I'm moving this discussion to a new thread. I think we go off on tangents and it might be more helpful to give some of this discussions their own space.
I forget exactly how it went down, but from what I remember, GM KIM Ki Whang received dan ranking from TOYAMA Kanken Sensei while studying in Japan. When he came back to Korea, he did not open a dojang but instead did befriend and taught certain individuals such as Moo Duk Kwan GM HONG Chong Soo, who did have a school. I believe that GM Hong considered GM Kim to be his teacher, perhaps even more than GM Hwang.
Kang Duk Won GM PARK Chull Hee also said that he considered GM Kim to be his senior and that he learned many things from him. He said that GM Kim and GM YOON Byung In, his original teacher, both learned Karate from the same person, TOYAMA Kanken Sensei.
Anyway, at some point, I believe that GM Kim had to leave Korea. I can't remember the reason but he had to leave. GM HWANG Kee heard about this and so he promoted GM Kim to Moo Duk Kwan 7th Dan (like the Chung Do Kwan, the highest rank available at the time) so he would have a credential to leave. At that point, I believe that GM Kim had not been active in the martial arts for years.
I am under the impression that back in the early days, you needed some sort of sponsorship to leave Korea to teach TKD abroad, and that this involved being KKW certified. This impression, comes mainly from the immigration story of KIM Ki Whang. I know that WHANG Kee had some role in getting KIM here, albeit under the guise of Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan. I assume that my KJN attained KKW certification for this reason, although I do not know this for certain, I am only guessing. Also I would assume that KKW certification was important for his role in the Olympics and in the USTU, but again this is only conjecture.
I forget exactly how it went down, but from what I remember, GM KIM Ki Whang received dan ranking from TOYAMA Kanken Sensei while studying in Japan. When he came back to Korea, he did not open a dojang but instead did befriend and taught certain individuals such as Moo Duk Kwan GM HONG Chong Soo, who did have a school. I believe that GM Hong considered GM Kim to be his teacher, perhaps even more than GM Hwang.
Kang Duk Won GM PARK Chull Hee also said that he considered GM Kim to be his senior and that he learned many things from him. He said that GM Kim and GM YOON Byung In, his original teacher, both learned Karate from the same person, TOYAMA Kanken Sensei.
Anyway, at some point, I believe that GM Kim had to leave Korea. I can't remember the reason but he had to leave. GM HWANG Kee heard about this and so he promoted GM Kim to Moo Duk Kwan 7th Dan (like the Chung Do Kwan, the highest rank available at the time) so he would have a credential to leave. At that point, I believe that GM Kim had not been active in the martial arts for years.