Ranks and Belts

A student's rank is indicated by the color of his or her belt. Each solid color has a symbolic meaning; the stripe belts indicate an intermediate level. Various federations use various color schemes; below are the colors used by the Han Tae Kwon-Do Alliance. In the HTA, the highest rank is 9th dan (reached by both Grandmaster Han Cha Kyo 한차교, founder of the Universal Tae Kwon Do Federation, and his brother, HTA president Grandmaster Han Min Kyo 한민교).

The "high pattern" is the pattern that the student has not yet performed at a promotion test. It is the pattern a student should be learning for the next test. Example: a student who is currently a yellow belt should be learning Dan-Gun so that he/she can perform it at the next test, after which (if successful) he/she will become an orange belt. (The term "low pattern" refers to the pattern that the student has already learned and performed at his/her most recent test.)

Junior rank (color belt): 급 (geup)
Senior rank (black belt): 단 (dan)

Note: in order to view the Hangeul characters, you need to have Korean language support installed on your computer.

Belt	Belt in Korean	Rank	High pattern	Meaning
White	흰색 띠 Huin-saek tti	10th geup	Four-directional punch and kick	Representing the innocence of the beginner.
Yellow stripe		9th geup	천지 Cheon-Ji
Yellow	노란색 띠 No-ran-saek tti	8th geup	단군 Dan-Gun	Representing the Earth from which the plant sprouts as Tae Kwon-Do skill develops under the heat of the sun.
Orange	주황색 띠 Ju-hwang-saek tti	7th geup	도산 Do-San
Green	녹색 띠 Nok-saek tti	6th geup	원효 Won-Hyo	Signifying the plant's growth and development.
Blue stripe		5th geup	율곡 Yul-Gok
Blue	파란색 띠 Pa-ran-saek tti	4th geup	중근 Jung-Geun	Representing the Heavens toward which the maturing plant grows.
Red stripe		3rd geup	퇴계 Toi-Gye
Red	빨간색 띠 Ppal-gan-saek tti	2nd geup	화랑 Hwa-Rang	Warning the student to master self-control, and opponents to stay away.
Black stripe		1st geup	충무 Chung-Mu
Black	검정색 띠 Geom-jeong-saek tti	1st dan	광개 Gwang-Gae	The opposite of white, signifying maturity and proficiency in Tae Kwon-Do. It indicates the wearer's imperviousness to darkness and fear.
Black		2nd dan
...		...
Black		9th dan