Great Master
Lee, Jun-hyeog 이준혁 (李峻爀)
He is a South Korean Taekwondo Grandmaster and the founder of the Tae Kwon-Do Black Belt World Global Inc. school. He has been referred to as one of the top ten martial artists in the United States. He holds the world record for breaking 5,000 one-inch-thick boards in seven hours.
EARLY LIFE
Grandmaster Lee, Jun-hyeog Lee was born on November 17, 1962 in Ansan Village, Gochang County, North Jeolla Province, located in the southwestern part of the Republic of Korea. He was the third of six children. His father, Lee, In-kyu, was a local civil servant and politician. His mother, Lee, Yo-soon, was a homemaker. Grandmaster Lee spent most of his childhood on a small farm.
In high school, he met Master Kang, who was his first Tae Kwon-Do teacher. Master Kang led the Oh Do Kwan Dojang in Gochang. Lee, Jun-hyeog became one of Kang's top students, earning his black belt at the age of 13. In the early 1970s, when the Vietnam War was ending, many young Korean Tae Kwon-Do masters immigrated to the United States, including his older brother, Lee, Hyeon-kon. Grandmaster Lee, Hyeon-kon opened one of the first Tae Kwon-Do dojangs in Virginia.
IMMIGRATION TO AMERICA
Grandmaster Lee immigrated to the United States in 1982 to study International Economics at George Mason University in Washington, DC. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Economics. After graduation he began teaching at his brother's Dojang.
TAEKWON-DO ACTIVITIES:
First Dojang
Grandmaster Lee and his brother Hyeon-kon believed that the Research Triangle area in North Carolina would be an ideal place to open a Dojang. The Triangle was a growing area of educated middle to upper class families, who would be more enthusiastic and better able to pay for Tae Kwon-Do lessons. In February 1987, Grandmaster Lee left Virginia and moved to Raleigh.
It was an opportune time in the United States to get involved in the martial arts industry, which was experiencing phenomenal growth.
The International Olympic Committee had named Tae Kwon-Do Sparring as a demonstration sport for the Seoul Olympics. Movies like the Karate Kid caught the attention of young Americans.
Mr. Lee came to Raleigh in the winter. Being new to the area and only knowing his brother, living in an Aerostar van he owned, he rented a small commercial space in a mall that needed a makeover. For a month he worked to renovate the space. In early spring, renovations were completed and the Dojang was opened; this one was small, at only 2,700 square feet.
During the day, he promoted his business by giving free martial arts demonstrations at gas stations, schools, and county fairs. In the afternoons, she gave classes. The new students arrived early, but the pace picked up quickly. By the end of the year, he had more students than capacity for his Dojang. With their success, Grandmaster Lee opened several more dojangs in the Research Triangle area. As his older brother had done to him, Grandmaster Lee placed his other brothers in charge of these places.
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
Grandmaster Lee Jun-hyeog realized that martial arts, specifically Tae Kwon-Do, were about more than kicking and punching. It was a way of life. For him, Tae Kwon-Do is a way to improve the person and society as a whole. Tae Kwon-Do extends far beyond the Dojang and into the community where teachers and students can contribute to the betterment of all.
Within the Dojang, Grandmaster Lee's vision of martial art took on a new focus, he began to put his own stamp on the Korean martial art of Tae Kwon-Do. He recognized early on that due to cultural differences, some elements of Korean martial art did not translate well into American culture. Americans strive to be individualistic and avoid conformity, where Koreans strive to conform and avoid individualism.
He had to adapt his teaching to his adoptive culture, he had to develop new ideas on his own, while preserving the traditional culture of Tae Kwon-Do.
American culture allowed Master to add his teaching philosophy, which would be unthinkable in Seoul, not to mention his hometown. He renamed his dojangs Black Belt World, to encompass his teaching philosophy based on the Korean humanistic concept of "Hongik Ingan". This philosophy instills loyalty to one's country, honor to parents, respect for the elderly, care for the young, positive relationships with teachers, treat all things with care, never seek advantage over the weak, use Tae Kwon- Do to benefit others and finish what you start. Master Lee believes that if all people practiced Tae Kwon-Do and introduced these qualities and values into their lives, not only would society be better, but it would be much more liberated. As Grandmaster Lee says, "there would be no need for the laws that govern."
GRAND MASTER'S TEST
On November 23, 1997, she examined herself for her seventh grade (7th dan) before an audience of her students and Tae Kwon-Do great teachers. This was the first Taekwondo exam in the world sanctioned by seventh grade black belts conducted in the United States. The Grand Masters, GM Jhoon Rhee, GM Chung, Woo-jin, GM Kim, Dong-jin, GM K.S. Lee and GM Yi, Won-ik were the examiners.
Master Jun Lee demonstrated his skills in the various disciplines of Tae Kwon-Do: Poomsae (forms), Combat, Board-breaking, and Demonstration. The highlights of the test were the breaking of a Louisville Slugger baseball bat and his sword demonstration, he broke the bat with a single kick to the leg, blindfolded and with a traditional Korean sword, he cut a perched apple in your student's stomach.
BLACK BELT WORLD GLOBAL INC.
Black Belt World is the name of Grandmaster Jun Lee's Kukkiwon-certified self-improvement institution, located in North Carolina in the United States.
POLITICS
In 2011, Master Lee ran for mayor of Knightdale against incumbent Russell Killen. Endorsed by the Democratic party, he faced a great challenge trying to overthrow a popular mayor in a city that saw organized parties "as glorified political mafias." His desire to run grew out of his belief in giving back to the community. Education was the main board of his mayor's platform. The incumbent and Jun Lee discussed politically about the beautification and urban development of the city and educational reforms. Master Jun Lee lost a highly contested race, obtaining forty-six percent of the votes.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
He has served as president of the International Coalition of Good Health and Good Friends (ICG), a global community service group for Tae Kwon-Do. He is a former Secretary General of the United States Tae Kwon-Do Committee and was appointed Visiting Professor for the Departments of Tae Kwon-Do at Woo Suk University. He holds an unofficial world record for breaking 5,000 boards in 7 hours and has been selected as one of the top ten martial arts teachers in the US by Martial Arts World magazine.