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Korean Arts

Geographically, Korea is positioned between the Asian superpowers of China and Japan. As a result, numerous political and economic stresses have led to the creation of various Korean martial arts for personal protection and the preservation of national sovereignty. The self-defense remedies devised by the Koreans included tae kyon, taekwondo, hapkido, tang soo do, hwa rang do, kuk sool, yudo, ssirum, kung sool and subak-do.

Throughout their developmental cycles, some Korean arts were influenced to varying degrees by the Chinese fighting methods, while others were affected by the Japanese arts. No matter the specifics of a Korean art’s lineage, however, most modern researchers agree that the Koreans took pains to make any imported techniques their own. That resulted in a collection of uniquely Korean fighting arts and sports that are practiced around the world.