In a large auditorium filled at half-capacity, a woman gave her humble advice to an eager audience of new grantees. “Don’t compare your experience with others,” she said.
It’s good advice. Many people hide their advice through big metaphors or flowery language. But Mrs. Lee was direct in her words for this year’s cohort before she sent everyone on to their teaching placements and new lives in South Korea. Mrs. Lee shares this advice because she cares about the experience of every ETA grantee. She hopes that each one will thrive in their new setting, achieving more happiness than disappointment. It’s not a role specifically in her job description, but it’s one she gladly takes on.
Young-Sook Lee, the Senior Program Officer for the Fulbright Korea English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Program, was born in 1957 in the town of Jinhae City. Living in Gyeongsangnam-do, she also spent much of her childhood in Busan. Through her hard work and study, Mrs. Lee eventually moved to Seoul to earn a degree in Spanish from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.
She still remembers the exact day she started her work with KAEC: August 1, 2000. The Korean-American Educational Commission (KAEC) had recently opened a computer-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) testing center and recruited employees working at the center through the Fulbright Alumni Network. Mrs. Lee was one of those recruits.
Remembering her first day of work with KAEC, Mrs. Lee said, “I was so excited to work with other people at KAEC.” A common theme throughout her career has been her focus on creating strong relationships with anyone she meets.
In 2003, Mrs. Lee switched positions at KAEC in order to become an Education Advisor in KAEC’s U.S. Education Center, where she helped students navigate their journey to studying abroad in the United States; it seems only natural that Mrs. Lee would end up helping Americans in Korea navigate living abroad in a similar way.
Mrs. Lee changed positions at KAEC again in 2004. She originally provided administrative support to several programs, assisting both Korean and American Fulbrighters. It was not long, though, before she became the official ETA Program Assistant, providing exclusive attention to the ETAs and schools under her care. Mrs. Lee worked for the next two years while also earning a Master’s in Business Administration from Korea National Open University, famous for being the first Korean Distance Learning University.
Her official duty as Senior Program Officer has been to take care of ETAs so that they adjust well in Korea, and every year her goal is to get as many people to successfully complete the program as she can. Mrs. Lee is very invested in the livelihood of the ETAs as well as in maintaining the good relationship Fulbright has with educational institutions in Korea.
“My favorite memories are when all ETAs completed the program 100% successfully without early termination and early departure, and when I hear from schools and communities that our ETAs are doing a great job in school,” Mrs. Lee said. It’s no easy feat either, as moving to a new country can be difficult for many ETAs and there are many obstacles for them to overcome. Mrs. Lee often works on these issues with the ETAs and helps them to reach solutions.
“When I resolve serious issues related to ETAs and get good results for them” Mrs. Lee said, “I am proud of doing my job.”
There have been obstacles for Mrs. Lee as well, such as when there have not been enough schools to place renewing teachers. It’s hard to send ETAs interested in continuing their cultural exchanges home, so Mrs. Lee always tries to find more schools to place them in.
We honor Mrs. Lee in this year’s Infusion publication because when our grant year ends, so will her time with Fulbright and KAEC. After over 21 years with KAEC, Mrs. Lee will retire and start her next adventure, which includes traveling all across Korea and other countries, as well as spending more time with her family. In each place she goes, Mrs. Lee is sure to meet a variety of people that she will continue to learn from and share her experiences with. After all, the most exciting part of her job has been meeting new, young Americans year after year.
Mrs. Lee, on behalf of this year’s cohort and the alumni of the Fulbright Program, thank you for your dedication to the program and to us. Your work is admirable, and we appreciate all that you have done. And for the grantees that will come in the future, Mrs. Lee offers her advice to you one last time,
“I hope they remember the traditional Fulbright Korea motto for the ETA Program, ‘Don’t compare with others because all unhappiness starts from comparison.’ Also, accomplish the Fulbright mission with confidence as honorable Fulbrighters, wherever you are. All of you are special and unique.”
