The history of Taekwondo(spelling may also vary, Tae Kwon Do Taekwon-Do etc.) is both long and short. Tae Kwon Do means the way of the hand and foot,and is most probably best known for the powerful, graceful kicks. Korea was ocupied by Japan from 1910 through World War II, and this occupation influenced the entire culture. Competitive sports and martial arts were outlawed, including Tae Kyon and SooBakGi. Only the military, now under Japanese control, could practice martial arts. Due to peace treaties between the Japanese and Koreans, Japanese educational curricula were taught in all Korean schools. Martial arts in Korea were either practiced in secret, or were forced to study in schools controled by the Japanese.
Surviving this occupation within Korea there were major martial art academies or Kwans. They included, Chung Do Kwan, Moo Duk Kwan, Yun Moo Kwan, Chang Moo Kwan, Oh Do Kwan, Ji Do Kwan, Chi Do Kwan and dong Moo Kwan. Within these schools lie a variety of styles such as KongSooDo, Tae Kyon, SooBakDo, TangSooDo, KwonPup, etc. The way of teaching and employing many of the techniques varied as much as the schools and in 1946 an attempt was made to unify Dojangs (training halls) and standardize instructional methods. This and subsequent attempts were not entirely successful.
Taekwondo was systemitized as we know it presently by General Choi Hong Hi in 1954-55. The name was designed to encompass the teachings of major Kwans, and unify the progress of Martial Arts toward a national goal. The Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA) was formed to help unify and standardize the arts taught by the Kwans. In 1973 the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) was established with the participation of 19 countries and the First World Competition took place in Seoul, South Korea. In 1980 WTF was granted recognition by International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the 83th General Session in Moscow and in 1994 Taekwondo became an official Olympic sport scheduled for the Sidney 2000 Olympic Games by the 103th IOC Session in Paris.
This clip on youtube is a compilation of highlites during the 2008 Olympic Games, since the link will take you from this site, we have no control over the content.