IDO MOVEMENT FOR CULTURE

Background. The various taekwondo organizations, such as the World Taekwondo (WT; formerly, the World Taekwondo Federation, WTF), the Kukkiwon, the Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA), and other taekwondo alliances, schools, and individuals, generally maintain that taekwondo is a product of about 2000 years of Korean martial arts evolution or some kind of blend of martial arts from Japan, China, and Korea. On the other hand, during the past two decades, a variety of publications have disputed this widespread, popular narrative and asserted that the origins of taekwondo lie primarily in Japanese karate.
Problem and aim. Since the taekwondo establishment still refuses to modify its historical narrative, there is a need to provide further evidence of taekwondo’s genuine origins. This article aims to provide recorded evidence that the origins of taekwondo lie firmly in Japanese karate.
Method. The methodology of this article is an extensive literature review of early Japanese and Korean textbooks. The primary focus and method of this study is a visual comparison of images. Some important publications were selected as samples for a comparison of photographs displaying stances and kicking techniques between Japanese and Korean instructors. Results and conclusions. In all of the combined Korean martial arts publications between 1949 and 1972, no significant contrasts in terms of images and text to contemporary or earlier Japanese karate publications are noticeable.