What is Haidong Gumdo?
Haidong gumdo is a Korean sword martial art. A total of four words in the name can be translated as follows:
Hai- sea
Dong - east
Gum - sword
Do - the way (from Chinese Tao)
It is therefore the "Korean sword path from the eastern sea" where the sun rises. The morning dawn symbolizes something newborn and bright light.
Haidong gumdo draws on Korean culture and martial traditions that date back to the mighty kingdom of Goguryeo. It was this kingdom that for centuries defended the entire Korean peninsula from the mighty China from swallowing the unique Korean culture.
Yet haidong gumdo is a modern Korean martial art founded by Grandmaster Kim Jeong Ho, a fusion of Goguryeo swordsmanship traditions and Korean culture. Grandmaster Kim entered the Cheoninam Buddhist monastery in the Gwanak Mountains on the outskirts of Seoul at the age of 8 (1961), where he met his teacher, monk Jang Baek San, who taught him primarily through routines and historical stories. Grandmaster Kim opened the first dojang on 24 July 1982 in Anyang, south of Seoul. Less than two years later on April 10, 1984, the Korean Haidong Gumdo Association was officially established in Seocho, Seoul.