Park Jung-tae
founder - trainer
🌍 Korean-Canadian🥊 ITF technical director, GTF founder, Eastern Bloc pioneer, biomechanics🎂 01-01-1943- 11-04-2002
Park Jung-tae (c. 1943 – 11 April 2002) was one of the twelve original masters of Taekwon-Do and one of the most technically precise practitioners the art has ever produced. As Secretary-General and Technical Director of the ITF, he was the guardian of the system’s technical purity for decades—until a political split led him to found his own federation.
He began boxing and practising judo as a child before taking up Taekwon-Do, and later served in the South Korean army. From 1965 to 1967, he was deployed to Vietnam, where he trained Korean, Vietnamese, and American soldiers in combat techniques. In 1970, he emigrated to Toronto, Canada, founded the Manitoba Taekwon-Do Association, and became a leading pioneer of the art in North America.
Within the ITF, Park Jung-tae became the man responsible for safeguarding technical standards. In 1978 and 1979, he accompanied General Choi on major demonstration tours through Europe, teaching the art’s precise biomechanics. He rose to the position of Technical Director and was formally elected Secretary-General of the ITF in November 1984. Under his direct leadership, Taekwon-Do was introduced to countries that were difficult to access at the time—the Soviet Union, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia—making him one of the key architects of the sport’s expansion behind the Iron Curtain.
By the late 1980s, deep political disagreements had emerged. General Choi’s growing ties with North Korea were unacceptable to Park Jung-tae and several other masters, given the geopolitical tensions between North and South Korea. In 1989, he left the ITF, and on 14 June 1990, he founded the Global Taekwon-Do Federation (GTF).
As the founder of the GTF, he remained faithful to the original ITF system while introducing innovations of his own. Believing that the art could be more complete, he developed six additional patterns (Hyong), practised within the GTF alongside the standard 24 ITF Tul: Jee-Goo, Jook-Am, Pyong-Hwa, Sun-Duk, Sam-Il, and Tong-Il—each with its own technical interpretation.
Park Jung-tae passed away on 11 April 2002, aged 58 or 59, after a period of declining health. Following his death, his wife, Linda Park, assumed the GTF presidency to keep his technical vision alive.
He began boxing and practising judo as a child before taking up Taekwon-Do, and later served in the South Korean army. From 1965 to 1967, he was deployed to Vietnam, where he trained Korean, Vietnamese, and American soldiers in combat techniques. In 1970, he emigrated to Toronto, Canada, founded the Manitoba Taekwon-Do Association, and became a leading pioneer of the art in North America.
Within the ITF, Park Jung-tae became the man responsible for safeguarding technical standards. In 1978 and 1979, he accompanied General Choi on major demonstration tours through Europe, teaching the art’s precise biomechanics. He rose to the position of Technical Director and was formally elected Secretary-General of the ITF in November 1984. Under his direct leadership, Taekwon-Do was introduced to countries that were difficult to access at the time—the Soviet Union, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia—making him one of the key architects of the sport’s expansion behind the Iron Curtain.
By the late 1980s, deep political disagreements had emerged. General Choi’s growing ties with North Korea were unacceptable to Park Jung-tae and several other masters, given the geopolitical tensions between North and South Korea. In 1989, he left the ITF, and on 14 June 1990, he founded the Global Taekwon-Do Federation (GTF).
As the founder of the GTF, he remained faithful to the original ITF system while introducing innovations of his own. Believing that the art could be more complete, he developed six additional patterns (Hyong), practised within the GTF alongside the standard 24 ITF Tul: Jee-Goo, Jook-Am, Pyong-Hwa, Sun-Duk, Sam-Il, and Tong-Il—each with its own technical interpretation.
Park Jung-tae passed away on 11 April 2002, aged 58 or 59, after a period of declining health. Following his death, his wife, Linda Park, assumed the GTF presidency to keep his technical vision alive.