Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
INTERVIEW Korean-born lawmaker highlights New Zealand Parliament's strong diversity
Melissa Lee, the first and only Korean-born member of the New Zealand Parliament, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the Fairmont Ambassador Seoul in Yeouido, Seoul, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Overseas Korean lawmakers share experiences at Global Korean Politicians Forum, Seoul
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Melissa Lee, the first and only Korean-born member of the New Zealand Parliament, is a go-to person for Korean nationals living in New Zealand as well as Korean-Kiwis. She even has a Kakao Talk open chat room to communicate with citizens.
"There are many cases that people actually bring to me as a member of the Parliament. As a member of the Parliament, you can make certain things right for people who are in difficult situations," Lee said during an interview with The Korea Times at a hotel in Seoul, Thursday. She is visiting Seoul to attend the eighth Global Korean Politicians Forum.
First elected in 2008 and now a fifth-term lawmaker, Lee has been fighting racism and promoting the rights of New Zealand's diverse ethnic communities, including Korean-New Zealanders, for over a decade, while showcasing her expertise in media and communication as a former journalist and television producer.
Born in Korea and raised in Malaysia and Australia before moving to New Zealand with her family, Lee's background provides her with a broader understanding of the people of New Zealand, who are made up of very diverse ethnicities.
Her ambition to become a politician came at a young age, Lee recalled.
"I think it started when I was about seven years old. So in primary school ... teachers asked questions like, 'What do you want to be when you grow up?'” she said.
"While most people were saying they want to be a doctor, a firefighter or a police officer, apparently I, (who) was the shortest kid in class with the loudest voice, said, 'I want to be the first female president of South Korea.' (Though) I didn't become the first female president of South Korea," she said.
Lee became an award-winning documentary maker and television producer in New Zealand, but she also participated in various community activities, such as a Korean association, and volunteered as a Korean interpreter at hospitals and the police.
However, the importance of representation led her to run in the parliamentary election.
"(It is important to) make sure that there is a voice in Parliament. One of the TV programs that I was hosting was called, 'Asia Down Under.' It was stories about New Zealanders of Asian descent, not only talking about Asian culture, but about issues such as racism or inter-generational conflicts," Lee said.
"One of the limitations I actually found was that, as a journalist, you can highlight a problem, but you can't actually fix it. Right? When you're in politics, you can actually fix the problem,” she said.
During her first speech at the Parliament back in 2008, Lee wore a hanbok and made part of the speech in Korean, highlighting her heritage as the first member of the Kiwi Parliament of Korean heritage.
"It's the first time that you speak in the Parliament, so it's quite a big step. I think I burst into tears when I talked about my parents and the Korean people because it was the very first time that a Korean person was becoming a member of the Parliament, and I wanted to mark that occasion by wearing hanbok and make a statement in the New Zealand Parliament that there was now a Korean," she said.
Having a diverse parliament is a strength of New Zealand and Lee is a part of this diversity. New Zealand has one of the most diverse parliaments in the world with nearly 50-percent women, 11-percent LGBTQI+ and 21-percent indigenous Maori ― which is close to these groups' actual percentages in the general population ― as well as a variety of other ethnicities.
"For example, if you only have one kind of people, you're actually talking in an echo chamber... There should be all kinds of diverse opinions on how they can best represent their organization. I think when you have diversity, you can only progress," Lee said.
"You're not making laws only for people who are white. You're not making laws only for people who are women. You're making laws for the whole country. So the perspective of everyone who bring their experiences, their gender differentials and cultural differentials, can only make Parliament a better place."
Network of ethnic Korean politicians
This is not the first time for Lee to take part in the Global Korean Politicians Forum, hosted by the Overseas Korean Politicians Council.
Meeting with other ethnic Korean lawmakers and politicians around the world and catching up with them is refreshing as well as valuable.
"It's always lovely to actually catch up. Yonah Martin calls us, 'We are 'Seoul' sisters,' which becomes both 'soul' and 'Seoul,'" Lee said.
She said that the forum creates synergy as the lawmakers of Korean heritage around the world share their experiences.
"We are a minority ethnicity in our home country, and yet also we are legislators. We can talk about issues that we face, amazing work that we're actually doing, with some suggestions and learn from each other and our experiences,” she said.
She also spilled the beans that there is a Kakao Talk group chat for global Korean politicians.
"We share stories and messages, support each other and congratulate each other. When Ye-one Rhie from Germany got elected last year, we all added her on Kakao Talk and sent her messages. She mentioned that as soon as she got elected, she felt like she immediately had a family of legislators from around the world who happened to be Korean," Lee said.
"The support network is great. We're very proud of each other ― all of us ― regardless of our political views. We are Korean first, and then we're politicians. The party politics doesn't come into it,” Lee said.