The Most Famous
MARTIAL ARTS from North Korea
This page contains a list of the greatest North Korean Martial Arts. The pantheon dataset contains 179 Martial Arts, 3 of which were born in North Korea. This makes North Korea the birth place of the 12th most number of Martial Arts behind France, and Cuba.
Top 3
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary North Korean Martial Arts of all time. This list of famous North Korean Martial Arts is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.
1. Choi Hong Hi (1918 - 2002)
With an HPI of 69.80, Choi Hong Hi is the most famous North Korean Martial Arts. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages on wikipedia.
Choi Hong-hi (Korean: 최홍희; 9 November 1918 – 15 June 2002) was a South Korean Army general, and martial artist who was an important figure in the history of the Korean martial art of Taekwondo, albeit controversial due to his introduction of taekwondo to North Korea. Choi is regarded by many as the "Founder of Taekwon-Do"—most often by organizations belonging to the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF), the first international federation for Taekwondo, which he founded. Others, such as World Taekwondo, portray Choi as either an unimportant or a dishonorable figure in taekwondo history because of his defection to North Korea, whether by omitting him from their versions of taekwondo history or through explicit statements, due to the aforementioned controversy.
2. Kye Sun-hui (b. 1979)
With an HPI of 46.32, Kye Sun-hui is the 2nd most famous North Korean Martial Arts. Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.
Kye Sun-hui (born 2 August 1979, in Pyongyang) is a North Korean judoka. Kye won three Olympic medals in different weight classes, in 1996, 2000 and 2004. When she won the gold medal in Atlanta, 1996 she became the youngest gold medalist in judo. She had entered the Games thanks to the wild card system, and her Olympic gold has been described as one of the biggest surprises of the Atlanta Olympics. Kye competed for a fourth time at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing but did not fare too well. Kye has been awarded the Kim Il-sung Prize and the titles of People's Athlete and Labor Hero.
3. Pak Chol-min (b. 1982)
With an HPI of 40.19, Pak Chol-min is the 3rd most famous North Korean Martial Arts. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Pak Chol-min (Korean pronunciation: [pak̚.tsʰʌl.min]; born 21 September 1982) is a North Korean judoka. He won the bronze medal in the Men's 66 kg at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
People
Pantheon has 3 people classified as North Korean martial arts born between 1918 and 1982. Of these 3, 2 (66.67%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living North Korean martial arts include Kye Sun-hui, and Pak Chol-min. The most famous deceased North Korean martial arts include Choi Hong Hi. As of April 2024, 3 new North Korean martial arts have been added to Pantheon including Choi Hong Hi, Kye Sun-hui, and Pak Chol-min.
Living North Korean Martial Arts
Go to all RankingsDeceased North Korean Martial Arts
Go to all RankingsNewly Added North Korean Martial Arts (2024)
Go to all Rankings
Choi Hong Hi
1918 - 2002
HPI: 69.80
Kye Sun-hui
1979 - Present
HPI: 46.32
Pak Chol-min
1982 - Present
HPI: 40.19
