Cho Namchul

Cho Namchul
Hangul	조남철
Hanja	趙南哲
Born	November 30, 1923 Buan, South Korea
Died	July 2, 2006, aged 83
Teacher	Kitani Minoru
Rank	9 dan
Affiliation	Hanguk Kiwon

Cho Namchul (November 30, 1923 - July 2, 2006, alternately Cho Namcheol) was a professional Go player (Baduk in Korean). He died of natural causes in Seoul at the age of 83.

Cho was born in a farming village in Buan, North Jeolla Province. In 1934, Japanese professional Kitani Minoru visited Korea and played with ten-year-old Cho, who deeply impressed the great master. He went to Japan in 1937 to study go as Kitani's first insei, or live-in student. In 1943, he returned to Korea and played a key role in the founding of the Hanguk Kiwon. It wasn't until 1983, that he would be awarded 9 dan, but for most of the 1950s and 1960s, he won the vast majority of national tournaments.

He is known as the founder of Korean modern Go. Namchul is also the uncle of the top Japanese Go title holder Cho Chikun.

After his death, he was honored by the president of Korea with a medal and floral tribute.

Ranks #5 in total amount of titles in Korea.

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