17 Facts About Lee Hee-ho

Lee Hee-ho is widely regarded as one of the pioneering feminists of South Korea.

Lee Hee-ho was born in Keijo, now modern-day Seoul on 21 September 1922 during the period when Korea was under Japanese rule.

Lee Hee-ho's father was the fourth person to receive a medical license in Korea after graduating from Severance Medical College; her mother was a faithful Methodist born into a family devoted to Korean traditional medicine.

Lee Hee-ho attended Humanities and Arts department of Ewha College in 1942.

Lee Hee-ho was her College's representative at the University's student union.

In February 1950, several months before the outbreak of the Korean War, Lee Hee-ho graduated from Seoul National University.

Lee Hee-ho studied for a master's degree from Scarritt College for Christian Workers and Lambuth University.

In 1952 Lee Hee-ho co-founded Research Institute for Women's Issues with her fellow women's rights activists including Lee Hee-ho Tai-young and continued to lead the Institute as the second president of the institute from 1964 to 1970.

In June 2000, First Lady Lee Hee-ho accompanied her husband to North Korea for the 2000 inter-Korean summit, which was the first time that the leaders of North and South Korea met face-to-face since the division of Korea.

President Kim Dae-jung and Lee Hee-ho met with Kim Jong-il during the summit.

Lee Hee-ho remained active in politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean relations throughout her 80s and 90s.

Lee Hee-ho undertook several visits to North Korea to promote dialogue and better relations between the two countries.

Lee Hee-ho traveled to Pyongyang in December 2011 following the death of Kim Jong Il.

Lee Hee-ho's delegation included former Minister of Culture Kim Sung-jae, scholar Paik Nak-chung, and several educators, but no members of the sitting South Korean government.

In March 2017, a public opinion survey showed that Lee Hee-ho was the best first lady in South Korean history.

Lee Hee-ho was not informed of her son's death at time due to concerns about her own deteriorating health.

On 10 June 2019, Lee Hee-ho died at Severance Hospital in Seoul, Korea.