Euna Lee
Encyclopedia
Euna Lee is a South Korean-born American journalist who has worked for Current TV
Current TV
Current TV, or Current, is a media company led by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and businessman Joel Hyatt. Comcast owns a ten percent stake of Current's parent company, Current Media LLC....

 since 2005. Lee and fellow journalist Laura Ling
Laura Ling
Laura G. Ling is an American journalist, working for Current TV as a correspondent and vice president of its Vanguard Journalism Unit, which produces the Vanguard TV series. She is the sister of Lisa Ling, who is a special correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show, National Geographic Explorer,...

 were detained in North Korea
2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea
On March 17, 2009, North Korean border guards detained two American journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, who were working for the U.S. independent cable television network Current TV, after they crossed into North Korea from the People's Republic of China without a visa. They were found guilty of...

 after they crossed into the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from the People's Republic of China without a visa. 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 US President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

.

Lee was born and raised in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

, and moved to the United States in order to attend Academy of Art University
Academy of Art University
The Academy of Art University , a for-profit university owned by the Stephens Institute, was founded in San Francisco, California in 1929 by Richard S. Stephens...

, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...

 degree in Film and Broadcasting. She currently attends the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is one of Columbia's graduate and professional schools. It offers three degree programs: Master of Science in journalism , Master of Arts in journalism and a Ph.D. in communications...

. She is married to actor Michael Saldate; they have a daughter, Hana.

On 4 August 2009, former US President 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. Human rights activists in South Korea accuse Lee and Ling of placing North Korean refugees in danger through their actions.

External links

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