One of the ancient names of Sun Do is “the Way of Receiving Bar’k” or Bar’k Dol Bup.

It is said that around the end of the last Ice Age, there was a group of people who traveled toward the East where the Sun rises every morning. They were looking for the source of warmth and life force which was thought to be brought by the Sun. They yearned for the powerful energy of the Sun and slowly began to practice intuitively to receive the energy of the Sun (Way of Receiving Bar’k) by calmly facing the Sun, humbly trying to receive the energy while changing postures to receive the energy to all parts of body.

The Sun energy absorbing practice later developed into the complete system of Sun Do. It is presumed that the Sun Do system was fully structured during the Neolithic Age and continued to be a core element of the national education system until it was taken to the mountains.  

There is no written record of Sun Do; only teachings, practices and tales passed on by mouth from masters to students who were prepared for the practice. A prominent practitioner, Chon Ki Do In (Man with the Universal Power), who lived in the Mt. Baekdu area and regarded as a person revived the lost Sun Do practice appeared in one of the Sun Do legends which could be dated back around 10,000 years.

A part of the Sun Do practice was handed over to Han people (Chinese) through Huan Di (the Yellow Emperor, the father of Chinese medicine and Taoism) who learned Sun Do from the legendry Sun Do master, Ja Boo Sun In, while traveling through northeastern Asia after the Great War (ca. 2,700-2600BC) between the Hans and Koreans (Sima Qian, ca. 145–86 BC, Records of the Grand Historian, 史記).

The Northeast part of Asia has been considered to be the land of immortals for thousands of years. The Chinese have always looked for the immortal way in the East. It is a very famous legend that the First Emperor of China (Quin Shi Huang, 259BCE-210BCE) sent 3,000 boys and girls to ancient Korea in search of the immortal elixir. There were no stories about immortals in the ancient Chinese literature including the Laotzu until the era of Zhuangzi, who lived around 4th century, BC.

In ancient times in Korea, some people, including the religious leaders or shamans, went into the mountains to attain the ability to communicate with Heaven. The sky, the Sun, the Moon, the stars were revered as the vital force inherent in all beings and it was thought that they could get closer to Heaven (the universe, stars, Sun) in the mountains. Their practice was naturally focused on breathing because the air was their connection with the sky, earth and human beings. They tried to breathe in more air and breathe harmoniously. They slowly learnt to breathe through the skin, to circulate the inhaled Ki, and eventually attain full enlightenment and power. These teachings have been orally transmitted in secret only to those who were mentally and physically prepared. 

The persons who practiced Sun Do in the mountains were called Bar’k (bright and pure person), San (a new being in between heaven and earth), Sai (a person able to communicate with both heaven and man), Sar’m (a spiritual leader who helps people to live in peace and harmony with each other and nature), Sunin (a person accomplished beyond all others), Man of heavenly power, Man in the mountains, and Man practicing the way of truth. 

Sun Do had flourished in the Northeast part of Asia where the ancient Korean nations were located until Buddhism and other religious teachings became the dominant culture. When Sun Do flourished, it was said that all of the prominent kings, scholars, politicians and warriors were raised by Sun Do practice. Over time, Sun Do became less and less popular as people avoided the painstaking practice to develop the body and mind. As Sun Do practice neared extinction in human society, the teachers of Sun Do gathered few students and retreated to the mountains to preserve the practice.

In the year 1967, a Sun Do Grand Master, Chung San, finally came down from the mountains after 20 years of Sun Do practice. After hundreds of years of secluded practice, the grand masters in the mountains finally decided it was time to reveal the secrets of Sun Do to the modern world for the benefit of all human kind.