History: Koguryo's Sonbae and Taekkyon

Koguryo was founded on the northern part of Korea, surrounded by the hostile Han(Chinese) tribes in the north. Therefore, in its initial stage of national foundation, the kingdom organized a strong warrior's corps called "sonbae" in its attempt to consolidate the centralized power.

According the scholars of history, the word "sonbae" is meant by a man of virtue who never recoils from a fighting, that is, a member of the warrior's corps. Later a history book on the old Chosun dynasty described the life of Koguryo days, saying; "People gathered on March 10 every year at a site of ritual, where they enjoyed a sword dance, archery, subak(taekyon) contests and so on", implying that subak(Taekwondo) was one of the popular events for the ritual in the Koguryo days.It also said that "sonbaes lived in groups, learning history and literary arts at home and going out to construct roads and fortresses for the benefits of society, always devoting themselves to the nation." Therefore, it is altogether natural that Koguryo put the priority of interests on the taekkyon which was the basis of martial arts, as can be proved by the wall paintings discovered at several tombs of Koguryo days. A mural painting at the Samsil Tomb shows two warriors engaged in a face-to-face match in takkyon(Taekwondo) stance, and a third at the same tomb shows the scene of Korean wrestling bout, clearly distinguishing it from the taekkyon.

A mural painting of one of the Royal Tombs depicting the scene of a Korean wrestling bout. Others reject this evidence and say that these men  could be dancing as well.

The painting of the taekkyon match suggests that the dead was either a taekkyon practitioner or the subject of condolence with dances and martial art.

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