The history of Modern Taekwondo began on March 11, 1944 when Dang Soo Do-Song Moo Kwan was founded by Byung Jick Ro in KaeSung City, Korea. Dang Soo Do-Chung Do Kwan, which followed six months later was founded by Won Kook Lee in Seoul, Korea, in September of 1944. Due to the unstable situation in Korea at the time, both schools were forced to close their doors to the public within three to four months after opening. It was the end of World War II and Korea was under Japanese occupation. Japan was taking most of the young adult Korean males under the age of 60 and using them wherever they needed, so understandably, most of the young Korean men were uneasy and fearful during this time and were trying to hide themselves. Training in sports was not a priority in their lives and the martial arts took a back seat to simple survival. With the end of the Japanese occupation of Korea on August 15, 1946, Taekwondo began to once again flourish and spread to the general Korean public. However, all of the kwans were again forced to close their doors in 1950 due to the onset of the Korean war. Since this time, the original name of the martial art has changed from Dang Soo Do to Kong Soo Do or Soo Bak, Kwun Bup to Tae Soo Do and finally to today’s Taekwondo. Below is a brief overview of the history of the “original founding kwans” who formed modern day Taekwondo: