[W Frontier] Life Mentor of Director Bae Sun-min is... "Parents"

2021 Asia Women Leaders Forum 10th Mentor
Baesunmin, Head of AI2XL Research Center, KT Convergence Technology Institute

"Don't ask if it can't be done, ask if it can... I learned this from my father"

Bae Soon-min, head of the AI2XL Research Institute at KT Convergence Technology Institute, is being interviewed on the 12th at the KT Research and Development Headquarters in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] When asked about her "role model" or "mentor," Bae Soon-min, head of the AI2XL Research Center at KT Convergence Technology Institute, paused for a moment. Then, with a smile, she answered, "My parents." At first, Bae thought she had to name a famous person, but she said, "After thinking about it, my mentors can only be my parents." As someone's daughter and now a mother of two children, she added, "I hope parents in every family in this world can be their children's mentors."

In her childhood, it was also her parents who led Bae to the path of science. Her father majored in Earth Science, and her mother majored in Biology. Growing up literally in a 'science family,' Bae said, "I thought science was everything that governs this world."

A family trip photo taken during high school with Director Bae Sun-min (right), parents, and younger sibling.

Her perfectionist father always emphasized to young Bae, "If you're going to do something, do it properly," no matter how trivial the task. Bae recalled, "My father liked even small things, like erasing notes with an eraser, to be done so cleanly that no trace remained."

Once, young Bae timidly asked, "Is it not okay to do this?" At that time, her father replied, "Don't ask like that; ask, 'Is it okay to do this?'" This is one of the memories that remains vivid even now in her 40s. Bae explained, "If you ask 'Is it not okay?' it's easy to say 'No.' But the moment you ask 'Is it okay?' both you and the other person start thinking in a positive direction?that was my father's teaching."

Her mother was a mentor with a different temperament. Whenever Bae wanted to give up or felt exhausted, her mother was a hill she could lean on freely. Bae recalled, "There were moments when I felt overwhelmed by trivial things and wanted to give up. At those times, when I told my mother, 'I messed up. I want to quit,' she would casually say, 'Okay. Quit and come home.' Then I would think, 'It's not that bad,' and feel okay again."

She said, "That kind of message was important." "'It's okay to fail,' 'It's alright.'"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.