Taekwondo comes from Korea.
Taekwondo is a martial art that was developed in the middle of the twentieth century (about 1940-1960) in Korea. (While Korea is nowadays split into two countries – North Korea and South Korea – in 1940 it was one region under the Japanese Occupation, then in 1945 with the defeat of Japan it became an independent country, and then with the end of the Korean War in 1953 it became two countries.)
The early masters of Taekwondo had originally trained in Karate in Japan – particularly Shōtō-kan Karate, but also other styles – and much of Taekwondo is based on Karate. (Note that, at the time, Karate itself was a relatively recent import to mainland Japan, having been brought over from Okinawa (formerly the Ryukyu Kingdom).)
From about 1960 onwards, there was a great effort to export Taekwondo to the rest of the world. Nowadays it is practised in a great many countries, with potentially hundreds of thousands or millions of practitioners around the world.
Get some Taekwondo merch!
Want to learn more?
If you'd like to learn more about the Korean terminology used in Taekwondo, consider buying this book: Taekwondo Terminology. It contains an extensive dictionary of terms used in Taekwondo, as well as explanations on how to pronounce Korean words, and aspects of Korean grammar.
