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The Ten Most Influential People in Baduk History


6. Cho Hoon-hyun, a Living Legend

	Most people just go along in the flow of history, but some people make history. We have all seen that on occasion the whole direction of the flow of history is changed by a single person. Cho Hoon-hyun is such a person. He changed the map of the 20th century Baduk world. Now, he stands at the center of that world and defines the balance of power between the three Baduk nations of northeast Asia. Such a statement might be dismissed as an exaggerated deification, but there is every reason to treat Cho Hoon-hyun as a god of Baduk. His imposing presence as been felt in every corner of modern Korean Baduk development.




Until the mid 20th century, Japan decisively dominated world Baduk. Japan's wealth of Baduk skill and philosophy -- derived partly from hundreds of years of national records -- made it really the sole leader of the Baduk world. No other country could come close to matching Japanese resources and skill. However, it is fascinating to observe that despite this long and rich Baduk tradition, Japan has not been able to continue to dominate modern world Baduk. There are a number of possible reasons for this. One definite factor is that the accumulated Baduk treasure of Japan has not been kept exclusively to the Japanese. And the messenger who was able to transplant the Japanese Baduk tradition abroad was Korean. He was on our side! Until the last decades of the 20th century, Japan was the Mecca of world Baduk. To begin to absorb the skill and heritage of Japanese Baduk, it was necessary to study abroad. Of course the first student to go to Japan was Cho Nam-chul. And Cho Hoon-hyun did not go to Japan to study until after Cho Chi-hoon and Kim In had studied there. However, Cho Chi-hoon has spent his career as a member of Nihon Ki-in, primarily playing in Japan and although Kim In, Yoon Ki-hyun, and Ha Chan-seok all studied in Japan, they each stayed there for only a relatively short time. So, second only to Cho Nam-chul (who is indisputably a distinctive leading spirit who brought modern Baduk to Korea and devoted his entire life to promoting and developing Baduk in his home country), Cho Hoon-hyun is the person most responsible for bringing Japanese Baduk skills and Baduk heritage and tradition back to Korea. The star who elevated Korean Baduk to world prominence Cho Hoon-hyun is legendary for achieving professional status in Korea at the age of nine. Soon after his arrival in Japan, he achieved professional status there as well, through successful performance in the competition which determined professional titles. He was the only player to have done this in both countries. This achievement stands as a symbol of Cho Hoon-hyun's enormous importance. During his ten years in Japan, from 1963 to 1972, Cho Hoon-hyun exerted a significant personal influence but also represented the growing influence of Korean Baduk in general.

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