Park Jong-soo
South Korean taekwondo practitioner (1941–2021)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Park Jong-soo (1941 – 27 November 2021) was a South Korean master of taekwondo and one of the twelve original masters of taekwondo of the Korea Taekwon-Do Association.[1][2][3] He held the rank of 9th dan.[4][5] Following a career in the South Korean military, he emigrated to Canada in 1968.
Chūseinan-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan
| Park Jong-soo | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1941 Chūseinan-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan |
| Died | 27 November 2021 (aged 79–80) |
| Style | Taekwondo |
| Teacher | Choi Hong-hi |
| Rank | 9th dan taekwondo (ITF) |
| Other information | |
| Website | http://www.jongpark.com/ |
Early life
Park was born in Chūseinan-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan in 1941.[4] He trained in taekwondo under Choi Hong-hi.[5] In 1965, he was invited to be the coach of the German Taekwon-Do Association, and moved from South Korea to West Germany.[4] Park was ranked 5th dan that year.[6] The following year, he moved to the Netherlands and founded the Netherlands Taekwon-Do Association.[4] Through the late 1960s and 1970s, Park was a key member of the taekwondo demonstration teams that accompanied Choi around the world.[7]
Canada
In 1968, Park settled in Toronto, Canada.[4] In 1973, he held the rank of 7th dan.[8] In 1974, Park and several other ITF masters demonstrated taekwondo in Toronto—then being promoted as "the new home of the ITF" by Choi.[9] Park and Choi went their separate ways after Choi insisted on establishing relations with North Korea during a politically sensitive period.[10] By 2002, however, they were reconciled, and Park was present at Choi's deathbed.[10]
In 2004, Park was President of the Canadian Taekwon-Do Association, and presented a seminar in Afghanistan.[11] In 2008, Park conducted a seminar in Beijing.[12] He headed taekwondo schools in Toronto.[13]
Park is listed as a pioneer in Canada (1950s, 1960s, and 1970s) in Choi Chang-keun's list of taekwondo pioneers.[14]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Search and Destroy | Assassin | IMDb[15] |
| 1985 | The Park Is Mine | Tran Chan Dinh | IMDb[16] TV Movie |
| 1982 | Seeing Things | Unnamed | IMDb[17] TV Series - Park Jong Soo was in one episode in 1982 |
Schools and Instructors Grand Master Park Influenced
- 1965, Park traveled with General Choi Hong Hi on a goodwill tour through Europe, Asia, and Africa promoting Tae Kwon Do[18]
- 1965, during the above-mentioned tour, Park became the coach of the German Tae Kwon Do Association[18]
- 1965, Georg F. Brückner invited Park to teach in his Berlin dojo[18]
- Billy Blanks was a student of Grandmaster Park Jong Soo
- In the early 1970s, Park oversaw several Tae Kwon Do schools. Two were in Western New York and were operated by Robert Heisner[19]