During the Japanese occupation of Korea, all facets of Korean identity including folk culture, language and history were banned in an attempt to erase Korean culture.[20] Koreans were forced to take Japanese names and to worship at Shinto shrines; Korean-language newspapers and magazines were banned; and during the war, hundreds of thousands of Koreans were forced into service to support Japanese war efforts.[21] Martial arts such as taekkyeon (or subak) were also prohibited during this time;[22] however, taekkyeon survived through underground teaching and folk custom.[4][23][24][25] During the occupation Koreans who were able to study in Japan were exposed to Japanese martial arts in some cases receiving black belts[26]. Others were exposed to martial arts in China and Manchuria.[12][27][28]
When the occupation ended in 1945, Korean martial arts schools (kwans) began to open in Korea under various influences. [12][29] There are differing views on the origins of the arts taught in these schools. Some believe that they taught martial arts that were based primarily upon the traditional Korean martial arts taekkyon and subak[4][6][29][30], or upon a variety of martial arts such as taekkyon, kungfu and karate.[31] Others believe that these schools taught arts that were almost entirely based upon karate.[32][33]
In 1952, at the height of the Korean War, there was a martial arts exhibition in which the kwans displayed their skills. In one demonstration, Nam Tae Hi smashed thirteen roof tiles with a forefist punch. Following the demonstration, South Korean President Syngman Rhee instructed Choi Hong Hi to introduce the martial arts to the Korean army.[34]
By the mid-1950s, nine kwans had emerged. Syngman Rhee ordered that the various schools unify under a single system. The name "taekwondo" was either submitted by Choi Hong Hi, or Song Duk Son of Chung Do Kwan and was accepted on April 11, 1955. As it stands today, the 9 kwans are the founders of taekwondo. [35] The "Korea Taekwondo Association" (KTA) was formed in 1961 to facilitate the unification.[6] Shortly thereafter, taekwondo made its début worldwide. Standardization efforts in South Korea stalled, as the kwans continued to teach differing styles. Another request from the Korean government for unification resulted in the formation of the Korea Tae Soo Do Association, which changed its name back to the Korea Taekwondo Association in 1965 following a change of leadership.
Currently, taekwondo is practiced in 188 countries with over 70 million practitioners and 4 million individuals with black belts throughout the world. [36] It is now one of only two Asian martial arts that are included in the Olympic Games; it became a demonstration event starting with the 1988 games in Seoul, and became an official medal event starting with the 2000 games in Sydney.