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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. He held the rank of 9th dan. Following a career in the South Korean military, he emigrated to Canada in 1968.

Early life

Park was born in Chūseinan-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan in 1941. He trained in taekwondo under Choi Hong-hi. In 1965, he was invited to be the coach of the German Taekwon-Do Association, and moved from South Korea to West Germany. Park was ranked 5th dan that year. The following year, he moved to the Netherlands and founded the Netherlands Taekwon-Do Association. Through the late 1960s and 1970s, Park was a key member of the taekwondo demonstration teams that accompanied Choi around the world.

Canada

In 1968, Park settled in Toronto, Canada. In 1973, he held the rank of 7th dan. In 1974, Park and several other ITF masters demonstrated taekwondo in Toronto—then being promoted as "the new home of the ITF" by Choi. Park and Choi went their separate ways after Choi insisted on establishing relations with North Korea during a politically sensitive period. By 2002, however, they were reconciled, and Park was present at Choi's deathbed.

In 2004, Park was President of the Canadian Taekwon-Do Association, and presented a seminar in Afghanistan. In 2008, Park conducted a seminar in Beijing. He headed taekwondo schools in Toronto.

Park is listed as a pioneer in Canada (1950s, 1960s, and 1970s) in Choi Chang-keun's list of taekwondo pioneers.

Filmography

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
• 1965, during the above-mentioned tour, Park became the coach of the German Tae Kwon Do Association
• 1965, Georg F. Brückner invited Park to teach in his Berlin dojo
• 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

See also

• List of taekwondo grandmasters

References

1. Choi, H. H. (1972): Taekwon-Do: The Korean art of self-defence. Mississauga: International Taekwon-Do Federation.
2. Park, S. H. (1993): "About the author." In H. H. Choi: Taekwon-Do: The Korean art of self-defence, 3rd ed. (Vol. 1, pp. 241–274). Mississauga: International Taekwon-Do Federation.
3. A tribute to the original masters Archived 25 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine (c. 2007). Retrieved on 13 June 2007; link has expired, as at 1 July 2011.
4. ^ Grand Master Jong-soo Park: Biography Archived 11 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 22 February 2009.
5. ^ Pioneers of Taekwon-Do: Grand Master Park Jong-soo Archived 13 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 13 January 2010.
6. Taekwondo Homepage: Geschichte des Taekwondo (in German). Retrieved on 5 January 2010.
7. Cox, S. (c. 2004): The history of Taekwon-Do and its founder Archived 4 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 3 February 2010.
8. International Taekwon-Do Association Slovenia: ITF history Archived 31 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 3 February 2010.
9. Anonymous (1974): "International Tae Kwon Do demo held in Canada." Black Belt, 12(12):13–14.
10. ^ Gillis, A. (2003): Tiny master Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Toro, June–July 2003:100–107. Retrieved on 31 January 2010.
11. All Afghanistan National Taekwon-Do Association: News (4 April 2004). Retrieved on 30 January 2010.
12. China International Taekwon-Do Federation: Grand Master Park Jong-soo visited China Archived 6 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine (15 September 2008). Retrieved on 30 January 2010.
13. Jong-soo Park Institute of Taekwon-Do: Location Archived 25 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 4 March 2010.
14. Choi, C. K. (2007): Tae Kwon Do Pioneers Archived 12 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 15 March 2008.
15. Fruet, William (28 September 1979), Search and Destroy (Action, Drama, Thriller), Perry King, Don Stroud, Tisa Farrow, Barry & Enright Productions, Film Ventures International (FVI), Montoro Productions Ltd., retrieved 9 August 2024
16. Stern, Steven Hilliard (6 October 1985), The Park Is Mine (Action, Drama, Thriller), Tommy Lee Jones, Helen Shaver, Yaphet Kotto, HBO Premiere Films, International Cinema, Ramble Film Productions, retrieved 9 August 2024
17. Seeing Things (Comedy, Fantasy, Mystery), Louis Del Grande, Janet-Laine Green, Martha Gibson, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), 15 September 1981, retrieved 9 August 2024{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
18. ^ "Park Jong Soo – Martial Arts Encyclopedia". Backkicks Martial Arts. 5 December 2022.
19. "Courier Express 10 December 1973 — The NYS Historic Newspapers". nyshistoricnewspapers.org. Retrieved 19 September 2024.

External links

• Jong-soo Park Institute of Taekwon-Do
• Grand Master Jong-soo Park – Biography on YouTube (narrated by Park).

• 1941 births
• 2021 deaths
• Martial arts school founders
• Martial artists from Toronto
• South Korean male taekwondo practitioners
• 20th-century South Korean sportsmen