__NOTOC__ Park Dong-keun (; born ''c.'' 1941), also known as D. K. Park, is a South Korean Grandmaster of

taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

. He holds the title "Grandmaster,"Grand Master Dong-keun Park: Pioneer of Taekwondo in Thailand
Retrieved on 27 April 2009.
Retrieved on 27 April 2009; link updated on 7 December 2010. the rank of 9th ''

dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa ** Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivo ...

'' in taekwondo,Won Park Institute of Taekwondo: US TKD Grandmaster Society 1st annual Hall of Fame awards ceremony
(22 April 2006). Retrieved on 25 January 2010. and was Korea's only undefeated taekwondo fighter in more than 200 International championship competition. Park introduced the martial art of taekwondo to Thailand in 1966, before settling in the United States of America, and was the taekwondo coach of both the US National Team and the US Olympic Team.

Early life and career in Asia

Park was born in Jeollado, Korea, during World War II. He was a member of the South Korean National Team from 1959 to 1966, and served as team captain from 1964 to 1966. He was the South Korean National Champion from 1962 to 1966. After his retirement, he was inducted into the Korean Amateur Athletic Association's Hall of Fame as the only undefeated taekwondo champion from more than 200 International matches. Park moved to Thailand in 1966 at the personal request of King Bhumibol of Thailand to teach taekwondo to the

Thai royal family The Chakri dynasty is the current reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Thailand. The head of the house is the king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the Rattanakosin era and the city of Bangkok in 1782; f ...

and US military forces, specifically US Army Security Agency units in Bangkok (83rd ASA Special Operations Unit,) and in Ban Non Song (7th ASA Field Station.)

Career in North America

Park initially moved to

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, USA, in 1970. He then moved to Jersey City, New Jersey and on September 1, 1971, founded the D. K. Park Tae Kwon Do School (also the birthdate of his daughter, Jane). Later that year, he appeared on television on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...

''. Park established the taekwondo program at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1973. In 1975, he became the first instructor to have two students (Gerard Robbins and Dennis Robinson) win official USA National Taekwondo Championships titles, and both of them competed in the 2nd World Taekwondo Championships in Seoul, South Korea. Park was the head coach for the US National Team in 1979 at the 4th World Championships in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, Germany. In 1982, he was named Coach of the Year by the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

. From 1982 to 1996, Park served as Coaching Committee Chairman of the United States Tae Kwon Do Union. He was the technical coach for the US Olympic taekwondo team at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

in Seoul. This was taekwondo's inaugural appearance at the Olympic Games as a demonstration sport. Park became head coach for the US Olympic taekwondo team at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

in Barcelona. In 1993, he was head coach for the US Team at the World Championships (1 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze), and in 1994 at the

Goodwill Games The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, Russia, resulting again in 1 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze medals.

Later life

In 1997, '' Tae Kwon Do Times'' magazine named Park as its Man of the Year. In 2006, his first book was published: ''Tae Kwon Do basics, techniques and forms: The indomitable martial art of Korea'' (co-authored with Allan Schein).Tae Kwon Do basics, techniques and forms: The indomitable martial art of Korea
Retrieved on 27 April 2009. He was inducted into the US Taekwondo Grandmasters Society Hall of Fame in 2006 as coach of the year. On 6 April 2007, he was inducted into the Taekwondo Hall of Fame.The Official Taekwondo Hall Of Fame
Retrieved on 27 April 2009.Olympic and World Taekwondo Champions to be honored at 1st annual Taekwondo Hall of Fame Ceremony
(30 January 2007). Retrieved on 22 January 2010. He is a Life Member of USA Taekwondo.USA Taekwondo: Life members & application
Retrieved on 25 January 2010. Park continues teaching taekwondo at his school in Jersey City, New Jersey.

References

External links

D. K. Park Tae Kwon Do School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Park, Dong-keun Living people Sportspeople from Jersey City, New Jersey South Korean male taekwondo practitioners 1940s births South Korean emigrants to the United States 20th-century South Korean sportsmen Year of birth missing (living people)

Early life and career in Asia

Career in North America

Later life

See also

References

External links