RHEE, Jhoon-goo (born January 7, 1932), commonly known as Jhoon Rhee, is a South Korean master of taekwondo who is widely recognized as the Father of American Taekwondo for introducing this martial art to the United States of America since arriving in the late 1950s. Rhee was born on January 7, 1932, in Korea, during the period of Japanese occupation. He began training in the martial arts at the age of 13, without his father's knowledge. Rhee received martial art training under Nam Tae Hi and graduated from the Chung Do Kwan.