Black Belts in Korea

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leok

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BJJ has come a long way in Korea, with some bumps on the road (Mickey Choi, politics, etc..) But with the help of pioneers like Professor John Frankl, Joon Young Park, Lee Hee Sung, and Marcos Barros, Korea now has over 40 black belts in its short 15 year history.
MFIGHT updated the list of Korea BJJ black belts, and I thought I'd translate it for anybody visiting Korea soon.

Name/ Date/ Lineage / Association
1. Jun Young Park / 07.12.22 / Roberto Tozi / Tozi Korea (East Heaven White Mountain)
2. Hee Seung Lee (1 dan) / 08.12.15 / Takamasa Watanabe / Lee Hee Seung Jiu Jitsu
3. Hee Young Sung / 09.06.10 / Marcos Barbosa / East Heaven White Mountain (DCBS)
4. Su Young Lee (1 dan)/ 10.06.19/ John Frankl/ John Frankl BJJ
5. Jin Woo Park (1 dan) / 10.06.19/ John Frankl/ John Frankl BJJ
6. Joo Pyo Hong / 10.06.23/ Marcos Barros/ Hong Joo Pyo Jiujitsu
7. Sun Sil Kang/ 10.07.09/ 'Cobrinha' / Action Reaction
8. Jin Chul Kim (1 dan)/ 10.08.16/ Osimal Santos Sosta / Blue Dragon
9. Seung Jae Lee (1 dan)/ 10.09.15/ Alvaro Mansor Guraconi / MARC
10. In Mook Chae / 10.10.05 / Marcos Barbosa / DCBS
11. Jae Hoon Lee (1 dan) / 11.02.20/ Steve Kampus / Daegu Bros Gym
12. Kris Kim / 11.04.23 / Ricardo De La Riva / Kris Kim BJJ
13. Young Ahm Roh / 11.05.21 / Jun Young Park / DCBS
14. Duk Young Jang / 11.09.03 / John Frankl / John Frankl Bjj
15. Ji Young Kim / 11.09.03 / John Frankl/ John Frankl BJJ
16. Chun Yong Jae / 11.10.20 / Yuki Nakai / Paraestra
17. Yong Won Choi / 11.12.10 / Ricardo Franginha Miller / Wire BJJ
18. Jae Sup Cho / 12.05.06/ Paulo Guimares / Team Roots
19. Joon Chul Kim / 12.06.30 / John Frankl / John Frankl BJJ
20. Chang Kuk Jung / 12.06.30 / John Frankl/ John Frankl BJJ
21. Kook Joo Kim / 12.06.30 / John Frankl/ John Frankl BJJ
22. Young Soo Kim / 12.08.08 / In Mook Chae / DCBS
23. Seung Ho Ahn / 12.09.16/ Jun Young Park / DCBS
24. Eun Pil Lee / 12.09.16/ In Mook Chae / DCBS
25. Sang Woong Nam / 12.10.01 / Marcos Barbosa / Grappler Factory
26. Sang Joon Suk / 12.10.17 / Marcos Barbosa / Impact Jiujitsu
27. Jung Woo Lee / 12.12.02/ De La Riva / Born BJJ
28. Gun Na / 13.06.11 / Renzo Gracie / Gun Jiujitsu
29. Myung Hoon Choi / 13.08.10 / Marcos Barbosa / TNT Jiujitsu
30. Hyun Kap Park / 13.08.24/ John Frankl / John Frankl BJJ
31. Hee Jin Lee / 13.08.24 / John Frankl / John Frankl BJJ
32. Woong Tae Ahn / 13.08.24/ John Frankl/ John Frankl BJJ
33. Byung Gyu Choi / 13.08.24/ John Frankl/ John Frankl BJJ
34. Hee Tae Lee/ 13.10.20/ Hee Seung Lee/ Lee Hee Seung Jiujitsu
35. Kyu Hwan Choi / 13.10.20 / Hee Seung Lee/ Lee Hee Seung Jiujitsu
36. Hyung Geun Lee / 13.10.20/ Hee Seung Lee/ Lee Hee Seung Jiujitsu
37. Hyun Gul Lee / 13.11.12/ Jae Hoon Lee / Daegu Bros Gym
38. Jung Gyu Choi / 14.04.26/ John Frankl/ John Frankl BJJ
39. Jang Won Byun / 14.05.12/ Fabricio Martins Costa / Evolution Jiujitsu
40. Wan Kee Chae / 14.06.13 / John Frankl/ John Frankl BJJ
41. Ho Won Chung / 14.06.20 / John Frankl/ John Frankl BJJ
42. Moon Su Park / 14.06.21 / Paulo Gumieres / Team Roots
43. Sun Sung Bae / 14.06.29 / Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa / Euijungboo Challenge Team
44. Oh Tae Choi / 14.07.04 / Jun Young Park / DCBS
45. Doo Gwang Jun / 14.07.04/ Jun Young Park / DCBS

Foreign Black Belts currently residing
John Frankl /2002/ Roberto Maia / SBGi (John Frankl BJJ)
Denis Kang /2004/ Marcus Soares / Denis Kang Academy

*Marcus Barros resided in Korea in 2005.

*Please let me know if I've made any spelling errors or if anybody has become a black belt since July 4th 2014.
 
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The lack of diversity in Korean surnames means you guys are going to have a hell of a time playing BJJ belt police in the future!
 
Zankou said:
The lack of diversity in Korean surnames means you guys are going to have a hell of a time playing BJJ belt police in the future!
Click to expand...

Its happening already! People are already mistaking Choi Yong Won with Mickey Choi :(
 
Awesome, awesome list, man. When I first moved to Korea six years ago there were only about 3-4 bb's. It's amazing to see how BJJ has grown.
 
deadlizard said:
Try reading off those names out loud.
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The secret to pronunce korean well is to speak like you are sneezing. Im not kidding, I did that and a korean guy said it was the first time he heard a western saying his name properly.
 
JOON Young park is Jun Young Park
Actually it's East Heaven White Mountain, we also call ourselves Dong Cheon Baek San (DCBS for short)
 
leebyun said:
JOON Young park is Jun Young Park
Actually it's East Heaven White Mountain, we also call ourselves Dong Cheon Baek San (DCBS for short)
Click to expand...

Sorry bout that. I'll edit it, thanks.
 
Knock Out Ned said:
Awesome, awesome list, man. When I first moved to Korea six years ago there were only about 3-4 bb's. It's amazing to see how BJJ has grown.
Click to expand...

Thanks. BJJ has indeed grown rapidly the past few years, especially with all the first BBs from Frankl and DCBS in the past few years. In Seoul, especially in Gangnam, its even become to a point that its easier to find a BJJ or MMA gym than a Hapkido, Boxing, or Judo Gym.
 
leebyun said:
Busan has gyms popping up everywhere too lol
Click to expand...

I hope its not a fad like Kickboxing/Muay Thai was 10 years ago.
There are literally like two/three BJJ/MMA gyms per subway station in Gangnam. Off my head I can think of
Team Posse
Team One
KZ MMA
Impact Gym
Cube MMA
Denis Kang Academy
Kil Competition Team
Lee Hee Seung BJJ (Gangnam)
John Frankl BJJ (Jiujitsu World)
TNT Jiujitsu
Gracie Academy Seoul
Lim Power Training Center

ALL IN GANGNAM. Not Seoul, but only Gangnam.
 
leok said:
I hope its not a fad like Kickboxing/Muay Thai was 10 years ago.
There are literally like two/three BJJ/MMA gyms per subway station in Gangnam. Off my head I can think of
Team Posse
Team One
KZ MMA
Impact Gym
Cube MMA
Denis Kang Academy
Kil Competition Team
Lee Hee Seung BJJ (Gangnam)
John Frankl BJJ (Jiujitsu World)
TNT Jiujitsu
Gracie Academy Seoul
Lim Power Training Center

ALL IN GANGNAM. Not Seoul, but only Gangnam.
Click to expand...

Not surprising considering the population of seoul
 
leok said:
fixed :cool:
Click to expand...

thank you :)

well.. Gangnam is a rich area, not surprised the gyms target rich people, especially the big name brands:icon_chee

btw leok, which gym do you train at in seoul?
 
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I don't live there and am not planning on going there, but just out of curiosity, is it expensive to train BJJ in Korea?

Is it a real estate based market, like NYC/London? As in $200/month minimum?
 
tenniswhiz said:
I don't live there and am not planning on going there, but just out of curiosity, is it expensive to train BJJ in Korea?

Is it a real estate based market, like NYC/London? As in $200/month minimum?
Click to expand...

Its normally around 150~200 for a good BJJ/MMA gym in Seoul. I haven't seen a gym that charges you more than 200 for a month.
 
leebyun said:
thank you :)

well.. Gangnam is a rich area, not surprised the gyms target rich people, especially the big name brands:icon_chee

btw leok, which gym do you train at in seoul?
Click to expand...

I used to train at KZMMA. Now I only lift due to time constraints :( .
 
leok said:
I hope its not a fad like Kickboxing/Muay Thai was 10 years ago.
There are literally like two/three BJJ/MMA gyms per subway station in Gangnam. Off my head I can think of
Team Posse
Team One
KZ MMA
Impact Gym
Cube MMA
Denis Kang Academy
Kil Competition Team
Lee Hee Seung BJJ (Gangnam)
John Frankl BJJ (Jiujitsu World)
TNT Jiujitsu
Gracie Academy Seoul
Lim Power Training Center

ALL IN GANGNAM. Not Seoul, but only Gangnam.
Click to expand...

I guess you could call their style of BJJ...

horatio-caine.jpg


Gangnam Style
 
Hi, this is a great resource. Does anyone know where I can find an updated list?
 
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