Dr. Lee is chairperson of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies and professor emeritus at Seoul National University. She was formerly the Korean Ambassador to Russia and Finland and president of the Korea Foundation. She taught history at Barnard College, Columbia University, Korea University, and Seoul National University. She laid the foundation for Russian studies in Korea by launching the Korean Association for Russian Studies and establishing the Russian Studies Institute at Seoul National University. Dr. Lee has served on various governmental and semi-governmental commissions and contributes columns to major newspapers. Dr. Lee received a B.A. in history from Wellesley College, an A.M. in Soviet regional studies from Radcliffe College, and a Ph.D. in history from Harvard University.