Venezuela
ITF
Venezuela construyó su comunidad ITF a partir de los maestros coreanos que llegaron en 1968, antes de que existiera cualquier distinción entre ITF y WT. El arte llegó con el Grand Master Ho Kwun Kang (Jido Kwan), y décadas después se formalizó en FEVETI (Federación Venezolana de Taekwon-Do ITF), afiliada a la rama Choi Jung Hwa. Lo que hace única a Venezuela en el contexto ITF latinoamericano es la paradoja de su posición: geopolíticamente cercana a Cuba y Corea del Norte durante los gobiernos chavistas, pero institucionalmente alineada con la facción no norcoreana del ITF — y hoy golpeada por la diáspora masiva de sus propios instructores.
Pioneers
The Korean pioneers — Ho Kwun Kang and the first masters
Taekwondo arrives in Venezuela before the ITF even existed
On 1 June 1968, Grand Master Ho Kwun Kang (Jido Kwan) and his brother Ho Sick Kang arrived in Venezuela as the first documented Taekwondo practitioners in the country. Other Korean masters joined them in different regions: Howo Kan in the Federal District, Chong Koo Lee in Carabobo, Chang Ok Jui in Yaracuy and Hong Ki Kim in Anzoátegui. In those years there was no ITF/WT distinction — they all taught the same evolving art, then known as 'Dang Su Do' or simply Taekwondo.
Ho Kwun Kang trained the first Venezuelan black belts, including Vicente Pérez, Elías Molero and Johnny Bermúdez — figures who decades later would become the pillars of Venezuelan ITF.
“Ho Kwun Kang arrived on 1 June 1968 — the day Taekwondo began in Venezuela.”
First Structures
First structures — the first formal dojang
Hong Ki Kim founds the first school with its own name in Venezuela
On 15 January 1972, Hong Ki Kim formally founded the 'Hong Ki Kim Martial Arts School' in Puerto La Cruz, Anzoátegui — the first Taekwondo school with its own name in Venezuela. During this era the first Venezuelan black belts were trained under the pioneering Korean masters.
The sport was growing without a formal national federation to regulate it, but the network of academies was extending across Caracas, Carabobo, Anzoátegui and other regions, laying the foundations for the institutionalisation that would come in the following decade.
“First Taekwondo school in Venezuela — Puerto La Cruz, 15 January 1972.”
Federation and Schism
The national federation and the ITF/WT schism
FEVETI is born as a body distinct from the Olympic system
On 17 July 1984, the national Venezuelan Taekwondo federation was founded (aligned with what would eventually be the WT/Olympic system). Within this framework, practitioners of the ITF style — Chang Hon, tuls, sine wave — began to organise separately. FEVETI (Federación Venezolana de Taekwon-Do ITF) was constituted approximately between 1987 and 1990 (exact date unconfirmed) with Vicente Pérez at its head.
The first board of directors of the national body was chaired by Domingo Gómez D'Reis (until 1985) and Alfredo Betencourt (1985–1986). The institutional separation reflected the global division of Taekwondo: Olympic under the Seoul umbrella, traditional under General Choi's legacy.
“FEVETI was born to preserve the Chang Hon style in Venezuela — tuls, sine wave and Matsogi.”
Consolidation
Consolidation and geopolitical context
FEVETI aligned with Choi Jung Hwa in a country close to Pyongyang
FEVETI consolidated itself as a pioneer in teaching the ITF style at national level, registered with ID 30732 in the official itf-administration.com directory (INO 339). Venezuela began to take part in the Pan American ITF circuit alongside Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.
The political context created a paradoxical scenario: the Venezuelan government's diplomatic relations with North Korea were close, but FEVETI remained aligned with the non-North-Korean ITF faction. There is no documented direct arrival of North Korean masters in Venezuela through the DPRK-Cuba channel (unconfirmed).
“Venezuela — aligned with the non-North-Korean ITF faction in a country with diplomatic ties to Pyongyang.”
Post-Choi
ITF fracture and alignment with Choi Jung Hwa
FEVETI picks its faction in the three-way schism
The death of General Choi Hong Hi on 15 June 2002 fractured the world ITF into three branches: Choi Jung Hwa (the founder's son, based in Canada/UK), ITF-Vienna (backed by North Korea, chaired by Chang Ung) and ITF-Benidorm (Trần Triệu Quân, then Pablo Trajtenberg). FEVETI aligned with the Choi Jung Hwa branch — the largest at global level.
Vicente Pérez continued as director of FEVETI, taking part in international seminars with Choi Jung Hwa himself. FEVETI's decision not to align with the North Korean branch was consistent with the institutional independence it had maintained from the start, despite the Venezuelan government's geopolitical context.
“FEVETI chose the founder's direct dynastic line — Choi Jung Hwa — in the 2002 schism.”
Crisis and Resilience
Crisis and resilience — Venezuelan ITF facing the diaspora
7.7 million emigrants and a federation that does not give up
Venezuela's political and economic crisis devastated the ITF Taekwondo structure: training camps cancelled for lack of resources, an inability to acquire electronic protectors, and difficulties obtaining passports to travel to international competitions. The diaspora — over 7.7 million emigrants by 2024 — drained the instructor base: many ITF black belts settled in Colombia, Spain and the USA.
FEVETI responded with virtual courses, remote examinations, and maintained a presence at the ITF Virtual South American Championship together with nine countries from the region during pandemic restrictions. The federation remains active as a testimony of institutional resilience under extreme conditions.
“The diaspora drained instructors, but FEVETI did not close — virtual exams, Pan American presence, resistance.”
Taekwondo en Venezuela
- ›Primer maestro de Taekwondo en Venezuela (1 jun 1968)
- ›Linaje Jido Kwan — formado en Corea
- ›Formó a Vicente Pérez, Elías Molero y Johnny Bermúdez
- ›9° Dan — Grand Master
- ›VII Dan ITF — alumno directo de Ho Kwun Kang
- ›Director de FEVETI por más de 25 años
- ›Mantuvo FEVETI operativa durante la crisis venezolana
- ›FEVETI afiliada a Choi Jung Hwa (ITF-C)
- ›Fundó la primera escuela formal de TKD en Venezuela (Puerto La Cruz, 1972)
- ›Pionero en el estado Anzoátegui
- ›Parte del grupo original de maestros coreanos de 1968
Sigue explorando
La historia del Taekwondo continúa en cada dojang, en cada clase, en cada estudiante.