Park Jong-soo (1941 – 27 November 2021) was a South Korean master of taekwondo and one of the twelve original masters of taekwondo of the Korea Taekwon-Do Association.[1][2][3] He held the rank of 9th dan.[4][5] Following a career in the South Korean military, he emigrated to Canada in 1968.
| Park Jong-soo | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1941 Chūseinan-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan |
| Died | 27 November 2021 (aged 79–80) |
| Style | Taekwondo |
| Teacher(s) | Choi Hong-hi |
| Rank | 9th dan taekwondo (ITF) |
| Website | http://www.jongpark.com/ |
Early life
editPark was born in Chūseinan-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan in 1941.[4] He trained in taekwondo under Choi Hong-hi.[5] In 1965, he was invited to be the coach of the German Taekwon-Do Association, and moved from South Korea to West Germany.[4] Park was ranked 5th dan that year.[6] The following year, he moved to the Netherlands and founded the Netherlands Taekwon-Do Association.[4] Through the late 1960s and 1970s, Park was a key member of the taekwondo demonstration teams that accompanied Choi around the world.[7]
Canada
editIn 1968, Park settled in Toronto, Canada.[4] In 1973, he held the rank of 7th dan.[8] In 1974, Park and several other ITF masters demonstrated taekwondo in Toronto—then being promoted as "the new home of the ITF" by Choi.[9] Park and Choi went their separate ways after Choi insisted on establishing relations with North Korea during a politically sensitive period.[10] By 2002, however, they were reconciled, and Park was present at Choi's deathbed.[10]
In 2004, Park was President of the Canadian Taekwon-Do Association, and presented a seminar in Afghanistan.[11] In 2008, Park conducted a seminar in Beijing.[12] He headed taekwondo schools in Toronto.[13]
Park is listed as a pioneer in Canada (1950s, 1960s, and 1970s) in Choi Chang-keun's list of taekwondo pioneers.[14]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Search and Destroy | Assassin | IMDb[15] |
| 1985 | The Park Is Mine | Tran Chan Dinh | IMDb[16] TV Movie |
| 1982 | Seeing Things | Unnamed | IMDb[17] TV Series - Park Jong Soo was in one episode in 1982 |
Schools and Instructors Grand Master Park Influenced
edit- 1965, Park traveled with General Choi Hong Hi on a goodwill tour through Europe, Asia, and Africa promoting Tae Kwon Do[18]
- 1965, during the above-mentioned tour, Park became the coach of the German Tae Kwon Do Association[18]
- 1965, Georg F. Brückner invited Park to teach in his Berlin dojo[18]
- Billy Blanks was a student of Grandmaster Park Jong Soo
- In the early 1970s, Park oversaw several Tae Kwon Do schools. Two were in Western New York and were operated by Robert Heisner[19]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Choi, H. H. (1972): Taekwon-Do: The Korean art of self-defence. Mississauga: International Taekwon-Do Federation.
- ^ Park, S. H. (1993): "About the author." In H. H. Choi: Taekwon-Do: The Korean art of self-defence, 3rd ed. (Vol. 1, pp. 241–274). Mississauga: International Taekwon-Do Federation.
- ^ A tribute to the original masters Archived 25 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine (c. 2007). Retrieved on 13 June 2007; link has expired, as at 1 July 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Grand Master Jong-soo Park: Biography Archived 11 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 22 February 2009.
- ^ a b Pioneers of Taekwon-Do: Grand Master Park Jong-soo Archived 13 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 13 January 2010.
- ^ Taekwondo Homepage: Geschichte des Taekwondo (in German). Retrieved on 5 January 2010.
- ^ Cox, S. (c. 2004): The history of Taekwon-Do and its founder Archived 4 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 3 February 2010.
- ^ International Taekwon-Do Association Slovenia: ITF history Archived 31 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 3 February 2010.
- ^ Anonymous (1974): "International Tae Kwon Do demo held in Canada." Black Belt, 12(12):13–14.
- ^ a b Gillis, A. (2003): Tiny master Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Toro, June–July 2003:100–107. Retrieved on 31 January 2010.
- ^ All Afghanistan National Taekwon-Do Association: News[permanent dead link] (4 April 2004). Retrieved on 30 January 2010.
- ^ China International Taekwon-Do Federation: Grand Master Park Jong-soo visited China Archived 6 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine (15 September 2008). Retrieved on 30 January 2010.
- ^ Jong-soo Park Institute of Taekwon-Do: Location Archived 25 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 4 March 2010.
- ^ Choi, C. K. (2007): Tae Kwon Do Pioneers Archived 12 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 15 March 2008.
- ^ Fruet, William (28 September 1979), Search and Destroy (Action, Drama, Thriller), Perry King, Don Stroud, Tisa Farrow, Barry & Enright Productions, Film Ventures International (FVI), Montoro Productions Ltd., retrieved 9 August 2024
- ^ Stern, Steven Hilliard (6 October 1985), The Park Is Mine (Action, Drama, Thriller), Tommy Lee Jones, Helen Shaver, Yaphet Kotto, HBO Premiere Films, International Cinema, Ramble Film Productions, retrieved 9 August 2024
- ^ Seeing Things (Comedy, Fantasy, Mystery), Louis Del Grande, Janet-Laine Green, Martha Gibson, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), 15 September 1981, retrieved 9 August 2024
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ a b c "Park Jong Soo – Martial Arts Encyclopedia". Backkicks Martial Arts. 5 December 2022.
- ^ "Courier Express 10 December 1973 — The NYS Historic Newspapers". nyshistoricnewspapers.org. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
External links
edit- Jong-soo Park Institute of Taekwon-Do
- Grand Master Jong-soo Park – Biography on YouTube (narrated by Park).