history of kuk sool won:
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With the arrival of the Japanese, martial arts were forced to retreat underground, back to the very places where they had been developed – the monasteries. The period of the Japanese occupation of Korea and its immediate aftermath are of central importance to the history of Kuk Sool. For it was in this hostile and immensely challenging period that the grandmaster SUH MYONG DUK practised, developed and passed onto his grandson - the founder of Kuk Sool - key Korean martial arts skills, philosophy and ethos. |
 Figure 23: Korean 'righteous army' guerrillas fight against the Japanese |
| The annexation of Korea by the Japanese at the beginning of the 20th century saw the continuing struggle of the Korean people to find the elusive ‘morning calm’ their land had always promised. The thirty-five year occupation and near total domination of Korea by the Japanese can be divided into three periods: |
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1) MU DAN JUNG CHI PERIOD (1910 - 1919) |
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1) MU DAN JUNG CHI PERIOD: 1910-1919 (Suppressive Military Rule) The Japanese ruled over Korea by installing a GOVERNOR-GENERAL. He was appointed by and was directly accountable to the emperor of Japan. The governor-general had total control over all matters concerning Korea. Over the thirty-five years of Japanese occupation, there were seven governor-generals, of whom six were army generals and one was an admiral. All senior government and official positions throughout the country were held by Japanese, Koreans being allowed only to hold minor official positions. |
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Within the first year, nearly all social and religious organisations were outlawed and ordered to dissolve. Christian leaders were arrested and tortured. Some died, some were imprisoned, and others fled to safety. Such was the ferocity of the Japanese invasion with their modern artillery and weapons that BUL KYO MU SOOL did not stand a chance. However, Buddhism and Buddhist temples generally escaped the purge, as Buddhism was widely practised in Japan and thus viewed with great respect by the Japanese. |
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During this first nine-year period, savage military force was used to crush any resistance. Tens of thousands of Korean people were arrested by the military police, the majority for their opposition, in some way or other, to the Japanese occupation. Many were brutally tortured and died, many served long prison sentences, but resistance continued. |
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