Kim Jung Soo

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Kim Jung Soo trained directly under Choi Yong Sool along with Kim Moo Hong and Won Kwang Wha from 1957 until Choi Yong Sool’s death in 1986. When, in 1961, Kim Moo Hong moved to Seoul to open a dojang, Kim Jung Soo and Won Kwang Wha went with him and became his dojang’s primary instructors. They developed the Shin Moo Kwan branch of which we are a part. In 1963, Kim Jung Soo opened his own dojang and began opening branch schools throughout the Taegu area.

In the 1980s, Kim Jung Soo began taking over the leadership of the Shin Moo Kwan branch as Kim Moo Hong began his semi-retirement from Hapkido and formed the World Hapkido Federation. In the early 1980s, Choi Yong Sool offered him the Doju position, the leadership of Hapkido worldwide, but he respectfully declined.

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Ji Han Jae

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​Ji Han Jae began training under Choi Yong Sool in 1954. From 1959 onwards, Ji Han Jae has operated a number of dojangs both in Korea and in the US.

Ji Han Jae has trained a number of military and other government agencies. From 1961-1979, he taught at the Korean Military Academy and also trained two of the Directors of Presidential Body Guards and their interns. He also taught US Secret Service members, FBI agents, and OSS Agents in 1968. In the 1980s, Ji Han Jae secretly taught a division of presidential bodyguards.

Ji Han Jae was in several movies in the 1970’s including Bruce Lee’s Game of Death. Ji Han Jae immigrated to the United States in 1984 and founded Sin Moo Hapkido. Ji Han Jae is a part of the Sung Moo Kwan branch.

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Bong Soo Han

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​Bong Soo Han began his martial arts training when he was in grammar school in the arts of Yudo (Korean Judo) and Kumdo, a Korean Sword Martial Art. In 1948, he began to study Kwon Bup under Yun Byug In. Bong Soo Han joined the army in 1950 when the Korean War broke out and fought against North Korea. In the late 1950’s, Bong Soo Han also began studying Tae Kyon, a kicking style of martial arts similar to Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do.

In 1958, he began his Hapkido training under Choi Yong Sool and Ji Han Jae while serving as a bodyguard for Chun Jin Han, a presidential candidate. Bong Soo Han considered Choi Yong Sool to be his primary Hapkido instructor. In 1961, Bong Soo Han opened up his own Hapkido dojang before he moved to the United States Air Force base at Osan a year later to teach Hapkido. He taught at the base for 6 years and learned English during this time. He traveled to Vietnam as part of the Korean Intelligence Corps in 1966 and traveled throughout Vietnam training military personnel, including American and Korean Special Forces. He was known as “The White Tiger” due to his prematurely white hair and his competence as a soldier and martial artist.

He moved to the United States later that year and became the 3rd person to bring Hapkido to the US. In 1974, he formed the International Hapkido Federation. In 1990, Bong Soo Han formed the World Martial Arts Masters Union to help Korean masters who immigrated to the US adjust to life in the States.

Bong Soo Han helped spread Hapkido in the United States through his several movie appearances, most notably as the fight choreographer and stunt double in the movie Billy Jack. He also spread Hapkido through his book, Hapkido, the Korean Art of Self Defense, which was published in 1974.

Unfortunately, Bong Soo Han, a true Hapkido legend, passed away in 2007.

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Suh In Hyuk

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​Suh In Hyuk began training directly under Choi Yong Sool in 1958. Suh In Hyuk also trained in Praying Mantis Chinese Martial Arts from Wang Tae Eui. When Moon Jong Won opened a Yu Kwon Sul (an early name for Hapkido) dojang in 1960, Suh In Hyuk became one of his instructors. In 1963, Suh In Hyuk opened the first Kuk Sool Won dojang. In 1967, Suh In Hyuk became the 1st vice-president of the Dae Han Kido Hwe, the oldest Hapkido association, which is also our governing organization. In 1983, Suh In Hyuk was appointed the Dae Han Kido Hwe’s Chairman and remained so until around 1990.

At the invitation of Dr. He-Young Kimm, Suh In Hyuk immigrated to the United States in 1974. After moving to the US, Suh In Hyuk further developed Kuk Sool Won as a separate martial art from Hapkido. Like Hapkido, Kuk Sool Won uses joint locks, kicks, and punches, but unlike Hapkido, it also has a number of forms. Additionally, Kuk Sool Won’s philosophy is different than Hapkido’s.

Suh In Hyuk is the founder of Kuk Sool Won, Grandmaster and President of the World Kuk Sool Association, and is a part of the Soo Duk Kwan branch of Hapkido.