CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO EDWIN M. LEE, MAYOR OFFICE OF SMALL BUSINESS REGINA DICK-ENDRIZZI, DIRECTOR Legacy Business Registry Staff Report HEARING DATE NOVEMBER 13, 2017 HWA RANG KWAN MARTIAL ARTS CENTER Application No.: LBR-2017-18-003 Business Name: Hwa Rang Kwan Martial Arts Center Business Address: 90 Welsh Street District: District 6 Applicant: Master Steve Rapport, Owner Nomination Date: July 5, 2017 Nominated By: Supervisor Jane Kim Staff Contact: Richard Kurylo
[email protected] BUSINESS DESCRIPTION Hwa Rang Kwan Martial Arts Center (Hwa Rang Kwan), founded in 1973, is a local martial arts center serving both youth and adults alike and is believed to be the oldest Korean martial arts center on the West Coast. The origins of Hwa Rang Kwan can be traced back to the Korean United Methodist Church (constructed in 1928), the first Korean Church to be constructed in the United States by and for Koreans. In 1969, Pastor Song offered the name “Hwa Rang Kwan” to a Korean Youth Group at 712 Polk Street that was run by the former Korean Association President Min Hee Rhee, father of Taekwondo legends and actors Masters Phillip and Simon Rhee. During this same time, a man by the name of Master Dong Kie Shin opened a Hwa Rang Kwan dojang (martial arts’ school) in the Miadong district of Seoul, Korea. In 1971, Master Shin moved to San Francisco and continued his training at the Polk Street school and in 1973, he opened a Hwa Rang Kwan of his own, the Hwa Rang Kwan Martial Arts Center, on Fillmore Street.