This list of taekwondo grandmasters includes notable persons who have been recognized as grandmasters of the Korean martial art of taekwondo. There is no single, universally-recognized set of criteria to define a taekwondo grandmaster; different organizations and different styles have their own rules. Those listed below are grouped by system: Kukkiwon (widely known as the World Taekwondo Headquarters), International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF), and other systems (which includes some persons receiving ranks from taekwondo organizations that predate the other two systems, e.g., the original Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA)) and United Taekwondo Association UWTA. World Alliance Taekwon-do Federation GM Francesc Campanya
Kukkiwon (World Taekwondo Headquarters) This list includes persons who: are ranked at least 8th -10th depending school dan by Kukkiwon (the highest rank normally awarded to living persons within that system); are notable as individuals; and are notable for their contribution to taekwondo.
+ style="width:14%;" style="width:6%;" style="width:9%;" style="width:20%;" style="width:42%;" style="width:9%;"Lee, Moo Yong10th dan1938-2016United States of AmericaAwarded the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition Lifetime Achievement Award in Washington, DC; Inducted into the USA Grandmasters Society Hall of Fame; Former President of the USTU. Hong Sung-chon9th dan 1945– Philippines Kukkiwon Chairman of the Board (2016–). CEO and Chief Instructor of the Philippine Taekwondo Association (1975–) Ahn, Kyongwon 9th dan 1937– United States of America Founded United Taekwondo Association; former president of the United States Taekwondo Union See main article Choi, Tae-hong 9th dan 1935–2009 United States of America Founded first taekwondo school in Oregon, United States; former vice-president of the United States Taekwondo Union See main article Chung, Sun-hwan 9th dan 1940– United States of America Founder of Moo Sool Do and President of World Academy of Martial Arts Association. Korean National Champion (1963–1965). Kukkiwon Advisory Council (2008). Hall of Fame - U.S. Taekwondo Grandmasters Society. Former President, U.S.T.U. Michigan Tae Kwon Do Association. Kim, Ki-whang 10th dan 1920–1993 United States of America Promoted to 9th dan by the KTA, Chairman of the US Olympic Taekwondo team 1988, awarded 10th dan while in hospital with cancer in 1993. Inducted into Taekwondo Hall of Fame 2009. See main article Kim Pyung-soo 10th dan 1939– United States of America Promoted to 10th dan by Senior Grandmaster Hong Jong-Pyo, Taekwon Kwon Bop, in the Central YMCA, Seoul. Founded the Chayon-Ryu system of Taekwondo. See main articleSamer Kamal9th dan1966–CanadaPresident of the Arab Canadian Sports Association, 1988 Seoul Olympics medalist, 1st Class International referee since 1999, 1st Class Kukkiwon Examiner, the President of Champions Martial Arts Taekwondo in Canada and Jordanwww.SamerKamal.infoChong, Jun10th dan1944–United States of AmericaFounder of World United Martial Arts Organization, est 1973. His system combines Taekwondo and Hapkido.Min, Kyung-Ho (Dr. Ken Min)9th dan1935–United States of AmericaFounder of the UC Martial Arts Program at UC Berkeley in 1969, which then hosted the first UC Open in 1970.Sell, Edward B10th dan1942–2014United States of AmericaHighest ranked non-Asian Taekwondo black belt in the world. Only non-Korean honored at the Taekwondo Park in Seoul, Korea. Founder of the United States Chung Do Kwan Association. Paik, Sang-kee 9th dan 1929–2009 United States of America Early student of B. I. Yoon and first Black Belt of Grand Master Ki Whang Kim; created Sa-Sang Kwan system. Inducted into Taekwondo Hall of Fame 2013 See main article Park, Dong-keun 9th dan c. 1941– United States of America Father of Thai taekwondo; Head Coach of US Olympic taekwondo team in 1988 and 1992 See main article Park, Young-Ghil 10th dan 1941– 2024 Italy One of Founders of Italian Taekwondo (three Park Brothers - Sun-jae Park, Young-Ghil Park, Chung-un Park); Honorary President of FITA - Italian Taekwondo Federation 2016 - 2024; Technical Director of WTF Poomsae Committee 2018 Hawkins, P. (2004): An interview with Grandmaster Lee Yoo-sun Totally Tae Kwon Do, 5:9–15.Lee, K.-M. (2000): Taekwondo on the world stage Koreana: A quarterly on Korean art and culture, 14(4):20–23. Retrieved on 18 January 2010.Fumarola, M. (c. 1998): Taekwondo Magazine: Il Taekwondo in Italia . Retrieved on 18 January 2010.Kang, S.-W. (2009): Choue re-elected as WTF head The Korea Times (14 October 2009). Retrieved on 20 May 2010. Lee, Hyeon-kon 9th dan c. 1947– United States of America Chairman of Board of Education of Kukkiwon; former Vice Chairman of Education of the WTF; author of taekwondo textbook. Became an M.D. in 2000. Grandmaster H. K. Lee Tae Kwon Do: Grandmaster H. K. Lee (c. 2004). Retrieved on 1 June 2009.Richmond Sunlight: House Resolution no. 503 (Virginia General Assembly, 10 May 2006). Retrieved on 24 February 2010.DiCicco, M. (2009): Following Tae Kwon Do to its origins: Members of area studio return from expo in Korea with medals, memories, fighting skills Connection Newspapers (26 August 2009). Retrieved on 20 March 2010. Cho, Byung-kon9th dan 1947–United States of AmericaStudent of Grand Master Pong-ki Kim and Grand Master Kop-soo Kwon Kukkiwon #05000166 - Issued: 2001-09-08 Founder: Wisconsin Governors Cup Founder: Virginia Governors Cup Author: Korean Culture, Tourism and Language Author: Star Taekwon-Do Master's Course Author: Martial Arts Dynamic Marketing and Management Seminar Author: International Discipline in the Martial Arts Seminar Author: A Health Revolution Secretary General for Korean-American Foundation (KAF) Past President of the Virginia State Tae Kwon Do Association Former Secretary General for US Taekwondo Martial Arts Commission Former Flexibility Consultant for Green Bay Packers TaeKwonDo Times Magazine Issue March 1991 Sell, Brenda Jean (Brenda Sell) 9th dan January 1955– Lakeland, Florida (USA) Kukkiwon Certificate number: 05001899 first female to be awarded the World Taekwondo Federation certification for international level referee credentials Highest ranked non-Asian Kukkiwon female in the world President of the United States Chung Do Kwan Association See Wikipedia page for all sources Wyllie, Gregory 9th dan c. 1955 – Sydney, New South Wales (Australia) Introduced Taekwondo into the New South Wales school system, initiated the All Schools tournament. He became a ninth dan in April 2016. Mario, Hung Wai Wing 9th dan Port-Louis (Mauritius) Introduced Taekwondo in Mauritius since the 1970s and was induced to the World Taekwondo Hall of fame. Sylvestre, Yan Too Sang 8th dan Rose-Hill (Mauritius) A competitive Grandmaster who participated in several local, regional and international competitions. At the peak of his competitive career, Grandmaster Sylvestre Yan Too Sang ranked 5th (Poomsae) at the World tournament held in 2012.Won, In Hui9th danOklahoma City, Oklahoma (USA)President of the Hanmookwan, one of the original 9 kwans that helped shape modern Taekwondo. President of the Central US Taekwondo Association. District director of the Oklahoma State Taekwondo Association. Served as an instructor while in the Korean armed forces and trained the US armed forces in Korea.https://www.worldhanmookwan.org/history/inhuiwon/ Hassan Iskandar 9th dan Kukkiwon1962-Sydney, New South Wales (Australia)Awarded Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) 2025 Awarded Australian Sports Medal (2000)
Awarded Tasmanian Star of Sport Award (1986)
Inducted into the Taekwondo Hall of Fame (2011)
World World Taekwondo (WT) Executive Council member (2021–2025)
President of Australian Taekwondo from 2017 to 2021.
Chairman Taekwondo Australia 2010
Secretary General Australian Taekwondohttps://pinnaclemartialarts.com.au/ Jean Kfoury 9th dan1965–Adelaide South Australia (Australia)Awarded Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) 2026 President of Australian Taekwondo
Inducted into the Taekwondo Hall of Fame 2013
Awarded international best selling Co -Author 2025
Elite Martial Artists World Wide Volume III
Former Vice President Commonwealth Taekwondo Union (Oceania)
Secretary General Australian Taekwondo 2017 to 2021https://austkd.com.au/2026/05/enews/australian-taekwondo-celebrates-prestigious-honour-for-president-jean-kfoury-oam/
International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITFs) This list includes persons who: are ranked 9th dan by the ITF (and thus officially recognised as 'Grand Masters' within that system);Choi, H. H. (1993): Taekwon-Do: The Korean art of self-defence, 3rd ed. (Vol. 1, p. 122). Mississauga: International Taekwon-Do Federation. are notable as individuals; and are notable for their contribution to taekwondo.