Sadly, I want to inform you that on June 10, 2009, Grandmaster, Chong Sung Kim, passed away in his home in San Gabriel, California. He was 78 years old. Grandmaster Kim was the Chairman of the Jang Mu Won Hapkido Association consisting of 5 schools in Southern California, and the Master Instructor at Kim’s Hapkido, Alhambra. He was a student of Young Sul Choi, the founder of Hapkido.

Services will be held June 16, 2009, 11 am, at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier

While I never personally trained under Grandmaster Kim, Chong-Sung, I am friends with instructors under him, and have trained at one of the schools in Southern California. If the quality of an instructor is reflected by the instructor's students, Grandmaster Kim is of the highest quality.

Hapkido has lost one of the pioneers. May thoughts go out to Grandmaster Kim's family, friends, and students.

Alain