Jong Soo Park

Park Jong Soo (born 1941) is a South Korean master of taekwondo and one of the twelve original masters of taekwondo of the Korea Taekwon-Do Association.[1][2][3] He holds the rank of 9th dan.[4][5] Following a career in the South Korean military, he emigrated to Canada in 1968.

In this Korean name, the family name is Park.
Park Jong Soo
Born1941 (age 79–80)
Chung-Nam, Korea
ResidenceToronto, Canada
StyleTaekwondo
Teacher(s)Choi Hong Hi
Rank9th dan taekwondo (ITF)
Websitehttp://www.jongpark.com/

Early life

Park was born in Chung-Nam, Korea, in 1941, during the period of Japanese occupation.[4] He trained in taekwondo under Choi Hong Hi.[5] In 1965, he was invited to be the coach of the German Taekwon-Do Association, and moved from South Korea to West Germany.[4] Park was ranked 5th dan that year.[6] The following year, he moved to the Netherlands and founded the Netherlands Taekwon-Do Association.[4] Through the late 1960s and 1970s, Park was a key member of the taekwondo demonstration teams that accompanied Choi around the world.[7]

Canada

In 1968, Park settled in Toronto, Canada.[4] In 1973, he held the rank of 7th dan.[8] In 1974, Park and several other ITF masters demonstrated taekwondo in Toronto—then being promoted as "the new home of the ITF" by Choi.[9] Park and Choi went their separate ways after Choi insisted on establishing relations with North Korea during a politically sensitive period.[10] By 2002, however, they were reconciled, and Park was present at Choi's deathbed.[10]

In 2004, Park was President of the Canadian Taekwon-Do Association, and presented a seminar in Afghanistan.[11] In 2008, Park conducted a seminar in Beijing.[12] He currently heads taekwondo schools in Toronto.[13]

Park is listed as a pioneer in Canada (1950s, 1960s, and 1970s) in Chang Keun Choi's list of taekwondo pioneers.[14]

See also

References
  1. Choi, H. H. (1972): Taekwon-Do: The Korean art of self-defence. Mississauga: International Taekwon-Do Federation.
  2. Park, S. H. (1993): "About the author." In H. H. Choi: Taekwon-Do: The Korean art of self-defence, 3rd ed. (Vol. 1, pp. 241–274). Mississauga: International Taekwon-Do Federation.
  3. A tribute to the original masters Archived 2010-05-25 at the Wayback Machine (c. 2007). Retrieved on 13 June 2007; link has expired, as at 1 July 2011.
  4. Grand Master Jong Soo Park: Biography Archived 2009-04-11 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 22 February 2009.
  5. Pioneers of Taekwon-Do: Grand Master Park Jong Soo Archived 2010-02-13 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 13 January 2010.
  6. Taekwondo Homepage: Geschichte des Taekwondo (in German). Retrieved on 5 January 2010.
  7. Cox, S. (c. 2004): The history of Taekwon-Do and its founder Archived 2009-04-04 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 3 February 2010.
  8. International Taekwon-Do Association Slovenia: ITF history Archived 2011-08-31 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 3 February 2010.
  9. Anonymous (1974): "International Tae Kwon Do demo held in Canada." Black Belt, 12(12):13–14.
  10. Gillis, A. (2003): Tiny master Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine Toro, June–July 2003:100–107. Retrieved on 31 January 2010.
  11. All Afghanistan National Taekwon-Do Association: News (4 April 2004). Retrieved on 30 January 2010.
  12. China International Taekwon-Do Federation: Grand Master Park Jong Soo visited China Archived 2009-01-06 at the Wayback Machine (15 September 2008). Retrieved on 30 January 2010.
  13. Jong Soo Park Institute of Taekwon-Do: Location Archived 2009-03-25 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 4 March 2010.
  14. Choi, C. K. (2007): Tae Kwon Do Pioneers Archived 2008-03-12 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 15 March 2008.
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