Moo Duk Kwan

The Moo Duk Kwan was founded in Korea in 1945 by Hwang Kee. The organization says Hwang opened his first school in Seoul's Yongsan district on 9 November 1945, and it was unsuccessful under its original name.^[1][3] Kang Won-sik and Lee Kyong-myong date the start to some time after 1946, at a railway-station dojang, and the Song Moo Kwan's records list its Dang Soo Do club from 1947.^[4][5] The same paper lists the 무덕관 (Moo Duk Kwan) under Hwang Kee in Seoul in November 1945.^[6]

Naming #

Hwang first called his art Hwa Soo Do, then Tang Soo Do. He began using the name Soo Bahk Do around 1957, and the system's name was changed on 30 June 1960. In 1995 the organization was officially renamed Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan.^[1]

Relationship with Taekwondo #

By 1960 Tang Soo Do was practised widely in Korea, and the art faced "attempted mergers into Taekwondo". The Moo Duk Kwan stayed organizationally separate and today is mostly associated with Soo Bahk Do.^[1][2] That is why it appears in Taekwondo histories as an original kwan while many of its members do not call their art Taekwondo.

Organizations today #

After Hwang Kee's death in 2002, his son Hwang Hyun-chul was named successor. The U.S. Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan Federation holds registered trademarks for "Moo Duk Kwan" and its fist logo, and the official website is worldmoodukkwan.com.^[1]