Kang Duk Won Mourns Passing of Grand Master Nguyễn Sơn (1953-2025)
The Kang Duk Won Taekwondo community mourns the passing of Master Nguyễn Sơn, who died on August 8, 2025, in Ho Chi Minh City at the age of 73.
Born in 1953 in Thừa Thiên Huế, Vietnam, Nguyễn Sơn dedicated much of his life to Taekwondo and the Kang Duk Won lineage. He began his training in Kang Duk Won after 1975, during the challenging years following the Vietnam War. His progress was recognized in 1990 when Grand Master Tiên Tôn Thất, a student of Great Grand Master Ahn Gun Soon at the Junior Military Academy of the Republic of Vietnam (together with Grand Master Châu), proposed that Kukkiwon officially acknowledge Sơn’s rank. This recommendation was further supported by Grand Master Song Sang Keun—of Kang Duk Won and then Vice General Secretary of both Kukkiwon and the World Taekwondo Federation.
From 1996 onward, Nguyễn Sơn deepened his practice under the direct guidance of Great Grand Master Ahn Gun Soon and Grand Master Châu, continuing until June 2010. That year, in Seoul, Korea, GGM Ahn permitted both Nguyễn Sơn and Grand Master Châu to take their 8th Dan examination at Kukkiwon, which they successfully completed. In October 2010, GGM Ahn Gun Soon authorized the establishment of Kang Duk Won Moo Do, with Nguyễn Sơn among its founding members.
Through his decades of practice, teaching, and organizational leadership, Master Nguyễn Sơn became a key figure in the survival and revival of Kang Duk Won in Vietnam. He helped preserve its traditions during years when martial arts practice was difficult, and later contributed to its recognition and expansion in international networks.
Funeral services were held in Ho Chi Minh City, followed by cremation at Bình Hưng Hòa Cremation Center.
Master Nguyễn Sơn’s passing marks the loss of one of Kang Duk Won’s devoted stewards in Vietnam, but his life’s work and dedication to the teachings of GGM Ahn Gun Soon and the Kang Duk Won spirit will continue to inspire generations of practitioners around the world.
