# Myo Mook Lee ![Lee Myo Mook 1937](/sites/g/files/omnuum10901/files/styles/hwp_4_5__320x400/public/2025-09/Lee%20Myo%20Mook%201937.png?h=f3575dcb&itok=AetqQYYn) Myo Mook Lee (Yi Myo-muk 이묘묵 李卯默; 1902–1957) was a Korean educator and politician who worked as an interpreter for the American Military Government and as a diplomat for the South Korean government. Lee was born in the Pyongyang area in 1902, the second son of Yi Su-hyŏng.[\[1\]](#_ftn1) The exact birth date is unknown; while Lee listed his birthday as January 18, 1902 in his application to Harvard and his Boston University PhD dissertation, the *Encyclopedia of Korean Culture* lists it as December 9, 1902.[\[2\]](#_ftn2) Lee attended a Methodist missionary-founded secondary school called Kwangsŏng in Pyongyang, graduating in either 1915 or 1917.[\[3\]](#_ftn3) Myo Mook Lee then attended and graduated from Chosen Christian College (CCC; the forerunner to Yonsei University) in Seoul in 1921 or 1922 with a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) degree.[\[4\]](#_ftn4) After teaching briefly at Yŏngmyŏng School in Kongju, Ch’ungch’ong Province, from 1922 to 1923, Lee left for the United States, supported by the Korean Methodist Church Conference.[\[5\]](#_ftn5) Lee subsequently enrolled in Mount Union College in Ohio in 1923, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in June 1925.[\[6\]](#_ftn6) At Mount Union College, Lee remained a part of the Methodist Church and was also a member of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity.[\[7\]](#_ftn7) After graduation, Lee then enrolled at Syracuse University, majoring in history and philosophy and minoring in government and sociology, and receiving mainly A grades; he eventually received a Master’s in history in 1926.[\[8\]](#_ftn8) Lee was evaluated by the Dean at the graduate school of Syracuse as “a keen student” and “apparently of the calibre \[*sic*\] desired in candidates for the Doctorate in Philosophy.”[\[9\]](#_ftn9) After Syracuse, Lee entered the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) at Harvard University in 1927, seeking to become a PhD candidate in the Division of History, Government, and Economics.[\[10\]](#_ftn10) When evaluating Lee’s candidacy, his previous graduate coursework was taken into account. Harvard officials did not evaluate Lee’s education at other universities highly, calling Syracuse a “second rate” institution.[\[11\]](#_ftn11) However, the Division was still willing to give Lee credit for a year of coursework from Syracuse, while still requiring him to pass a French and German reading test.[\[12\]](#_ftn12) ![Myo Mook Lee's application to Harvard (1927)](/sites/g/files/omnuum10901/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/koreanalumnibiographiesproject/files/myo_mook_lee_application_to_harvard_first_pg_01.jpg?itok=nGfl3VKl) Myo Mook Lee's application to Harvard (1927). Courtesy of the Harvard University Archives.Unfortunately, there are no records or transcripts of Lee’s time while actually enrolled as a student at Harvard, so it is not possible to examine what courses Lee took or what work he did while at Harvard. Based on his dissertation biography, it appears Lee was at Harvard until at least 1928, while the Harvard Alumni Directory from 1940 lists him as an enrolled student between 1929 and 1930 as well.[\[13\]](#_ftn13) Between 1928 and 1929, Lee was apparently a “Harriet Stanton Fellow.”[\[14\]](#_ftn14) It is unclear whether Lee accumulated credits or passed the PhD general exam before he left Harvard. Upon enrolling at Boston University in 1930, Lee was able to graduate with a PhD within a year, receiving his doctorate in history in 1931. At Boston University, Lee wrote a doctoral dissertation on Korea’s foreign relations in the late nineteenth century from 1864, the year King Kojong (1852–1919; r. 1864–1907) ascended the throne and his father the isolationist Taewŏn’gun (1820–1898; in power 1864–1873) assumed *de facto* power as regent, to 1895, the end of the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) that resulted in a crushing victory by the Japanese over Qing China.[\[15\]](#_ftn15) Sort ![Myo Mook Lee dissertation title page](/sites/g/files/omnuum10901/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/koreanalumnibiographiesproject/files/myo_mook_lee_dissertation_title_page_jpg_01.jpg?itok=pDqYNAiw) The title page of Myo Mook Lee's dissertation (1931). ![Myo Mook Lee dissertation biography page](/sites/g/files/omnuum10901/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/koreanalumnibiographiesproject/files/myo_mook_lee_dissertation_biography_page_jpg_01.jpg?itok=LT9QZFZ6) Biography page of Lee's dissertation. After graduating from Boston University, Lee returned to Syracuse to lecture in history.[\[16\]](#_ftn16) While working as a lecturer, Lee also participated in a session of the Institute of Politics at Williams College in 1934.[\[17\]](#_ftn17) There, Lee criticized Japanese policies in Manchuria; according to the *New York Times*, Lee “rejected the Japanese expressed policy of protecting Koreans in Manchuria and said that Koreans felt that Manchuria was the second victim of Japan’s policy of conquest in Asia.”[\[18\]](#_ftn18) Lee married Louisa Park, also from Syracuse University, in the summer of 1929.[\[19\]](#_ftn19) Park was noted as a “rising musician” (*sinjin ŭmakka*) who had majored in singing and piano at Syracuse.[\[20\]](#_ftn20) In April 1934, Lee returned to Korea with his wife.[\[21\]](#_ftn21) Like [Kyung Durk Har](/people/ky%C5%8Fngd%C5%8Fk-ha-%ED%95%98%EA%B2%BD%EB%8D%95), while in the United States, Lee became a member of nationalist activist An Ch’ang-ho’s organization the Hŭngsadan (Corps for the Advancement of Individuals), a U.S.-based independence movement.[\[22\]](#_ftn22) Back in Korea, Lee joined the Korean branch of the Hŭngsadan, the Suyang Tonguhoe (Friends of Cultivation). Like Har, Lee was also swept up in the Suyang Tonguhoe Incident in 1937 and arrested by the Japanese colonial police.[\[23\]](#_ftn23) After his release, Lee became involved in pro-Japanese activities, to the point that he was later named as a pro-Japanese collaborator by the South Korean government in 2009.[\[24\]](#_ftn24) In 1938, Lee became the president of Yŏnhŭi Chŏnmun Hakkyo (the successor to CCC and forerunner to Yonsei).[\[25\]](#_ftn25) After the liberation of Korea from Japanese rule in 1945, Lee was involved in founding the *Korea Times*, a short-lived English-language newspaper, for which [Kyung Durk Har](/people/ky%C5%8Fngd%C5%8Fk-ha-%ED%95%98%EA%B2%BD%EB%8D%95) was the founder and president.[\[26\]](#_ftn26) ![Lee 1937](/sites/g/files/omnuum10901/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/2025-09/Lee%201937.png?itok=7iOww-6b) Portrait of Lee from 1937 from the *Yŏnhŭi Chŏnmun Hakkyo* (Chosen Christian College) Yearbook. The original caption read, "Lee Myo Mok (Dr. Myson Lee), Librarian, Chosen Christian College at Seoul. College Yearbook, 1937. OSS-P-8808." The image was included as part of Lee's file for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Source: "226-P-42-8808," no date for compilation, NAID: 540077 (Series: Personalities Referred To In Reports Prepared by The Office of Strategic Services (OSS), 1941–1945), Records of the Office of Strategic Services, RG 226, National Archives, Washington, D.C. The file has been digitized by the National Institute of Korean History and viewable online [here](https://archive.history.go.kr/id/AUS025_23_00V0000_012).Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule brought considerable opportunities to Koreans fluent in English and who had spent time in the United States, mainly of conservative and anticommunist leanings. Because the incoming American military occupation forces, which set up a military government called the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) and ruled the southern half of Korea from 1945 to 1948, had virtually no Korean speakers among their ranks, the top brass depended on Korean interpreters to manage affairs. This included crucial personnel appointments for positions overseeing the still-powerful remnants of the colonial bureaucracy and police. Hence, scholars have characterized the postliberation era as a time of “interpreter politics” (*t’ongyŏk chŏngch’i*).[\[27\]](#_ftn27) Lee was certainly a beneficiary of this state of affairs. Likely due to his English fluency as well as his leadership of the *Korea Times*, Lee was appointed the personal interpreter for the commander of the American forces, General John R. Hodge.[\[28\]](#_ftn28) Lee interpreted Hodge’s speeches to the Korean public as well as the military government’s policies during press conferences to both the Korean domestic and the international press, with his words assumed to be those of Hodge and USAMGIK.[\[29\]](#_ftn29) Lee also participated as an interpreter in the various meetings among the Americans, Soviets, and Koreans, such as the American-Soviet Joint Commission in 1946.[\[30\]](#_ftn30) Hodge considered Lee so valuable that he provided the latter bodyguards both at home and while traveling.[\[31\]](#_ftn31) ![Myo Mook Lee at the US-USSR Joint Commission 1947](/sites/g/files/omnuum10901/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/koreanalumnibiographiesproject/files/imyomug_myo_mook_lee_joint_commission_1947_at_the_soviet-us_committee.jpg?itok=88-bKrBe) Myo Mook Lee at the US-USSR Joint Commission in 1947. Lee is in white at the center. He is accompanied by moderate leftist politician Yŏ Un-hyŏng (in black, first from right), moderate rightist politician Kim Kyu-sik (in white, second from right), and leftist politician Hŏ Hŏn (first from left). Source: [Wikipedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=%EC%9D%B4%EB%AC%98%EB%AC%B5&title=Special:MediaSearch&go=Go&type=image).In this capacity as interpreter, Lee wielded considerable power—almost “absolute power” (*chŏltae kwŏllyŏk*) according to historian Pak T’ae-gyun.[\[32\]](#_ftn32) Lee played a key role in turning the American military against the fledgling Korean People’s Republic (KPR), which the conservative Korean Democratic Party (KDP) opposed, by telling American officers that KPR leaders Yŏ Un-hyŏng (1886–1947) and An Chae-hong (1891–1965) were pro-Japanese collaborators with “communistic leanings.”[\[33\]](#_ftn33) Moreover, regarding the above-mentioned personnel appointments, Lee made sure to install his allies in the KDP and other powerful positions. Lee was instrumental in having USAMGIK select his ally Cho Pyŏng-ok—a graduate of Yŏngmyŏng School where he taught and a fellow northerner—as head of the Korean National Police.[\[34\]](#_ftn34) ![Lee Myo Mook 1947](/sites/g/files/omnuum10901/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/2025-09/Lee%20Myo%20Mook%201947.png?itok=o23N8flL) Lee (blue arrow, seated at leftmost corner) in action working as an interpreter during the first press conference held for Edwin W. Pauley, who was then the U.S. representative to the Allied Reparations Committee, on May 17, 1947. Lee is seated to the left of Major General Arthur L. Lerch, the governor of USAMGIK, with Korean reporters (presumably) on his right. This photograph captures the "absolute power" wielded by interpreters like Lee during the American military occupation as illustrated by how everyone in the room is looking and listening to Lee as he speaks. Source: "XXIV-46-00625," dated May 17, 1947, NAID: 530707 (Series: Photographs of American Military Activities, ca. 1918–ca. 1981), Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer, RG 111, National Archives, Washington, D.C.. The file has been digitized by the National Institute of Korean History and viewable online [here](https://archive.history.go.kr/id/AUS005_06_03V0000_249).In 1947, however, Lee suffered several setbacks. He was implicated in a bribery and corruption scandal involving the disposal of commodities and acquiring fishing permits.[\[35\]](#_ftn35) In addition, Lee suffered a terrorist attack from Korean right-wingers who believed that Lee was a moderate—despite his conservative background—because of Hodge’s persistent maneuvering to attempt to elevate moderate politics to the foreground.[\[36\]](#_ftn36) As a supporter of the KDP, Lee probably had contentious relations with Syngman Rhee (1875–1965), the eventual first president of South Korea. Rhee initially allied with the KDP because of his lack of a natural power base in a country he had been absent from for over three decades, but upon assuming power in 1948, he soon abandoned them to create his own party (the Liberal Party or Chayudang). The KDP thus became the chief opposition force against Rhee despite similar ideological leanings. Rhee’s confidante Robert T. Oliver wrote that members of the Hŭngsadan—specifically mentioning Myo Mook Lee—were appointed by Rhee to his cabinet and other government posts “in an effort to end the old feud and create a new spirit of unity,” although Oliver noted that “factional division . . . has never healed” despite such efforts, as evidenced by the raucous politics of the 1950s.[\[37\]](#_ftn37) After South Korea’s establishment in 1948, Lee was appointed to a variety of diplomatic posts. He held several positions related to the United Nations (UN), named the chief director (*isajang*) of the United Nations Association of the Republic of Korea (Kukche Yŏnhap Han’guk Hyŏphoe) in 1949, the deputy director of the United Nations Commission on Korea (Kukche Yŏnhap Han’guk Wiwŏnhoe) that same year, and the South Korean representative to the Sixth Session of the UN General Assembly in 1951.[\[38\]](#_ftn38) As an observer to the UN, Lee urged member states such as Canada to support the drive to reunify Korea and not settle for an armistice that left Korea divided.[\[39\]](#_ftn39) Lee was also South Korea’s main diplomat in Great Britain. In May 1951, Lee was appointed as South Korea’s first minister to the United Kingdom, the Korean special envoy to attend King George VI’s funeral in 1952, and the Korean representative to Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953.[\[40\]](#_ftn40) In fact, Lee died in Great Britain on February 27, 1957 after a long-running fight with cancer.[\[41\]](#_ftn41) Written by Sungik Yang, 6/3/2023 [\[1\]](#_ftnref1) While Lee listed his birthplace as Pyongyang in his PhD dissertation, secondary sources state that he specifically was from the county (*kun*) of Chunghwa, which used to be a part of Pyongyang until 2010, when it was separated to become part of North Hwanghae Province. See “Biography of Myo-Mook Lee,” located at the end of Myo-Mook Lee, “Foreign Relations of Korea, 1864–1895,” Ph.D. diss. (Boston University, 1931); “Yi Myo-muk,” *Han’guk minjok munhwa taebaekkwa sajŏn* \[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture\]. (accessed April 22, 2023). “Nu Kong” is written as Lee’s “parent or guardian” in his transcript from Mount Union College, but in his biography in his dissertation, the name of Lee’s father is written as Soo Hyung Lee (Yi Su-hyŏng). See “Mount Union College Student’s Record for Myo Mook Lee,” in Harvard University. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Student folder of Myo-Mook Lee. UAV 161.201.10.5 Box 8. Harvard University Archives (henceforth “Student folder”), p. 7. [\[2\]](#_ftnref2) See “Biography of Myo-Mook Lee”; “Application for Admission to Candidacy for a Degree in Arts or Philosophy, The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University,” Student folder, p. 12; “Yi Myo-muk.” To add to the confusion, Lee’s Mount Union College transcript lists his date of birth as December 12, 1902. See “Mount Union College Student’s Record for Myo Mook Lee,” Student folder, p. 7. These discrepancies are likely due to the divergence between the lunar and solar calendar. It is possible that his date of birth was sometime in December 1901 in the lunar calendar. [\[3\]](#_ftnref3) Lee’s transcript from Mount Union College, his application to Harvard, and his dissertation biography list 1917 as his graduating year from Kwangsŏng, but the *Encyclopedia of Korean Culture* lists it as 1915. See “Mount Union College Student’s Record for Myo Mook Lee,” Student folder, p. 7; “Application for Admission to Candidacy for a Degree in Arts or Philosophy, The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University,” Student folder, p. 12; “Biography of Myo-Mook Lee”; “Yi Myo-muk”; “Ch’ŏrhak paksa Yi Myo-muk ssi kŭmŭi ipko kwiguk” \[Doctor of Philosophy Myo Mook Lee returns to Korea after successfully completing his doctorate\], *Tonga ilbo*, April 9, 1934. The phrase “*kŭmŭi ipko*” literally means “wearing silk clothes” but was often used to refer to those who returned home after successfully passing the civil service exam (*kwagŏ*) during the Chosŏn Dynasty. Regarding Kwangsŏng, according to the *Encyclopedia of Korean Culture*, it appears the name was not settled on Kwangsŏng until 1918 (when it was called Kwangsŏng High School or *Kwangsŏng kodŭng pot’ong hakkyo*), which was after Lee’s graduation. Before 1918, the school was called Kyŏngmul Haktang (格物學堂). After 1952, Kwangsŏng reestablished itself in South Korea. See “Kwangsŏng Kodŭng Hakkyo,” *Han’guk minjok munhwa taebaekkwa sajŏn* \[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture\]. (accessed April 22, 2023). [\[4\]](#_ftnref4) “Letter from Lawrence S. Mayo to C. H. McIlwain, January 10, 1928,” Student folder, p. 1; “Ch’ŏrhak paksa Yi Myo-muk ssi kŭmŭi ipko kwiguk.” In his application to Harvard, Lee stated that he attended CCC from 1917 to 1921. See “Application for Admission to Candidacy for a Degree in Arts or Philosophy, The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University,” Student folder, p. 12. However, in his dissertation biography, Lee listed 1922 as his year of graduation from CCC, while Pak So-yŏng also writes that Lee graduated CCC in 1922. See “Biography of Myo-Mook Lee”; Pak So-yŏng, “Migunjŏnggi t’ongyŏk chŏngch’i: Yi Myo-muk ŭl chungsim ŭro” \[Interpreter Politics during the U.S. Army Military Government: Focusing on Myo Mook Lee\], *T’ongbŏnyŏkhak yŏn’gu*, Vol. 23, No. 2 (2019): 105. [\[5\]](#_ftnref5) “Yi Myo-muk”; “Ch’ŏrhak paksa Yi Myo-muk ssi kŭmŭi ipko kwiguk”; “Biography of Myo-Mook Lee.” Regarding Yŏngmyŏng, see “Kongju Yŏngmyŏng Kodŭng Hakkyo,” *Han’guk minjok munhwa taebaekkwa sajŏn* \[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture\]. (accessed April 22, 2023). Students at this school, although not when Lee taught there, included future South Korean politician Cho Pyŏng-ok (1894–1960) and Korean nationalist martyr Yu Kwan-sun (1902–1920); Yu attended the school before transferring to Ewha High School. Regarding Cho Pyŏng-ok’s links to Yŏngmyŏng and Lee’s years of teaching there, see Pak So-yŏng, “Migunjŏnggi t’ongyŏk chŏngch’i,” 101. [\[6\]](#_ftnref6) “Mount Union College Student’s Record for Myo Mook Lee,” Student folder, p. 7. [\[7\]](#_ftnref7) “Mount Union College Student’s Record for Myo Mook Lee,” Student folder, p. 7. Lee also won the Yost Merit Prize. See “Biography of Myo-Mook Lee.” [\[8\]](#_ftnref8) “Letter from Acting Registrar of Syracuse University J. Carlton Hurley, March 4, 1927,” Student folder, p. 2; “Application for Admission to Candidacy for a Degree in Arts or Philosophy, The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University,” Student folder, p. 12; “Biography of Myo-Mook Lee”; “Ch’ŏrhak paksa Yi Myo-muk ssi kŭmŭi ipko kwiguk.” [\[9\]](#_ftnref9) “Letter from William L. Bray, March 8, 1927,” Student folder, p. 16. [\[10\]](#_ftnref10) “Letter from Lawrence S. Mayo to C. H. McIlwain, January 10, 1928,” Student folder, p. 1; “Application for Admission to Candidacy for a Degree in Arts or Philosophy, The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University,” Student folder, p. 12–13. According to his application to Harvard, it appears Lee sought to obtain his PhD from Harvard by 1928. [\[11\]](#_ftnref11) “Note about M. M. Lee,” Student folder, p. 3. The unnamed author of the note also noted that another unnamed institution was “third rate.” [\[12\]](#_ftnref12) “Letter from Lawrence S. Mayo to Myo Mook Lee, January 19, 1928,” Student folder, p. 4. [\[13\]](#_ftnref13) See “Biography of Myo-Mook Lee”; Harvard University, *Harvard Alumni Directory, 1940* (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University, 1940), 744. In his dissertation biography, Lee claimed to have been a “Harvard University Scholar” from 1927 to 1928. The *Tonga ilbo* report on Lee’s return to Korea did state that he had conducted research at Harvard for “several years” (*sunyŏn*). “Ch’ŏrhak paksa Yi Myo-muk ssi kŭmŭi ipko kwiguk.” [\[14\]](#_ftnref14) “Biography of Myo-Mook Lee.” [\[15\]](#_ftnref15) Myo-Mook Lee, “Foreign Relations of Korea, 1864–1895,” Ph.D. diss. (Boston University, 1931). [\[16\]](#_ftnref16) “Yi Myo-muk.” [\[17\]](#_ftnref17) The Institute of Politics was a summer school focused on foreign affairs held at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. See “The Institute of Politics at Williams,” *Vassar Quarterly*, Vol. 7, No. 1 (November 1, 1921). [https://newspaperarchives.vassar.edu/?a=d&d=vq19211101-01.2.11&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN--------](https://newspaperarchives.vassar.edu/?a=d&d=vq19211101-01.2.11&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN--------) (accessed April 23, 2023). [\[18\]](#_ftnref18) Louis Stark, “Williams Speakers Split on Manchuria,” *The New York Times*, August 18, 1932. (accessed April 23, 2023). [\[19\]](#_ftnref19) “Wedding Bells,” *Korean Student Bulletin*, Vol. 7, No. 3 (October 1929): 6. [\[20\]](#_ftnref20) Coincidentally, Park had also taught at Yŏngmyŏng. See “Ch’ŏrhak paksa Yi Myo-muk ssi kŭmŭi ipko kwiguk.” [\[21\]](#_ftnref21) “Ch’ŏrhak paksa Yi Myo-muk ssi kŭmŭi ipko kwiguk.” [\[22\]](#_ftnref22) Pak So-yŏng, “Migunjŏnggi t’ongyŏk chŏngch’i,” 101. [\[23\]](#_ftnref23) “Yi Myo-muk.” [\[24\]](#_ftnref24) “Yi Myo-muk.” [\[25\]](#_ftnref25) “Yi Myo-muk.” [\[26\]](#_ftnref26) “Yi Myo-muk.” Thus, this newspaper should not be confused with the contemporary *Korea Times* that continues to be published today, as they are separate entities. [\[27\]](#_ftnref27) Pak So-yŏng, “Migunjŏnggi t’ongyŏk chŏngch’i”; Chŏng Yong-uk, “Tu ch’in-Il insa, uik tanch’e chidoja wa Migun t’ongyŏk ŭro pyŏnsin hada” \[Two pro-Japanese individuals transform into a right-wing group leader and an interpreter for the American military\], *Han’gyŏre*, July 20, 2019. (accessed April 27, 2023). [\[28\]](#_ftnref28) Pak So-yŏng, “Migunjŏnggi t’ongyŏk chŏngch’i,” 105–106. [\[29\]](#_ftnref29) Pak So-yŏng, “Migunjŏnggi t’ongyŏk chŏngch’i,” 107. [\[30\]](#_ftnref30) Pak So-yŏng, “Migunjŏnggi t’ongyŏk chŏngch’i,” 107–108. [\[31\]](#_ftnref31) Pak So-yŏng, “Migunjŏnggi t’ongyŏk chŏngch’i,” 107. [\[32\]](#_ftnref32) Pak So-yŏng, “Migunjŏnggi t’ongyŏk chŏngch’i,” 105; Pak T’ae-gyun, “‘Pŏch’i wa Han’guk Minjudang ŭi kaltŭng,’ i naegak ch’aegimje silp’ae pullŏssŭlkka” \[Did the conflict between Leonard Bertsch and the Korean Democratic Party lead to the failure of a parliamentary system?\], *Kyŏnghyang sinmun*, September 2, 2018. [https://m.khan.co.kr/feature\_story/article/201809022123005](https://m.khan.co.kr/feature_story/article/201809022123005) (accessed April 23, 2023). [\[33\]](#_ftnref33) Quoted in Bruce Cumings, *The Origins of the Korean War*, vol. 1 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981), 141. [\[34\]](#_ftnref34) Pak T’ae-gyun, “‘Pŏch’i wa Han’guk Minjudang ŭi kaltŭng,’ i naegak ch’aegimje silp’ae pullŏssŭlkka”; Bruce Cumings, *The Origins of the Korean War*, vol. 1, 154. For a list of other individuals whose appointments by the Americans Lee also likely influenced, see Pak So-yŏng, “Migunjŏnggi t’ongyŏk chŏngch’i,” 109. [\[35\]](#_ftnref35) Pak So-yŏng, “Migunjŏnggi t’ongyŏk chŏngch’i,” 110. [\[36\]](#_ftnref36) Pak So-yŏng, “Migunjŏnggi t’ongyŏk chŏngch’i,” 110. [\[37\]](#_ftnref37) Robert T. Oliver, *Syngman Rhee: The Man Behind the Myth* (New York: Dodd Mead and Company, 1960 \[1954\]), 347. [\[38\]](#_ftnref38) Pak So-yŏng, “Migunjŏnggi t’ongyŏk chŏngch’i,” 105. Pak writes it as Kukche Yŏnhap Han’guk Wiwŏndan. [\[39\]](#_ftnref39) “Interview with Dr. Myo-Mook Lee, of the Republic of Korea, December 16, 1951; CDKW00463—South Korea Pushes for Legitimacy,” *Canada Declassified, University of Toronto*. (accessed April 23, 2023). [\[40\]](#_ftnref40) Pak So-yŏng, “Migunjŏnggi t’ongyŏk chŏngch’i,” 105. [\[41\]](#_ftnref41) Pak So-yŏng, “Migunjŏnggi t’ongyŏk chŏngch’i,” 105. Lee had cancer-related surgery in July 1956 but saw no improvement. See “Yi Myo-muk chu Yŏng kongsa ‘Rŏndŏn’ sŏ pyŏlse \[Minister to the United Kingdom Myo Mook Lee passes away in London\],” *Tonga ilbo*, March 1, 1957. Furthermore, just a month prior in late January 1958, Lee and his wife suffered minor injuries due to a car collision in Copenhagen. See “Yi Myo-muk kongsa puch’ŏ pusang” \[Minister Myo Mook Lee and wife injured\], *Tonga ilbo*, January 28, 1957. --- **Bibliography** **Archival Materials** Harvard University. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Student folder of Myo-Mook Lee. UAV 161.201.10.5 Box 8. Harvard University Archives. Courtesy of the Harvard University Archives. **Works by Myo-Mook Lee** “Biography of Myo-Mook Lee,” in Myo-Mook Lee, “Foreign Relations of Korea, 1864–1895,” Ph.D. dissertation. Boston University, 1931. Lee, Myo-Mook. “Foreign Relations of Korea, 1864–1895.” Ph.D. dissertation. Boston University, 1931. **Primary Sources** “Ch’ŏrhak paksa Yi Myo-muk ssi kŭmŭi ipko kwiguk” \[Doctor of Philosophy Myo Mook Lee returns to Korea after successfully completing his doctorate\], *Tonga ilbo*, April 9, 1934. Harvard University. *Harvard Alumni Directory, 1940*. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University, 1940. “Interview with Dr. Myo-Mook Lee, of the Republic of Korea, December 16, 1951; CDKW00463—South Korea Pushes for Legitimacy,” *Canada Declassified, University of Toronto*. (accessed April 23, 2023). Stark, Louis. “Williams Speakers Split on Manchuria.” *The New York Times*, August 18, 1932. (accessed April 23, 2023). “The Institute of Politics at Williams.” *Vassar Quarterly*, Vol. 7, No. 1 (November 1, 1921). [https://newspaperarchives.vassar.edu/?a=d&d=vq19211101-01.2.11&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN--------](https://newspaperarchives.vassar.edu/?a=d&d=vq19211101-01.2.11&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN--------) (accessed April 23, 2023). “Yi Myo-muk chu Yŏng kongsa ‘Rŏndŏn’ sŏ pyŏlse” \[Minister to the United Kingdom Myo Mook Lee passes away in London\]. *Tonga ilbo*, March 1, 1957. “Yi Myo-muk kongsa puch’ŏ pusang” \[Minister Myo Mook Lee and wife injured\]. *Tonga ilbo*, January 28, 1957. **Secondary Sources** Chŏng Yong-uk. “Tu ch’in-Il insa, uik tanch’e chidoja wa Migun t’ongyŏk ŭro pyŏnsin hada” \[Two pro-Japanese individuals transform into a right-wing group leader and an interpreter for the American military\]. *Han’gyŏre*, July 20, 2019. (accessed April 27, 2023). Cumings, Bruce. *The Origins of the Korean War*. Vol. 1, *Liberation and the Emergence of Separate Regimes, 1945–1947*. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981. “Kongju Yŏngmyŏng Kodŭng Hakkyo” \[Kongju Yŏngmyŏng High School\]. *Han’guk minjok munhwa taebaekkwa sajŏn* \[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture\]. (accessed April 22, 2023). “Kwangsŏng Kodŭng Hakkyo” \[Kwangsŏng High School\]. *Han’guk minjok munhwa taebaekkwa sajŏn* \[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture\]. (accessed April 22, 2023). *“Myo Mook Lee at the US-USSR Joint Commission in 1947.”* Wikimedia Commons. [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=%EC%9D%B4%EB%AC%98%EB%AC%B5&title=Special:MediaSearch&go=Go&type=image](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__commons.wikimedia.org_w_index.php-3Fsearch-3D-25EC-259D-25B4-25EB-25AC-2598-25EB-25AC-25B5-26title-3DSpecial-3AMediaSearch-26go-3DGo-26type-3Dimage&d=DwMFaQ&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=ab-aVjd-3Lrkdp1C3bWcswRdIEr2-HcKIp2L3IUIp4Q&m=AY1A_zYRubbTshuyxsdgFvdkC7HOnzwL26f2Jou1t0tmm2XKwu5QDztCpt-qj0ck&s=n3G8PqFzk0UEHssV1zLtZDszJZlvjNq1GmuOX4ixDk8&e=)(Accessed April 27, 2023) Oliver, Robert T. *Syngman Rhee: The Man Behind the Myth*. New York: Dodd Mead and Company, 1960 \[1954\]. Pak So-yŏng. “Migunjŏnggi t’ongyŏk chŏngch’i: Yi Myo-muk ŭl chungsim ŭro” \[Interpreter Politics during the U.S. Army Military Government: Focusing on Myo Mook Lee\]. *T’ongbŏnyŏkhak yŏn’gu*, Vol. 23, No. 2 (2019): 93–116. Pak T’ae-gyun. “‘Pŏch’i wa Han’guk Minjudang ŭi kaltŭng,’ i naegak ch’aegimje silp’ae pullŏssŭlkka” \[Did the conflict between Leonard Bertsch and the Korean Democratic Party lead to the failure of a parliamentary system?\]. *Kyŏnghyang sinmun*, September 2, 2018. [https://m.khan.co.kr/feature\_story/article/201809022123005](https://m.khan.co.kr/feature_story/article/201809022123005) (accessed April 23, 2023). “Yi Myo-muk” \[Myo Mook Lee\]. *Han’guk minjok munhwa taebaekkwa sajŏn* \[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture\]. (accessed April 22, 2023). *The Harvard Korean Alumni Biographies Project and the Project website are copyright © 2024 President and Fellows of Harvard College and/or its licensors. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution is not permitted.* *Please contact Executive Director Susan Laurence (*[*susan\_laurence@harvard.edu*](mailto:susan_laurence@harvard.edu)*) for any concerns or questions*. - ## Decade [1920-1930](/decade/1920-1930) - ## Korean Alumni [Graduate School of Arts and Sciences](/korean-alumni-decade/gsas)