The founders
Jong Pyo Hong and Chul Hee Park established Kangdukwon as one of Korea’s original kwans.
Meet the founders
World Kangdukwon Federation
One tradition. A worldwide family.
Explore the people, dojangs and national traditions that carried Kangdukwon from postwar Korea to Vietnam, the United States, Portugal and communities across the world.
Lineage
From one dojang to a worldwide movement
A clear path through the people and places at the heart of Kangdukwon history.
The shared dojang
Ahn Gun Soon and Hwa Chong trained together at Kwangju Jaeil High School under the Kangdukwon founders.
Follow the lineageVietnam, 1966
Ahn Gun Soon and Kim Tae Sup taught Vietnamese troops, beginning a lineage that endures today.
Read Ahn’s storyAcross the world
Teachers and students formed enduring branches in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia.
Explore worldwide
1966
A pivotal chapter
Ahn Gun Soon brings Kangdukwon to Vietnam
In 1966, ROK Army Captain Ahn Gun Soon, together with Captain Kim Tae Sup, began teaching taekwondo to Vietnamese troops. Among those they trained was Nguyễn Kim Châu, who would carry the Kangdukwon tradition through decades of upheaval and renewal.
This story is not a side note. It is one of the principal paths by which Kangdukwon became a living international family.
Explore Kangdukwon in Vietnam
European stronghold
Kangdukwon in Portugal
Portugal’s Kangdukwon community, led by Fernando Branco and Academia Tigre Branco, developed through the lineage of Grand Master Kim Chang-Hak and Marcelo Ruhland.
The redesigned site gives this sustained European work a permanent regional home, connecting its history, instructors, seminars and present-day activities.
Visit the Portugal section
Portugal
Worldwide
Explore by region
Country hubs gather related articles, people and photographs in one place.
Southeast Asia
Vietnam
Ahn Gun Soon, Nguyễn Kim Châu and today’s Kangdukwon Moo Do community.
Europe
Portugal
Fernando Branco, Academia Tigre Branco and the Kim Chang-Hak lineage.
South Asia
Pakistan
Saleem Jehangir and a pioneering national tradition.
The Americas
Latin America
Kangdukwon networks linking Brazil, Portugal and the wider region.
Africa
West Africa
Teachers and students building a growing regional community.
Global directory
The worldwide family
A single gateway to people, dojangs and national branches.
From the federation
Recent articles
The latest history, recognitions, activities and federation news.
Pakistan: Magic Carpets and Martial Arts (1975)
A 1975 Black Belt magazine profile of Saleem Jehangir, Hwa Chong’s University of Michigan student and the pioneering teacher who established taekwondo in Pakistan in 1971.
Hwa Chong, Great Master of Taekwondo
Hwa Chong understands Taekwondo not merely as a sport, but as a means of character education. In his classes, etiquette, discipline, responsibility, and a spirit of service are emphasized just as much as kicks and forms.
A Way of Life Worth Embracing
Numerous karate masters have bequeathed us with mottos and aphorisms that underscore the significance of nurturing not just one’s physical prowess and diverse techniques,…
Great Peng: A Lesson in Transformation
Like the Peng, Kang Duk Won practitioners are not meant to remain in the small pond or well where they were born.
Passing of Grand Master Nguyễn Sơn
The Kang Duk Won Taekwondo community mourns the passing of Grand Master Nguyễn Sơn, who died on August 8, 2025, in Ho Chi Minh City at the age of 73.
Triple Seven Expedition
A team of 8 U.S. and Australian veterans attempt to smash the world record for diving all 7 continents in under 7 days, using elite special operations-style planning and pure grit.
Preserving the record
Open the site directory
The old archive remains part of the new site.
Historical HTML pages are retained, indexed and linked through a clearer directory. Nothing disappears merely because the front end changes.