Legal Controversy
The swift rise to popularity of Haidong Gumdo during the 1990s led to disputes and legal battles between the two major federations, Daehan Haidong Gumdo Federation and Hanguk Haedong Gumdo Federation,
As a result of the lawsuits, the history of the discipline came to be scrutinized by a legal court. The founders of Haidong Gumdo had made various dubious claims regarding the lineage of their discipline, suggesting it was rooted in the martial traditions of the Samurang (士武郞), a supposed group of elite warriors originally trained by a master named Seolbong in the Goguryeo kingdom who allegedly also played a role in the creation of the Japanese samurai caste. In some countries "Samurang" has been registered as a trademark by the World Haidong Gumdo Federation.
Kim Jeong-Ho, president of the Daehan Haidong Gumdo Federation, also claimed that he had learned Haidong Gumdo from a master called Jangbaeksan (meaning Mount Baekdu) at Kwanak Mountain. The court found that these claims were false, or "metaphoric". The trials concluded that Haidong Gumdo was created by Kim Jeong-Ho and Na Hanil, both of whom had studied the Korean sword arts of Gicheonmun (under Bak Daeyang) and Shim Gum Do (under Kim Changsik). The pair worked together under the name of the more widely known of their two arts, Shim Gum Do. Around 1984 they began teaching their martial art under the name Haidong Gumdo. Haidong Gumdo remained a relatively minor art until 1989 when Na Hanil played the leading character in a Korean TV drama. This helped to promote Haidong Gumdo considerably.
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