Eternal Grand Master H.U. Lee was born in Manchuria China in 1936 and began his Martial Arts training in 1953.He Received his 1st Degree in 1954 and began teaching the following year. After a brief stint in the Korean military, he opened his first Taekwondo school in Korea in 1959. In 1961 he met a US military man, Richard Reed, where they began a relationship that led to Future Master Reed and at the time, 5th Degree Master Lee, coming to the United States. The following year, 1962, EGM Lee opened his first school in Omaha, NE. The ATA was founded in 1969 and remained in Omaha NE. 1970 He became 7th Degree Black Belt. In 1973 he earned his US citizenship. Two years later, in 1975 He married Mrs. Sun C. Lee.
He relocated ATA headquarters to Little Rock, AR in 1977. He received his 8th Degree Black Belt in 1978. He introduced the Songahm style in 1983. He was Inaugurated to 9th Degree and received title of Grand Master in 1990.
In the years between 1978 and 2000 he brought many changes to Martial Arts and the ATA. He computerized the ATA as early as 1980, He introduced the Taekwondo World magazine as well as the Way of Traditional Taekwondo books and Videos. 1978 saw the First Grand National Tournament which eventually became the World Championships in 1990. He expanded the ATA into international markets by Founding the Songahm Taekwondo Federation (STF) in 1983 and later in 1990 the World Traditional Taekwondo Union (WTTU) .
Outside of Martial Arts, He established the H.U. Lee Foundation for college scholarships in 1991. The ATA patch was taken into space by a Space Shuttle in 1994, and the Congress declared March 22, 1992 ATA Day.
Eternal Grand Master passed away in Little Rock, AR in 2000. He was posthumously awarded title of Eternal Grand Master