Image Courtesy: Google Doodle
Lee Tai-young (10 August 1914 – 16 December 1998), also spelled Yi T’ai Yǒng, was a trailblazing figure in Korean history as the country’s first female lawyer. Some sources specifically refer to her as the first female lawyer in South Korea. Not only did she break barriers as a lawyer, but she also founded the nation’s first legal aid center, and her dedication to women’s rights was a constant theme throughout her illustrious career. Her firm belief was that no society could prosper without the active cooperation and participation of women, which she often emphasized.
Early Life and Career
Lee Tai-young was born on 10 August 1914 in Pukjin, Unsan County, which is now part of North Korea. She hailed from a third-generation Methodist family. Unlike many girls at that time, her parents believed in education for girls and sent her to school alongside boys. Her maternal grandfather was instrumental in founding the Methodist Church in her hometown. Lee attended Chung Eui Girls’ High School in Pyongyang before pursuing further studies at Ewha Womans University. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in home economics and later married Yil Hyung Chyung, a Methodist minister who had studied in America.
Originally aspiring to become a lawyer when she came to Seoul for studies at Ewha Womans University, Lee’s plans changed when her husband was imprisoned for sedition during the Japanese colonial government’s rule in the 1940s. To support her family, she worked as a school teacher and radio singer and took up sewing and washing. After World War II, she resumed her studies, encouraged by her husband. In 1946, she became the first woman to enroll in Seoul National University and achieved her law degree three years later. Subsequently, in 1957, after the Korean War, she established the Women’s Legal Counseling Center, a law practice that provided services to impoverished women. Additionally, in 1952, she became the first woman to pass the National Judicial Examination.
Awards and Legacy
In recognition of her exceptional efforts in advocating for equal judicial rights and the liberation of Korean women, Lee Tai-young received the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award (also known as the Asian Peace Prize) for Community Leadership in 1975, bestowed by the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation.
On 10 August 2015, a Google Doodle was created to celebrate Lee Tai-young’s 107th Birthday.
