General Choi Hong Hi

Highlights and Achievements:

• 1946 - A founding member of the ROK Army.
• 1955 - Gained official authorisation for the name 'Taekwon-Do'
• 1955 - 1st two Korean tuls created. A total of 26 tuls, named after significant Korean patriots or events in the country's history and culture.
• 1959 - Briefly, Vice president of the Taekwon-Do Association of Korea.
• 1959 - Led the first ever Military Taekwon-Do exhibition abroad, in Vietnam and Taiwan.
• 1959 - Wrote the 1st ever book on Taekwon-Do.
• 1962 - Introduced Taekwon-Do to Malaysia while serving as the Korean Ambassador.
• 1963 - Formed the Malaysian Taekwon-Do Federation.
• 1964 - Formed the Singapore Taekwon-Do Federation.
• 1965 - Formed the Vietnam Taekwon-Do Federation.
• 1965 - Wrote the 1st English language book on Taekwon-Do.
• 1966 - Formed the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF), today, one of the most prominent styles of Taekwon-do in the world.
• 1972 - "Bible of Taekwon-Do" was written.
• 1972 - ITF Headquarters moved to Toronto, Canada,
• 1974 - The 1st ever ITF World Championships held in Montreal, Canada.
• 1978 - For the 1st time in any World Championship, the event expanded to female competitors.
• 1983 - Published the complete 15 Volume set of Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do.
• 1984 - ITF World Championships was hosted for the first time in a Commonwealth Nation (Scotland, United Kingdom).
• 1988 - Published a condensed single-volume Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do.
• 1989 - named "Man of the Year" by the Taekwon-Do Times magazine.
• 1999 - Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Canada.
• 2000 - Published a 3 Volume set of Memoirs titled "Taekwon-Do and I".
• 2009 - Posthumously honoured by the Official Tae Kwon Do Hall of Fame.