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3. Taekwondo in modern times
In the modern times of Korea, which cover the Chosun (or Yi) dynasty (1392-1910), the imperial Korea and the Japanese colonial rule until 1945, Taekwondo was rather called "subakhui" than "Taekkyon" and it suffered an eventual loss of official support from the central government as the weapons were modernized for national defense, although the subkhui was still popular in the early days of Chosun.
The Yi dynasty (Chosun) was founded on the ideology of Confucianism, which resulted in rejecting all Buddhist festivals and giving more importance on literary art than martial art.
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Nonetheless, the annals of Chosun dynasty tell stories about the contests of subakhui ordered by local officials for the purpose of selecting soldiers and others ordered by the kings who enjoyed watching subakhui contests at the times of feasts. It was also ruled by the defense department that a soldier should be employed when he won out three other contestants in the subakhui bouts.
However, as the systematic organization of government progressed, the government officials began to lay more importance on power struggles than on the interest of defense, naturally neglecting promotion of martial arts.
Then, it was only in the days of King Jungjo after the disgraceful invasion of Korea by the Japanese (in 1592) that the royal government revived strong defense measures by strengthening military training and martial art practice. Around this period there was a publication of the so-called muyedobotongji, a book of martial art illustrations, whose 4th volume entitled "hand-fighting techniques" contained the illustration of 38 motions, exactly resembling today's Taekwondo Poomsae and basic movements. Of course, those motions cannot be compared with today's Taekwondo Poomsae, which has been modernized through scientific studies. |
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