upon the Korean people. Freed by the Allies in 1945, Korea was soon di-
vided by the conflict between Communism and capitalistic democracy. De-
spite their separation, both Koreas were highly nationalistic and worked to
throw off the Japanese influence. These are the chief elements of Korean
history necessary to understand the development of Korean martial arts.
The earliest evidence in Korea of systems of unarmed combat date
from the Koguryo dynasty (A.D. 3–427). The kingdom of Koguryo actually
stretched far north of the current Korean border, into much of modern Chi-
nese Manchuria. Korean folk culture is still very much alive in Manchuria
today. A number of Koguryo dynasty tombs in what is now Jilin province
of the People’s Republic of China are credited by the Koreans as belonging
to ancient Korea. These tombs are the Sambo-chong, the Kakjo-chong, and
the Muyong-chong. The style depicted in these tombs has been described
by martial artists (depending upon the individual artist’s style) as taek-
wondo, Hapkidô, ssiru ̆ m, t’aek’kyo ̆ n, tangsudô,or other Korean arts. Most
of these claims are exaggerated. The murals show men with goatees, mous-
taches, and long hair in loincloths. They seem to be wrestling rather than
striking, and as such the murals are best used as early antecedents of Ko-292 Korea
Winners of an
archery contest in
Korea stand
together in the
winners’ circle, ca.- (Corbis)