Song Deok-gi
Song Deok-Gi | |
---|---|
Born | Sajik-dong, Seoul, Hanseong, Korean Empire | 19 January 1893
Died | 23 July 1987 Seoul, South Korea | (aged 94)
Style | Taekkyon, Gungdo |
Teacher(s) | Im Ho |
Occupation | Taekkyon preserver, Seonbi |
Song Deok-gi | |
Hangul | 송덕기 |
---|---|
Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | Song Deokgi |
McCune–Reischauer | Song Dŏkki |
Art name | |
Hangul | 현암 |
Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | Hyeon Am |
McCune–Reischauer | Hyŏn Am |
Song Deok-Gi (Korean: 송덕기; Hanja:
Biography
[edit]Song Deok-Gi was born in 1893 in Sajik-dong, Seoul, in a family of Taekkyon practitioners. He was introduced by his father to renowned Taekkyon Master Im Ho (임호;
Career
[edit]Song worked as a physical instructor for the Korean Army and the Royal guard before its dissolution by the Japanese. Later on, he became a professional soccer player and even won the Cup of Joseon in 1922.[4] After the Korean War, he was virtually the only practitioner able to teach Taekkyon left. In the following decades, he passed on his knowledge to a new generation of masters, thus laying the seeds for the art's regeneration. Until his passing, he was known as "The Last Taekkyon Master of Joseon ".
The first of June 1983, Song became a national treasure as Taekkyon was designated as the 76th Important Intangible Cultural Properties of Korea by the Cultural Heritage Administration.[5] To this day, it remains one of only two martial arts which possesses such a classification (the other being Ssireum). This recognition attracted many more students and helped secure the transmission of the art. Most leaders of the current Taekkyon Associations started their formation during that time. Song established the Widae Taekkyon Preservation Society with his student Lee Jun-Seo the same year. He died aged 94 in 1987.
Honors
[edit]- Skill Holder of Intangible Cultural Asset No. 76 Taekkyon.[2]
- Living National Treasure No. 283.[6] Relinquished after his death.[7]
See also
[edit]- Taekkyon
- Korean martial arts
- Intangible Cultural Property (South Korea)
- Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (UNESCO)
References
[edit]- ^ "Sajik-Dan, Hwanghakjeong and the Last Taekkyon Master of Joseon Grandpa Song Deok-Gi". Korean Press Foundation.
- ^ a b "Life of Song Deok-Gi: Recognized as Holder of the Skill for having transmitted the Intangible Cultural Property No.76 Taekkyon after the Liberation (해방 이후 중요무형문화재 제76호 태껸 전승자로 지정된 기능보유자.)". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture.
- ^ "The importance of Song Deok-Gi for Taekkyon". Mookas.
- ^ "Song Deok-Gi Soccer track on DongA Ilbo 1922-02-15". ispringhopeblognaver.com.
- ^ "Song Deok-Gi on Naver Dictionnary".
- ^ "Cultural assets of the Hwanghakjeong: Living National Treasure No.283 (Song Deok-Gi)".
- ^ Robert W. Young (1993). "The History and Development of Tae Kyon". Journal of Asian Martial Arts.
Further reading
[edit]- (kor) “Taekgyeon” (전통무예 택견) by Song Deok-Gi (송덕기) and Park Jong-gwan (박종관):. Seoul: Seorim Munhwasa Publishing, 1983
- (German) "Taekkyon – Wie Wasser und Wind" of Hendrik Rubbeling. Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2017, ISBN 978-3744896818.
- (eng) "Taekyon: The Korean Martial Art", by Stanley E. Henning, Robert W.Young, Willy Pieter, Yung Ouyang. Via Media Publishing Company, 2017. ISBN 978-1893765399 originally published in Journal of Asian Martial Arts, 1993.