Korean instructors began going abroad to teach Taekwondo in the 1960s. Taekwondo made its way to the world sport through the 1st World Taekwondo Championships held in Seoul, Korea in May 1973 with participation of 19 countries. At the Seoul meet held on May 28, 1973 on the occasion of the championships, representatives of those countries established the World Taekwondo Federation(WTF).

Presently, member countries of the WTF total 144 and the global Taekwondo population is estimated at 30 million people.