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Grand Master Young Seon Seo is the President of the official State Governing Body of the Georgia State Tae Kwon Do Association, which is part of the U.S. Olympic Committee. Grand Master Seo holds a ninth degree black belt in the Moo Duk Kwan style of Tae Kwon Do, and is accredited both with the Korean Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwon Do Federation and the World Tae Kwon Do Federation. The UGA Karate Club is one of many schools in the southeastern United States that looks to his leadership.
Grand Master Seo was born in Seoul, Korea in 1941. He began his martial arts training during the Korean War period in the early 50's, launching what is now his over fifty year Tae Kwon Do career. Joining the Republic of Korea Marine Corps as a young man, his martial arts skill landed him an elite position as a military Tae Kwon Do instructor. By 1963, Grand Master Seo had captured the Grand Championship of all Korea in Tae Kwon Do forms competition, an accomplishment he would repeat once more before emigrating to the United States in 1973. At the time of Grand Master Seo's emigration, he held a fourth degree black belt; it is extremely rare for Tae Kwon Do masters of this level of skill to leave their native country.
Grand Master Seo had little money and almost no working knowledge of English upon his arrival in the United States. He worked hard to build his American school from the ground up, gaining students largely by word of mouth. Grand Master Seo's skill, discipline, and dedication to his students paid off; in the intervening years, he has trained over ten Americans to high-ranking instructor status, some as high as eighth degree. Again, it is rare for a Korean Grand Master to promote non-Korean students to such high ranks. Top instructors such as Dana Rhodes, Jim Couch, Jack Brooks and Gary Hayes rely on Grand Master Seo for leadership and advancement.