Person
Ro Byung-jick
Ro Byung-jick (1919 to 2015) founded the Song Moo Kwan in Kaesong in 1944 and is credited by his kwan as a founder of modern Taekwondo.
Ro Byung-jick was born on 3 July 1919 in Kaesong, in what is now North Korea, and died on 9 September 2015 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[3] He founded the Song Moo Kwan in Kaesong, and the kwan dates its founding to 20 March 1944.[1][2][3]
Background #
Ro began studying Shotokan karate under Gichin Funakoshi in December 1936 and later developed a style with more emphasis on kicking.[1][3] The Song Moo Kwan describes him as a founder of modern Taekwondo; that title is the kwan's own, since Taekwondo has no single universally recognized founder (see History of Taekwondo).
Spelling #
His name appears in English as Ro Byung-jick, Byung Jik Ro and Byung Jick Ro. This site uses the first form.
Lineage links
- Founded
- Song Moo Kwan
- Students
- Chang Jin Kang
Sources
- Wikipedia, "Song Moo Kwan" en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Kwan (martial arts)" en.wikipedia.org
- World Song Moo Kwan Federation, "Byung Jick Ro" wsmkf.org
Online sources last checked 31 October 2026.