Born in Seoul, South Korea in March 1929, Great Grandmaster Nam Tae Hi met General Choi on Cheju Island in 1953 and later joined the 29th Infantry Division of the South Korean military forces. Great Grandmaster Nam Tae Hi, then a captain in rank, was a senior member of the demonstration team which gave the seminal performance in 1954 before South Korean President Seung Man Rhee which led to the presidential decree that the martial art (then not yet known as Taekwon-Do) be a mandatory part of training for the military. Great Grandmaster Nam Tae Hi then co-founded with General Choi Hong HI the Oh Do Kwan, the training gym for the military where he had the role of Chief Instructor.

At the Chung Do Kwan (training gym for civilians), GGM Nam Tae Hi taught Jhoon Rhee, recognized in the United States as the "Father of Taekwon-Do," when Jhoon Rhee was a first degree black belt.

Great Grandmaster Nam Tae Hi served as one of the earliest ambassadors of Taewkon-do when in March 1959 he traveled to Vietnam and Taiwan as member of the first Korean demonstration team to travel outside of Korea. In December 1962, GGM Nam Tae Hi was assigned as Chief Instructor for the Vietnamese Army. In Vietnam, GGM Nam Tae Hi is known as the "Father of Taekwon-Do."

He developed the patterns known as Hwa-Rang, Choong-Moo, and UI-Ji. GGM Nam Tae Hi served as vice-president of the International Taekwon-Do Federation and president of the Asian Taekwon-Do Federation.

Great Grandmaster Nam Tae Hi moved to Chicago in 1972, opened a dojang in 1973, and taught Taekwon-Do for twenty years. He now calls Los Angeles home where he lives with his wife.