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Kwan

Song Moo Kwan

A kwan founded by Ro Byung-jick in Kaesong on 20 March 1944, among the first of the post-liberation Korean martial arts schools.

The Song Moo Kwan was founded by Ro Byung-jick in Kaesong. The kwan dates its founding to 20 March 1944.[1][2][3] Kang Won-sik and Lee Kyong-myong give 1946 instead.[4] A 2018 Korean-language paper on Taekwondo demonstration history dates the opening of the kwan in Kaesong to 1947.[5] The kwan's own timeline says it was re-established in Kaesong on 2 May 1946, closed on 25 June 1950 at the start of the Korean War, and reopened in Seoul on 20 September 1953.[3] A 2008 Korean conference paper lists the 송무관 (Song Moo Kwan) under Ro Byung-jick in Kaesong in 1946.[6]

Origins #

Its ancestor arts include Kong Soo Do and Shaolin kung fu, and the Korean Kongsoodo Association is named as an ancestor school. Ro studied Shotokan karate under Gichin Funakoshi and developed a style with more emphasis on kicking.[1]

Organizations today #

Affiliated groups include the World Martial Arts Center and the World Song Moo Kwan Federation.[1] The kwan's own site is songmookwan.com.

Schools in the lineage #

Schools that state a Song Moo Kwan lineage are listed in the school directory and appear under "What links here" below.

Lineage links

Founders
Ro Byung-jick
Members and students
Chang Jin Kang

See the full lineage chart

See also

Sources

  1. Wikipedia, "Song Moo Kwan" en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Kwan (martial arts)" en.wikipedia.org
  3. Song Moo Kwan, "The original founding Kwans" songmookwan.com
  4. Kang Won-sik and Lee Kyong-myong, A Modern History of Taekwondo (excerpt) kidokwan.org
  5. Na Chae-man and Lee Young-hun, 공시적 관점에서 본 태권도시범: 광복이후부터 1960년대, JCCT 4(1), 2018 koreascience.kr
  6. 안정덕, 송강영, "한국 전통무예로서 태권도의 문화적 정체성 탐색", 2008 한국콘텐츠학회 춘계종합학술대회 koreascience.kr

Online sources last checked 7 November 2026.