Life’s Abloom for Sang-shin Lee, Recipient of the Order of Civil Merit
- Views 1933
- Writer 총관리자
- 보도일자 2012-03-19
On the 30th of last month, Sang-shin Lee, a Sookmyung alumna and graduate of the class of 1962 from the Division of English Language & Literature, received an Order of Civil Merit, the Camellia Medal from the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in San Francisco. The Camellia Medal is the third class of the Order of Cultural Merit, and is granted to those who have rendered outstanding services in the interest of improving national welfare.
Sang-shin Lee has grown orchids for 35 years and is on the panel of judges for AOS (American Orchid Society), becoming the first Korean member on the panel. She was also the first Korean to win the Butterworth trophy, the greatest honor for orchid cultivators, and was awarded the grand prize at the 2001 San Francisco Orchid Show, one of the top 10 orchid shows in the world.
Furthermore, she won the Sookmyung Person of the Year Award and 500 additional prizes such as Awards of Merit, Certificates of High Commendation, Certificates of Cultural Merit, Certificates of Cultural Excellence and so on. Since her passionate involvement and successes in various activities brought about national prestige, she was awarded the Order of Civil Merit of the Year.
The orchid is a monocotyledon and one of the most difficult plants to bring to bloom. Hence, cultivating orchids has been considered for a long time to be more of a cultural activity than horticulture.
Ms. Lee cultivates some 2000 orchids in her own green house and makes different kinds of orchids blossom each year, though it takes 7-8 years for an orchid to flower. In view of this fact, one can imagine how much concern and devotion is involved as she tends to her orchids. Lee stated her feelings after receiving the Order of Civil Merit: “Even now I just do what I like to do. I was awarded an undeserved prize, so I’ll live up to the meaning of the prize for the rest of my life.”
For those busy twenty-somethings under pressure to find a job, the idea of being able to pursue a passion and at the same time leave behind remarkable accomplishments might seem like an idle dream. However, Sang-shin Lee is living proof that if you focus on one specialized career with passion and tenacity, you can find your own field and carve out your own future. We encourage all our Sookmyung alumnae to follow in the steps of Ms. Lee and make their own way.