Euna Lee (
Hangul:유나 리; born 1972) is a Korean American journalist.
While working for
Current TV, Lee and fellow journalist
Laura Ling
Laura Ling (born December 1, 1976) is an American journalist and writer. She worked for Current TV as a correspondent and vice president of its Vanguard Journalism Unit, which produced the ''Vanguard'' TV series.
She was the host and reporter o ...
were
detained in North Korea after they crossed into the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...
from the People's Republic of China without a visa. They were found guilty of illegal entry and sentenced to twelve years'
hard labor in June 2009.
The United States Government protested the sentences, and implemented diplomatic efforts in order to secure the release of both Lee and Ling. On 4 August 2009, Lee and Ling were pardoned by the
North Korean government after a special humanitarian visit by former
U.S. President Bill Clinton. She wrote a book on her experiences in North Korea titled ''The World Is Bigger Now: An American Journalist's Release from Captivity in North Korea ... A Remarkable Story of Faith, Family, and Forgiveness''.
Biography
Lee was born and raised in
South Korea, and moved to the United States in order to attend
Academy of Art University, where she received a
Bachelor of Fine Arts
A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases.
Background
The Bachelor ...
degree in Film and Broadcasting. She graduated from the
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2012. She is married to actor Michael Saldate; they have a daughter, Hana.
On 4 August 2009, Bill Clinton visited North Korea in an attempt to free Lee and fellow journalist Laura Ling. The North Korean government pardoned both Lee and Ling after meeting with Clinton that day.
It is also said that the equipment and materials they used for their interviews were left behind in the North Korea, and that information about defectors and human rights activists who helped them in their interviews was obtained by the North Korean authorities, putting them in danger. Human rights activists in South Korea accused Lee and Ling of placing North Korean refugees in danger through their actions.
Awards and honours
In 2011, Lee and Ling received the McGill Medal for Journalistic Courage from the
Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
See also
*
2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea
On March 17, 2009, North Korean soldiers detained two American journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, who were working for the U.S. independent cable television network Current TV (defunct since August 2013), after they crossed into North Korea f ...
*
List of foreign nationals detained in North Korea
*
Han Park
Han Park is a professor at the University of Georgia in the United States.
He has acted as an unofficial negotiator between the United States and North Korea.
He was born in the Republic of China in an area now controlled by the People's Repub ...
References
External links
Euna Lee reunite with familyJournalist Euna Lee
at 백지연의 피플Inside
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Euna
1972 births
Living people
American people of Korean descent
North Korea–United States relations
People from Sacramento County, California
Prisoners and detainees of North Korea
South Korean journalists
South Korean women journalists
Current TV people
American people imprisoned abroad
Recipients of North Korean pardons
Academy of Art University alumni
Date of birth missing (living people)
American women television journalists
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni