Choi Yong-sool, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Choi Yong-sool

South Korean martial artist

Date of Birth: 09-Nov-1904

Place of Birth: North Chungcheong Province, South Korea

Date of Death: 15-Jun-1986

Profession: martial artist

Nationality: South Korea

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

Choi Yong-sool (Korean: ???; Hanja: ???; November 9, 1904 – June 15, 1986), alternative spelling Choi Yong-sul, was the founder of the martial art Hapkido (Hangul: ???; hanja: ???).
He was born in today's Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea, and was taken to Japan during the Japanese occupation of Korea when he was eight years old.
Choi later stated that he became a student of Takeda Sokaku, and studied a form of jujutsu known as Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu (???????) while in Japan.
This is disputed by some parties, due to the historically acrimonious relationship between Japan and Korea, and lack of clear documentary evidence (see below). Choi returned to Korea after the end of World War II and in 1948 began teaching his art at a brewery owned by the father of his first student Seo Bok-Seob (Korean: ???; Suh Bok-Sub).
He first called his art "Yu Sul (Korean: ??)" or "Yawara (Korean: ???; ??)" later changing it to "Yu Kwon Sool (Korean: ???; ???)" and "Hap Ki Yu Kwon Sool (Korean: ?? ???; ?????)" and eventually Hapkido.Choi Yong-Sool was honored with the titles doju (Korean: ??; ??), which can be translated as "Keeper of the way", and changsija (Korean: ???; ???), which simply means "founder".
The arts of Hapkido, modern Hwa Rang Do, Kuk Sool Won, as well as lesser known arts such as Han Pul all show influence of the teachings of Master Choi.