My Name Is Felipe Hahn Lee
I was the first Korean wrestler to gain recognition on the international stage.
Now, together with my daughters—and with the support of Korean researchers and the descendants of early immigrants—we are sharing my story, and the story of my immigrant family.
My maternal grandfather, Alfonso Lee (이전세), and my father, José María Hahn (한종원), left Seoul, Korea, and journeyed to Mexico in search of a better life. Like so many others, they carried with them hope, courage, and the determination to build something new in a distant land.
I was born in Mexico City on February 5, 1932. From a young age, I was drawn to strength, discipline, and competition. My journey toward a better life began not only with the legacy I inherited—but with my passion for sports, bodybuilding, and wrestling.
Thank you to the wonderful artist Gyula Nemeth for creating this amazing image in honor of Felipe Hahn Lee.
https://www.instagram.com/gynemethart/
Thank you to Claudia Guzmán Tovar and to our cousin, Salvador Eduardo López for this cool piece honoring Felipe Hahn Lee.
Bodybuilding: Turning Struggle into Strength
I started weightlifting as a teenager—not just for sport, but out of necessity. Growing up as a Korean in Mexico, I faced constant racial bullying. I realized early on that if I wanted to stand my ground, I needed to become physically strong.
Fortunately, I’ve always been disciplined in the things I care about—reading, art, and especially sports. What started as a defense mechanism quickly turned into a passion. I went from being a skinny kid to a serious athlete in a short amount of time.
My hard work paid off: I was pre-selected to represent Mexico in Olympic Wrestling for the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games.
Around the same time, I discovered a new love—bodybuilding. At 18, I entered the Mr. Mexico competition, an event recognized by the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB). It was my first major athletic competition, and I made it to the finals. In the years that followed, I would go on to place second in several national competitions.
Bodybuilding became more than just a sport—it became a source of confidence, identity, and pride.
Newspaper announcing the results of a Weightlifting Championship where I placed third.
Newspaper announcing the winners in the subdivisions at Mr. Mexico
Military Service: From the Air Force to the Ring, Where Wrestling Took Flight
At 18, alongside my early athletic pursuits, I completed my mandatory military service as part of the Transportation Air Squadron of the Mexican Air Force. It was there that an unexpected opportunity came my way—an exchange program that sent a select group of us to the United States for specialized training as aircraft mechanics.
That experience changed my life.
While learning about aircraft, I also learned something even more valuable: English. Mastering a new language opened countless doors for me in the years to come, especially in the world of professional wrestling.
Because I spoke English, I was able to train with, learn from, and befriend some of the most legendary wrestlers of the era—Karl Gotch from Belgium, Dorrel Dixon from Jamaica, Lou Thesz and Curtis Iaukea from the United States, Lord Blears from the UK, and Pat Patterson from Canada, among others.
These relationships didn’t just improve my technique—they expanded my world
Wrestling: The Ring Calls
While training at local gyms, I often crossed paths with professional wrestlers. Many of them noticed my strength and athleticism and encouraged me to give wrestling a try. Their encouragement—and my growing love for performance and combat—pushed me to step into the ring.
My big break came thanks to Valente Pérez, who offered me my first real opportunity: a wrestling tour to Havana, Cuba. I was part of an incredible team that included legends such as Médico Asesino, Carlos Moreno, Alex Romano, Pedro Bolaños, Huracán Ramírez, “Jarocho” Rojas, and Sergio Saucedo.
That tour launched my wrestling career.
Because many promoters and announcers had trouble pronouncing my last name, Hahn, they began calling me Ham Lee. Soon, I was officially billed as Felipe Ham Lee in Mexico and across Latin America. The name stuck—and so did I.
Rising Through the Ranks
As I gained experience and honed my style in the ring, promoters began booking me in matches with some of the biggest stars in lucha libre. These weren’t just opponents—they were icons.
I had the honor of sharing the ring with legends like El Santo, Blue Demon, Black Shadow, Gory Guerrero, Karloff Lagarde, René "Copetes" Guajardo, Los Hermanos Espanto, El Enfermero, Huracán Ramírez, "Tonina" Jackson, Rayo de Jalisco, and many more.
Facing off against these greats wasn’t just about winning or losing—it was about proving I belonged among them. Every match was a test of skill, endurance, and presence. And with every bout, I earned the respect of the crowds, my peers, and the growing wrestling community across Latin America.
Would you like help crafting a section about your signature moves or most memorable matches next?
Spreading My Wings
The first time I seriously considered taking my career abroad was when I was hired by promoter Morris Siegel. It was a tough decision. I was already a recognized star in Mexico, with a stable career and growing fan base. But the opportunity to test myself on the international stage—and grow as a professional wrestler—was too big to ignore.
At the time, Texas was a hotspot for wrestling, with stars like Dorrel Dixon, Pepper Gómez, Danny McShain, Tony Borne, Bull Curry, Angelo Poffo, and brothers Nick and Jerry Kozak dominating the scene.
I moved to Houston, hopeful and ready. I stayed for six months—but quickly realized I wasn’t breaking through. Despite my skills, I wasn’t getting the matches or recognition I had hoped for.
That’s when Tony Borne stepped in. He saw my potential and, in a gesture of genuine camaraderie, offered to recommend me to Don Owen, the top promoter in the Pacific Northwest—Oregon and Washington.
So I took a leap again—this time with my wife and our infant daughter, who had been born just a few months earlier. We packed up and left Houston behind, chasing the next chapter.
Life on the Road
From that point on, my family and I lived the life of traveling wrestlers—moving from one territory to another, following the opportunities that came with better contracts and bigger shows. Wherever the next offer came from, we went.
At first, we lived out of motels. Later, as things stabilized, we began renting apartments—sometimes for just a few months, and sometimes, like during our years in Hawaii, long enough to call a real home.
It was during this time that I had the honor of not only wrestling alongside, but truly learning from some of the greatest names in the sport. I became close friends with the Belgian legend Karl Gotch, who also made his home in Hawaii. I trained and shared time with Lou Thesz, a true icon, and with Dorrel Dixon, whose friendship and guidance meant a great deal to me.
These were masters of the craft, and their influence helped me sharpen my skills—not just physically, but mentally. They taught me that wrestling wasn’t just about strength or showmanship, but timing, discipline, and storytelling.
Training with Karl Gotch
Wrestling got me hooked on traveling. I worked in most countries in America, from Canada to Brazil. I traveled to Kuwait, Dubai, Pakistan, Morocco and Kenya. I was the first Korean-Mexican to visit the Belgian Congo. But Asian tours were my favorite.
A Korean Wrestler becomes a star in Japan
Hawaii is Wrestling Homebase for 4 Years
One of the most important contracts I signed was for a series of tours organized by the NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) in partnership with New Japan Pro Wrestling in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and other Asian countries. And a few years later with the All Asia Wrestling Alliance.
Logistically, it was impossible for my family to travel with me so we settled down in Honolulu, Hawaii, where I wrestled for most of the year and from where I travelled to Japan for grueling 1 or 2-month tours, at a time when there was no internet and the only way I could keep in touch with my family was through letters and brief phone calls.
These are two examples of my regular matches in 1971:
June 5, 1971 - Civic Auditorium: Bearcat Wright and Don Muraco over Rocky Montero and the Masked Gladiator. Billy Robinson over The Skull. Maddog Mayne drew Sam Steamboat. Masked Avenger and Ripper Collins went to a draw. After the match, Collins and Maddog Mayne unmasked the Masked Avenger, who turned out to be Hahn Lee.
June 16, 1971 - Honolulu International Center: Lord Little Brook and Cowboy Lang over Little Bruiser and the Mighty Atom. Billy Robinson drew The Masked Gladiator. The Skull defeated Don Muraco, Sam Steamboat over Hahn Lee and Tony Borne drew Rocky Montero. Suni War Cloud and Little Bear defeated Maddog Mayne and Ripper Collins to win the Hawaiian Tag Team titles. Bearcat Wright over Gene Kiniski in a Sicilian Stretcher Match.
The sacrifice of having to constantly leave my family in Hawaii paid off when I became World Champion in Japan, where the following is an example of a typical tour:
Korakuen Hall, Tokyo - July 9, 1976
Haruka Eigen & Masashi Ozawa VS Hahn Lee & Ali Baba
Fujisawa, Kanagawa - July 10
Kantaro Hoshino & Osamu Kido VS Ali Baba & Hahn Lee
Chiba - July 13
Strong Kobayashi VS Hahn Lee
Shibata, Niigata - July 14
Asia Heavyweight League Qualification Match: Kantaro Hoshino VS Hahn Lee
Takamatsu, Kagawa - July 23
Karuka Eigen VS Hahn Lee
Fukuoka - July 27
Karuka Eigen & Masashi Ozawa VS Ali Baba & Hahn Lee
Kumamoto - July 28
Hahn Lee VS Masashi Ozawa
Shimizu, Shizuoka - July 30
Seiji Sakaguchi & Kantaro Hoshino VS Ali Baba & Hahn Lee
Kakegawa, Shizuoka - July 21
Majid Ackra & Hahn Lee VS Haruka Eigen & Masashi Ozawa
Kofu - Yamanashi Gakuin U - August 1
Hahn Lee & Ali Baba VS Katsuhisa Shibata & Takashi Kimura
Furudono, Fukushima - August 2
Hahn Lee VS Katsuhisa Shibata
Aomori - August 3
Ali Baba & Hahn Lee VS Haruka Eigen & Masashi Ozawa
Miyagi Sport Center - August 4
Haruka Eigen & Osamu Kido VS Ali Baba & Hahn Lee
Tokyo - Kuramae Kokugikan - August 5
Hahn Lee & Gurdaye Singh VS Makoto Arakawa & Seiei Kimura
What does a tour like this do to a wrestler's body? I will let my daughters tell that story. But after years of this pace of travel and matches, I decided that we should return to Mexico, where I would set up my own gym and let my children live a normal life.
Transcription and translation of interview above:
HAHN LEE: Nice to meet you. Thank you for coming to Mexico.
INTERPRETER: Are you well?
HAHN LEE: A little...I was operated recently.
KOREAN INTERVIEWER: Thank you very much.
HAHN LEE: No, no, it's my pleasure.
HAHN LEE: Well, mainly because it was a way of improving my economic situation. I come from a very humble family. So, Professional Wrestling took me all over the world. And it provided the opportunity to meet other people, other, hmm, other ways of thinking.
HAHN LEE: And really, I felt sad when I retired. I had always said that I would never stop wrestling.
HAHN LEE: Well, most of the people know who I am in Mexico, because I am continuously in magazines and they say, "The Korean-Mexican". But when I was a star here in Mexico, Korea was not very famous. So, they thought that being Korean or Chinese was the same thing. So, they thought it was the same to be Chinese or Korean. So, many times, I would explain, "No, Korea is a different country." But well, it has been a problem all my life.
HAHN LEE: Very happy, because I'm glad that people from MY COUNTRY, from the country of my grandparents and my parents, wanted to interview me. I feel very proud, VERY, very proud. I wish I had been in better health for the interview.
My gymnasium
Club Atlético Ham Lee
My Online Game Character
