8th Dan – Pin # 1602

Grandmaster Myung Seok Seo was born in August, 1943, in Gambong Ri, Goom Hwa Eub, Chul Won Kun, Kang Won Do. In 1962, he graduated from Bo In High School in Seoul and continued higher education at Dong Ah University in Pusan where he graduated in 1966.

After College, Grandmaster Seo was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Korean Army and his first assignment was to serve in the United Nations Army Ranger Force in the Vietnam War.

In 1968, he was assigned as an instructor to the Korean Combat Police, training special units for combat missions. His extensive experience and knowledge in the martial arts earned him a place in the Military Advisory Group in Vietnam (MAGV) where he taught over 7,000 South Vietnamese military personnel.

In recognition for his services in the Vietnam War, Grandmaster Seo received a citation for Honorable Service and Teaching Excellence in Vietnam in 1970. A year later, he was presented an Award of Commendation from Lieutenant General Vien of the South Vietnamese Army. For his exemplary service and dedication he was promoted to the rank of Captain that same year.

After his military service, Grandmaster Seo moved to Miri Sarawak and worked as the Chief Instructor for the East Malaysia Tang Soo Do Association for nearly two years. Then, in March 1974, he became the Chief Instructor for the Brunei Tang Soo Do Association in Brunei, off the coast of Malaysia. Due to his prominent reputation, he became the personal instructor to the royal family in Brunei. His career in Malaysia concluded in August of that year, when Grand Master Won Kook Lee invited him to teach Tang Soo Do in the United States. He moved to America and for two months served as Chief Instructor for the American Council on Karate Instruction, Inc. at Grandmaster Won Kook Lee’s Karate Studio. In October 1974, Grandmaster Seo opened his first martial arts school, Myung’s Institute of Tang Soo Do, in Waldorf, Maryland.

Since then he has taught over 3,000 students in Southern Maryland alone and 25,000 students in 9 different countries. Kwan Jang Nim Seo’s Dan credentials include 1st through 5th certifications from Grandmaster Hwang Kee between 1954 and 1971, 6th Dan from Grandmaster Won Kook Lee in 1976, 7th Dan from Grandmaster Hwang Hee in 1981 and his 8th Dan from Grandmaster Kang Uk Lee in 1989.

He is also the author of “Traditional Tang Soo Do – Volume 1” published in 1998.