Choi Jung-hwa

Last updated
Choi Jung-hwa
Born (1954-05-20) 20 May 1954 (age 69)
Jeju Island, South Korea
Other namesJames Choi [1]
Style Taekwondo
Teacher(s) Choi Hong-hi
Rank  9th dan, Grand Master, taekwondo (ITF)
Website Official site

Choi Jung-hwa (born 20 May 1954) is the only son of General Choi Hong-hi, who is regarded as the founder of Taekwondo. [2] [3]

Contents

Biography

Choi Jung-hwa studied Taekwon-Do since the age of 7 under his father and many prominent high ranking Taekwon-Do Masters during their visits and stays with General Choi. His claimed earliest recollections of training are around the time General Choi was appointed as Korea's Ambassador to Malaysia.

Choi spent his early childhood training on the lawn of the Embassy compound, as there were no dojangs established at that point. He grew up in an environment surrounded by Taekwon-Do due to General Choi's schedule and work in spreading Taekwon-Do globally. Choi Jung-hwa trained with many high-ranking instructors during this period.

International Taekwon-Do Federation

Choi held the post of Secretary General and Vice Secretary of the ITF for several years until elected as Choi Hong-hi's successor to the Presidency by the ITF members in 2001. He allegedly offered that General Choi should remain ITF President for the first 2 years of that term as to give him the opportunity to "retire with dignity" in 2003. General Choi Hong-hi died less than 12 months later.

Choi Jung-hwa was promoted to 9th Degree Black Belt in 2005 and to the rank of Grandmaster. Choi prefers the title of President or Master to Grandmaster.

He has been a regular visitor to Australia since the mid-1990s.

After his father's death he formed his own International Taekwondo Federation. [4] [5] Prior to forming his own Taekwondo organization he was a Vice Secretary of his father's ITF organization. [6]

Choi Jung-hwa still works extensively promoting Taekwon-Do around the world and is accredited with introducing and developing Taekwon-Do in many Eastern European countries such as Poland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Romania, the former USSR and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Under his leadership, the ITF historically returned to South Korea for its 2004 ITF World Championships. ITF has now commenced re-establishing itself in South Korea, Choi Jung-hwa's country of birth.

Emigration to Canada and conviction

In 1971 Choi Jung-hwa emigrated to Canada. [7] In 1983 Choi was convicted in Canada on charges that he conspired to assassinate the President of South Korea Chun Doo-Hwan. He was sentenced in Canada, and was barred from South Korea (this has since been rescinded). [8] [9] He was convicted in absentia, and travelled as a Taekwon-Do instructor in the then Eastern Bloc nations; mainly Yugoslavia and in the DPRK as well. It was not until several years later that he returned to Canada to finish his prison term. [10] [11] [12]

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George Vitale is a Taekwon-Do Grand Master and was assigned to the New York State Police security detail in New York City for both New York State Governors George Pataki and Governor Mario Cuomo. He later rose to head a Unit of Troopers in the NYC Executive Chambers of the Governor. He was inducted into the official Tae Kwon Do Hall of Fame . He successfully navigated the politics of North Korea, South Korea, and the United States, to bring the historic first group of North Koreans to tour the United States, in an exhibition of the original Taekwon-Do by members of the ITF from the North Korean Taekwon-Do Committee. The efforts he continued emanate from the work of General CHOI Hong-Hi, the acknowledged principal founder by the Encyclopædia Britannica, of the first style or system to be called Taekwon-Do. This work continues under the careful attention of Grandmaster JUNG Woo-Jin, the last of only 7 people to be promoted to the terminal 9th degree in Taekwon-Do by the ITF under General CHOI. The latest results can be seen from the success of the 2018 Winter Olympics, called The Peace Olympics by His Excellency MOON Jae-In of the Republic of Korea. The efforts continue under the ITF and WT, with a Taekwondo Team from South Korea visiting Pyongyang in April 2018, along with a large musical group. The Taekwon-Do Diplomacy of General CHOI, continues to be at the forefront of long time efforts of reconciliation of the Koreas, with a hope to an eventual peaceful reunification, as indicated by the ITF highest or final Pattern, (Tul), created by General CHOI which he named TONG-IL, which is interpreted as reunification. He came to national attention as a New York State Trooper during the World Trade Center attacks on 9-11. In 2009, he was Inducted into the Official Taekwondo Hall of Fame. Grand Master George Vitale earned his academic Doctorate Degree in Physical Education/Sports Science in Taekwon-do Studies, with the focus on History, in 2011 in North Korea, becoming the first and only American to receive a PhD and achieve this distinction.

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References

  1. ↑ "Two Canadians were ordered held for a week today..." Upi.com. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  2. ↑ "TORO Magazine June-July 2003 - 0100". Virtual Paper. Archived from the original on 2014-12-22. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
  3. ↑ "North Korea used taekwondo group to plot murder: report". Reuters. 9 September 2008. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  4. ↑ "TAEKWON-DO : A BROKEN FAMILY?" (PDF). Members.itkd.co.nz. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  5. ↑ "Blown apart: the divided world of taekwondo". 22 September 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  6. ↑ "Longtime pro-Pyongyang taekwondo master returns". Korea JoongAng Daily . Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  7. ↑ "Man who plotted to kill South Korea's president in Canada returns home". Winnipegfreepress.com. 8 September 2008. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  8. ↑ Peter, Ward (February 28, 1982). "A KOREAN PLOT?". Boston Globe .
  9. ↑ "Would-be assassin returns to S. Korea". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  10. ↑ "Taekwondo master returns home to South Korea - USATODAY.com". usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  11. ↑ "General Chun Doo-hwan took power in a coup". Korea Times. 23 May 2010. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
  12. ↑ "N Korea 'hired taekwondo killers'". BBC. 9 September 2008. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
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