The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad and officially branded as Seoul 1988, were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represented at the games by a total of 8,391 athletes. 237 events were held and 27,221 volunteers helped to prepare the Olympics.
Choi Kwang-jo is a former South Korean national champion in taekwondo, and is one of the twelve original masters of taekwondo of the Korea Taekwon-Do Association. Following a career in the South Korean military, he emigrated to the United States of America in 1970. Choi is the founder and head of the Choi Kwang Do international martial art organization, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Kukkiwon, also known as World Taekwondo Headquarters, and home of the World Taekwondo Academy, is where the official taekwondo governing organization was established by the South Korean government. It is supervised by the International Sports Division of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.
South Korea has traditional sports of its own, as well as sports from different cultures and countries.
Park Dong-keun, also known as D. K. Park, is a South Korean Grandmaster of taekwondo. He holds the title "Grandmaster," the rank of 9th dan in taekwondo, and was Korea's only undefeated taekwondo fighter in more than 200 International championship competition. Park introduced the martial art of taekwondo to Thailand in 1966, before settling in the United States of America, and was the taekwondo coach of both the US National Team and the US Olympic Team.
Lee Keun-ho is a South Korean former footballer who played as a forward. His pace, work-rate, and link-up plays mark him as a highly rated forward in Asia. South Korean international since 2007, he currently has 19 goals in 84 caps. He represented his country in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Rhee Jhoon-goo, commonly known as Jhoon Rhee, was a Korean-American taekwondo practitioner. He is widely recognized as the "father of American taekwondo" for introducing the Korean martial art to the United States when he immigrated in the 1950s. He was a 10th dan black belt and held the title of Grandmaster.
Rhee Ki Ha is a South Korean Grandmaster of Taekwon-Do. He is widely recognised as the 'Father of British Taekwon-Do' for introducing the martial art to the United Kingdom since arriving in 1967. He is also considered the 'Father of Irish Taekwon-Do', and is one of the twelve original masters of taekwondo of the Korea Taekwon-Do Association. Following a career in the South Korean military, GM Rhee emigrated to the UK in 1967. He was a notable officer of the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) during Choi Hong-hi's leadership.
Lauren Chantel Burns is an Australian taekwondo practitioner and Olympic champion. She won Australia's first Olympic gold medal in taekwondo at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, competing in the women's under 49 kg class. Burns holds the rank of 3rd dan black belt in taekwondo. Following her competitive taekwondo career, she has been involved in a range of activities, including motivational speaking and community work.
The original masters of taekwondo is a group of twelve South Korean martial art masters assembled by the Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA) in the early 1960s to promote the newly established art of taekwondo. In alphabetical order following Korean naming conventions, they are: Choi Chang-Keun, Choi Kwang-Jo, Han Cha-Kyo, Kim Jong-Chan, Kim Kwan-Il, Kong Young-Il, Park Jong-Soo, Park Jung-Tae, Park Sun-Jae, Rhee Chong-Chul, Rhee Chong-Hyup, and Rhee Ki-Ha.
Kim Je-kyoung is a retired taekwondo athlete born on 10 November 1970. He was the 1992 Summer Olympic gold medalist in taekwondo. At the 1992 Summer Olympics, taekwondo was a demonstration sport. Kim won the final match in the heavyweight division for South Korea. Kim also took the gold medal at the 11th, 12th and 13th Taekwondo World Championships 1993, 1995 and 1997 in New York, Manila and Hong Kong, respectively.
Kim Pyung-soo, also known as Kim Soo, is a South Korean taekwondo practitioner.
Nam Tae-hi was a pioneering South Korean master of taekwondo and is known as the "Father of Vietnamese Taekwondo". With Choi Hong-hi, he co-founded the "Oh Do Kwan" and led the twelve original masters of taekwondo of the Korea Taekwon-Do Association (KTA).
Kim Ki-whang, also known in the United States as Ki-whang Kim, was a Korean martial arts grandmaster. He was chairman in the US of the Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan Association and chairman of the US Olympic Taekwondo team in 1988. He helped unify several Korean martial arts into the overall style of taekwondo.
Olympic Weightlifting Gymnasium (Korean: 올림픽역도경기장) located in the Olympic Park area of Seoul, South Korea. It was constructed between August 1984 and April 1986, and hosted the weightlifting at the 1986 Asian Games and two years later the same sport at 1988 Summer Olympics.
South Korea competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from July 27 to August 12, 2012. This was the nation's sixteenth appearance at the Olympics, having missed the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of its support for the United States boycott. The Korean Olympic Committee sent the nation's smallest delegation to the Games since 1992. A total of 248 athletes, 135 men and 113 women, competed in 22 sports.
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's seventeenth appearance at the Olympics. The Korean Olympic Committee sent the nation's smallest ever delegation to the Games in Olympic history since 1984. A total of 205 athletes, 103 men and 101 women, competed in 24 sports.
Park Yeon-Hwan is a South Korean Grandmaster of Taekwondo. He currently has earned a ninth-degree black belt and holds the title kwan jang-nim (Grandmaster) under the direction of the Kukkiwon. Park was the undefeated Korean national champion of Tae Kwon Do from 1971 to 1975 and the former coach of the U.S. Olympic and Pan-American Tae Kwon Do team.
Sun-hwan Chung, also known as James Sun-hwan Chung, is one of the highest-ranking Tang Soo Do, Hapkido, and taekwondo grandmasters in the world. He is founder of the Moo Sool Do form of martial arts and is president of the World Academy of Martial Arts, LLC.
