Vietnamese immigrant gets to fly in fighter jet at ADEX

Four people, including an immigrant from Vietnam, have been selected as "national pilots" representing members of the public, winning the opportunity to fly in a T-50 fighter jet at the Seoul air show this week.

Lee Ho-jeong, 41, a Vietnamese-born marriage migrant who moved to Korea in 2001, is one of the four people chosen as this year's national pilots, according to the Republic of Korea Air Force. She acquired Korean citizenship in 2007.

Lee Ho-jeong / Courtesy of Korean Air Force

Lee had always wanted to become a professional pilot since childhood, but could not pursue her dream due to financial difficulties.

But she did not entirely give up her dream.

Lee, a mother of two children who also works as a banker and a Vietnamese language tutor, managed to obtain a pilot's license for light aircraft. Upon being selected as a national pilot, Lee said she wants to motivate other marriage migrants to achieve their goals, according to the Air Force.

Others selected are Kim Jong-seop, 49, the older brother of late Air Force Maj. Kim Jong-soo who died on active duty in 2005, and Kim Eui-hyeon, a neurosurgeon at Severance Hospital in Seoul.

Yoo Dong-hyun, a 26-year-old college student who set a Guinness World Record in 2018 as the youngest finisher of the 4 Deserts Ultramarathon has also been selected as a national pilot.

Every two years, The Air Force appoints four national pilots, who are granted the opportunity to fly in an active military aircraft.

Korean nationals aged above 17 can file an application. Candidates who progress past the in-depth interview stage must undergo an intensive flight training course before the final selection.

This year, the national pilots will fly in the T-50 fighter jet during the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) currently being held at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

The experience flights guided by Air Force pilots will take place on Saturday, during which they will fly above the mountainous Gangwon Province to the east coast. After completing the one-hour flight, they will return to Seoul Air Base where they will be presented with commemorative red scarves, as symbolically worn by ROK Air Force pilots.

According to the Air Force, 2,678 people filed applications for this year's national pilot program, marking the highest competition rate since its launch in 2007. So far, 37 people from a range of backgrounds and age groups ― including students, office workers, police officers, nurses and teachers ― have been appointed as national pilots.