Choi Hong-hi: A Bibliography

Choi Hong-hi was pivotal in the development of Taekwondo, and is the founder of the Changheon-yu style of Taekwondo. Choi also published a number of books on Taekwondo, most notably his Taekwondo textbook, of which there are many editions, and which are used as an absolute reference for Choi’s style of Taekwondo.

This page lists the publications that Choi made. It will be edited and updated over time; thus, at the moment it may not be complete.

Bibliography

崔泓熙著, 跆拳道教本 (1959 C.E.) No ISBN

in hangeul: 최홍희저, 태권도교본
romanised: choehonghui-jeo, taegwondo gyobon
translated: Choi Hong-hi, Taekwondo Textbook

This was the very first textbook on Taekwondo that Choi produced. Written in Korean, the majority of the forms in the book are Karate forms. There are only 5 Changheon-yu forms in the book – one of which – called Unam – mysteriously disappears in later versions of Choi’s textbook.

Only two copies of this book are known to still exist. One of them has been scanned, and is freely available to view here: https://historyoftaekwondo.org/2015/04/10/1st-ever-taekwon-do-book/


Choi Hong Hi, Taekwon-Do (Daeha Publication Company, Seoul, South Korea) (First Edition, 1965 C.E.) No ISBN

This was the first English-language edition of Choi’s textbook on Taekwondo. The book has no ISBN – ISBNs did not exist at the time. Because of this – and because only later editions of the book were printed afterwards – copies of this book are hard to find and often expensive.

The book gives fascinating insights into the development of Taekwondo, as in the forms section of the book, 9 Karate forms are listed and described in detail, showing how during the twentieth century, Karate forms were gradually replaced in Taekwondo training with new Taekwondo forms.


태권도 (육군본부) (1966 C.E.) No ISBN

romanised: taegwondo (yukgunbonbu)
translated: Taekwondo (Army Headquarters)

This book was a manual used in the Republic of Korea Army for teaching Taekwondo. Choi’s name cannot be found anywhere in the book, but the fact that the book is so similar to Choi’s other textbooks, and the fact that very few people in Korea wrote anything like this around this time, means that it can only be Choi who produced it.

The book is in Korean. A copy of it has been scanned and made freely available to view here: https://historyoftaekwondo.org/2015/07/01/the-1966-rok-army-taekwon-do-manual/


Gen. Choi Hong Hi, Taekwon-Do (International Taekwon-Do Federation, Ontario, Canada) No ISBN

from the publishing page of the sixth edition:

  • First Edition, 1972 C.E.
  • Second Edition, 1975 C.E.
  • Third Edition, 1978 C.E.
  • Fourth Edition, 1979 C.E.
  • Fifth Edition, 1983 C.E.
  • Sixth Edition, 1986 C.E.

Gen. Choi Hong Hi, Taekwon-Do (International Taekwon-Do Federation, Vienna, Austria) No ISBN

from the publishing page of the fifth edition:

  • First Edition, 1988 C.E.
  • Second Edition, 1991 C.E.
  • Third Edition, 1992 C.E.
  • Fourth Edition, 1995 C.E.
  • Fifth Edition, 2004 C.E.

It is generally still possible to find and buy copies of this edition of Choi’s textbook. However, because of its size, and because it’s very in-demand, they are often expensive, and can cost anywhere from £50 to £200.

Links to where you can buy a copy:


Gen. Choi Hong Hi, Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do (International Taekwon-Do Federation) (15 Volumes)

This entire publication has been scanned and made available in various locations online. The publication is out-of-print but still in high-demand. Because of this, and because of the size of the collection, complete sets of this encyclopaedia are very expensive.

See also