Kim Ung Chol
trainer - founder
🌍 North Korean🥊 ITF Tournament Committee Chair, Eastern Bloc pioneer, pure ITF biomechanics, tul patterns, Professor of Martial Arts
Professor Kim Ung Chol is one of the most technically authoritative figures in global ITF Taekwon-Do and one of the first North Koreans to reach the rank of 9th Dan Grandmaster. Within the ITF headquartered in Vienna he is regarded as the foremost guardian of the pure, traditional biomechanics and philosophy established by General Choi Hong Hi.
His role in the sport's global spread during the Cold War is of genuine historical significance. After General Choi introduced Taekwon-Do to North Korea in the 1980s - partly as a counterweight to South Korea's WT style - Kim Ung Chol completed the intensive 2nd Special Course for elite instructors. He was then dispatched alongside fellow Grandmaster Hwang Ho-yong as a pioneer to Soviet bloc and communist-aligned countries including the Soviet Union, China and Cuba. Because South Korea had no diplomatic relations with these nations, the ITF - through masters like Kim - was able to build a vast and loyal following in regions that WT could not reach. The ITF's current strength in Eastern Europe, Cuba and parts of Asia is in large part their legacy.
In the training hall he is known for phenomenal flexibility, explosive breaking demonstrations and a surgical, didactic approach to teaching the 24 patterns (Tul). He serves as chairman of the ITF Tournament Committee, overseeing the technical arbitration and competition structures at World Championships. His deep theoretical contributions to the sport's biomechanics and sports science earned him the formal academic title of Professor of Martial Arts in his home country.
His role in the sport's global spread during the Cold War is of genuine historical significance. After General Choi introduced Taekwon-Do to North Korea in the 1980s - partly as a counterweight to South Korea's WT style - Kim Ung Chol completed the intensive 2nd Special Course for elite instructors. He was then dispatched alongside fellow Grandmaster Hwang Ho-yong as a pioneer to Soviet bloc and communist-aligned countries including the Soviet Union, China and Cuba. Because South Korea had no diplomatic relations with these nations, the ITF - through masters like Kim - was able to build a vast and loyal following in regions that WT could not reach. The ITF's current strength in Eastern Europe, Cuba and parts of Asia is in large part their legacy.
In the training hall he is known for phenomenal flexibility, explosive breaking demonstrations and a surgical, didactic approach to teaching the 24 patterns (Tul). He serves as chairman of the ITF Tournament Committee, overseeing the technical arbitration and competition structures at World Championships. His deep theoretical contributions to the sport's biomechanics and sports science earned him the formal academic title of Professor of Martial Arts in his home country.