 1962, Ahn achieved his Juris Doctorate (Civil Law) from Kangwon University. In August 1967, he emigrated to the US and began teaching tang soo do at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio. He has also held teaching and advisory positions at the Miami University (in Ohio) and Xavier University. Ahn founded the International Martial Arts Federation, now the United Taekwondo Association in 1971 in an effort to standardize taekwondo teaching methods.