Korea

Since 1948, Korea has been politically divided to two countries: South Korea (ROK: Republic of Korea) and North Korea (DPRK: Democratic People's Republic of Korea). Here on Sensei's Library, "Korea" means almost exclusively South Korea, a powerhouse in Go recently, because North Korea has no professional players and scarce international presence in Go. For Go in today's North Korea, see a separate article.

In Korea, Go is called "Baduk".

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History

In the 16th century, it was common in Korea to play Sunjang Baduk.

The modern free-opening was introduced only in the 20th century by players who studied Go in Japan, such as Cho Namcheol. (Korea was a part of Imperial Japan for 35 years, 1910-1945.)

In 1980, Cho Chikun's win of Meijin title in Japan started a big Go boom in South Korea. Another boom came when Cho Hun-hyeon won the first Ing Cup in 1990.

From the early 1990's on, through the efforts of the older master Cho Hun-hyeon and his disciple Yi Ch'ang-Ho, who by then overtook the professional Go scene, Korean Go or baduk has revolutionized the entire Go world, as well on the level of tournament results, as on the level of knowledge (opening theory, shape, and playing style).

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