From Aspiring TV Producer and Homemaker to Interpreter for the U.S. President... Who Is Yeon Hyang Lee? [Current Affairs Show]

■ Broadcast: Asia Economy 'So Jongseop's Current Affairs Show (Mon-Fri, 4-5 PM)'

■ Host: Political Specialist So Jongseop ■ Director: Producer Park Sumin

There is a woman whose life story reads like a drama: after living as a full-time homemaker and mother of two children in Korea, she entered the Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies at the age of 33. She now serves as the interpreter for the President of the United States. Whenever there is a Korea-U.S. summit, she is always seen sitting right next to the U.S. President. This woman is Yeonhyang Lee, Director of Interpretation at the U.S. Department of State, age 69. Although one might assume that someone who interprets for the U.S. President grew up in America, she is in fact a native Korean who was raised in Korea. TIME Magazine once called her an "unsung hero." In the United States, she is usually referred to as "Dr. Lee." She also served as the head of the Department of Interpretation at the State Department, overseeing about 60 full-time staff and 1,000 contract interpreters and translators.

President Jae Myung Lee and U.S. President Donald Trump are holding a summit at the White House in Washington DC on the 25th (local time). The woman to the right of President Trump is Director Yeon Hyang Lee. Photo by Yonhap News

원본보기 아이콘

After graduating from Seoul Arts High School, she entered the Department of Vocal Music at Yonsei University. Until she graduated from college, the only foreign country she had visited was Iran, where she attended an international middle school while her father, Lee Jaewoo, served as the first military attach? to Iran. After getting married, she lived in the United States for about two years, following her husband who went there to study. Her original dream was to become a television producer. Around the time of her graduation, she went to pick up an application form to take the producer exam at TBC (Tongyang Broadcasting Company). However, she was told, "Women cannot become producers," and was instead handed an announcer application. She did not even consider it and left. It was the day her dream of becoming a producer was shattered. In 1989, while living as a full-time homemaker with one son and one daughter, a friend suggested she apply to the Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. This became the turning point of her life. She was the oldest student admitted that year at age 33.

In 1996, she became a professor when the Korean-English department was established at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California. After working there for about two years, she considered returning to Korea and inquired about special admission for her daughter, who was then in the third year of middle school. At that time, a Korean high school reportedly said, "Children who study abroad following their fathers are eligible for special admission, but those who study abroad following their mothers are not. That is the regulation." Despite many efforts, the "regulation" remained a high barrier until the very end. It was then that she decided, "I cannot educate my children in a society with such severe gender discrimination," and chose to stay in the United States. After working as a professor at the Monterey Institute of International Studies for about eight years, she became a freelance Korean interpreter for the U.S. Department of State in 2003. After about two years, she returned to Korea and taught students as a professor at Ewha Womans University Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation for five years.

※Click the video to watch the full content.

In 2009, she became a full-time interpreter for the Department of State. At one point, she also served as the head of the interpretation bureau, overseeing about 60 full-time staff and 1,000 contract interpreters and translators. During President Biden's administration, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, "We cannot do our work without her and her team. It is amazing that she is able to convey not only the meaning of words but also their nuances and emphases." Director Lee's principle is to completely forget about the interpretation work once the assignment is over. In a media interview, she stated, "Because nuance and underlying intent are so important in interpretation, I interpret almost literally, with little addition or omission, as close to the original as possible."

Around 2016, she remarried Mark Menezes, who served as Deputy Secretary of Energy in the United States. Mark Menezes' name appeared in her father's obituary in 2019.

원본보기 아이콘

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.