The story
Founded by Haeng Ung Lee in 1969, in Omaha.1
Founder Haeng Ung Lee received his first degree black belt in 1954 and began teaching taekwondo to Korean army members. He then opened a school near a U.S. Air Force base near Seoul and began teaching American servicemen, including an officer named Richard Reed. The two met in 1961 and Reed would inspire Lee to move to Omaha, Nebraska and open his first U.S. taekwondo school a year later.
The American Taekwondo Association was formed in 1969, and its permanent headquarters was established in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1977. The first World Championships tournament was begun in 1990, where H.U. Lee was the first to receive the title of Grand Master.
To "serve as a memorial to [his] work, dedication and commitment," the H.U. Lee International Gate and Garden was erected in 2009 in front of ATA headquarters.
From Wikipedia’s article on ATA Martial Arts, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4