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Master Ko Baek-yong

master ko baek-yong

Ko Baek-yong (고백용, 9th dan) was the senior student of Myung Jae-nam, the founder of Hankido. Master Ko Baek-yong was the founder of Sangmukwan and the World Hankimuye Federation. After his teacher passed away in 1999 master Ko Baek-yong established the Sangmukwan International H.K.D. Center. Students were able to stay at the center for longer periods of time to learn martial arts. Later master Ko Baek-yong founded the World Hankimuye Federation. In 2017 master Ko Baek-yong passed away, our federation however continues to teach the legacy he left behind.

Master Ko’s life

Master Ko Baek-yong started his study in hapkido in 1964 in Incheon under Myung Jae-nam. At a young age he already started teaching American GI’s at the local army base. This is where he realised that for a technique to work one shouldn’t rely on physical strength. To gain a deeper understanding in the working principles of martial arts he also took up studying Chinese internal martial arts.

In 1989 master Ko Baek-yong accompanied kuksanim on his trip to the Netherlands which led to long lasting bond between him and members of the ‘Nederlandse HKD Federatie‘. Students of master Ko Baek-yong run schools in the Netherlands, Finland, Turkey, Russia and the United States.

Master Ko Baek-yong was the first leader of the IHF demonstration team for the first and second International Hapkido Games. Kuksanim asked master Ko to help him teach hankido and made him the technical director of the IHF. He held this position until kuksanim passed away in 1999.

His school transformed in an international training center for people who wanted to learn hapkido, hankido and hankumdo. In 2014 master Ko Baek-yong founded the World Hankimuye Federation (W.H.F.) together with his friend master Yang Yong-seok. The goal of the Hankimuye Federation is to give everyone the chance to learn high quality martial arts.

On October 5, 2017 master Ko Baek-yong passed away after he had been diagnosed with cancer earlier that year. The World Hankimuye Federation continues to teach master Ko’s style of martial art.