WORLD TAEKWON-DO FEDERATION (WTF) The first organizational assembly of the WTF was held at the Kukkiwon on May 26, 1973, with participation by 35 tae kwon do representatives from around the world. The WTF was officially established two days later, on May 28, and Un Yong Kim, president of hte Korea Taekwondo Association, was elevated to the WTF’s presidency for a four-year term. Among the resolutions passed at the inaugural meeting were the holding of the World Tae Kwon Do Championships every two years, and investing Kim with authority to select and designate officials for the WTF. On June 1, 1973, 29 executive members throughout the world were appointed by Kim, and two days later, the secretariat of the WTF was installed at the Kukkiwon. Goals set by the WTF include: introduction of a universal system of black belt promotions; establishing unified rules and regulations for tae kwon do competition; sponsoring referees and officials courses and instructors refresher courses. Major activities to date include: May 15-18, 1974: The 1st Internaitonal Referee Seminar was held at the Kukkiwon; 46 referees form 11 countries participated. October 18-20, 1974: The 1st Asian Tae Kwon Do Championships was held at the Kukkiwon, Seoul, with the participation of 10 countries. The event was promoted by the WTF and sponsored by the Korea Taekwondo Association. Aug. 22-23, 1975: The 2nd International Tae Kwon Do Referee Seminar was held at the Kukkiwon; 218 applicants from 29 countries participated; 87 passed the qualification test for third-class international referee certificates. Oct. 8, 1975: The WTF became an affiliate of the General Assembly of the International Sports Federation (GAISF) by unanimous vote at its annual meeting in Montreal, Canada, which president Kim attended as tae kwon do’s official representative. Apr. 9, 1976: Tae kwon do was adopted by the International Military Sports Council (CISM). The decision to introduce tae kwon do in the CISM event as the 23rd official sport was made by the CISM executive committee meeting held April 7-9. May 19-20, 1976: The 3rd International Tae Kwon Do Referee Seminar was conducted in Barcelona, Spjain; 16 of the 57 participants passed the tests. May 21, 1976: The European Taekwon-do Union was organized at the inaugural meeting held in Barcelona, Spain, with the participation of 12 European member federations from Spain, Belgium, Austria, Portugal, West Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Turkey, Greece, Denmark, and England.
Aug. 5, 1976: The first issue of World Taekwondo, the official organ of the WTF, was published. October 12-15, 1976: The 4th International Tae Kwon Do Referee Seminar was held in Melbourne, Australia, with participation by 21 referees. Oct. 16-17, 1976: The 2nd Asian Tae Kwon Do Championships was hosted by the Australia Taekwondo Association in Melbourne. Particiapting were 10 national delegations including Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, New Zealand, Iran, Japan, Tahiti, and Korea. Dec. 13, 1976: The 1st Middle East International Goodwill Championships were held in Cairo, Egypt; 40 contestants, representing Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, West Germany, Morocco, Turkey, Ivory Coast, and Lebanon, took part in the tournament. By 1976, the WTF reported a membership in 58 countries with a total of 1,005 affiliated instructors. The number of instructors in the five leading countries, excluding Korea, were 637 (U.S.), 62 (Canada), 46 (Germany), 38 (Spain), and 19 (China).