Hyong "Billy" Hong (NC)

The late Master Hyong Ung Hong first started teaching Tae Kwon Do in 1961 – 63 to the Korean Army Combat Division. In 1963 – 64 he was the instructor for the Korean CIA and in 1964 – 65 he was a Korean Military Academy instructor. In 1965 he won the World Tae Kwon Do Championships in his weight division. 

Master Hong entered the USA in 1966. He was the first master to bring Tae Kwon Do to the Carolinas by becoming the head instructor at Southeastern Tae Kwon Do Institute in Greenville, SC. This school would later become known as Hong’s Tae Kwon Do Institute. In 1977 the World Tae Kwon Do Federation in Seoul, South Korea named Master Hyong Ung Hong Tae Kwon Do instructor of the year.

On September 1, 1983 Master Hong was killed while traveling to South Korea. Flight KAL 007 drifted into Soviet air space and was shot down by soviet jet fighters. His positive influence is still present by all who trained under Master Hong and knew him.