After all, Lee Sun-ho is a former deputy president of the Export-Import Bank of Korea, while Lee Min-ha is a student at Daewon Foreign Language High School in Seoul.

However, the 67-year old Lee Sun-ho and the 16-year old Lee Min-ha have one thing in common _ they have both contributed articles for the Korea Times’ Thoughts of the Times column.

Lee Sun-ho is the longest-running contributor to Thoughts of the Times, having submitted articles for over 38 years. On the other hand, Lee Min-ha is youngest ever contributor to Thoughts of the Times.

Thoughts of the Times has been a fixture in The Korea Times’ opinion pages for the past few decades. It is a venue for everyone, foreigners and Koreans, to express their opinion on any issue and share their ideas on any topic that interests them.

It is easy to see why people such as Lee Sun-ho and Lee Min-ha would be encouraged to contribute their articles for Thoughts of the Times.

Korea Throughout the Years

Lee Sun-ho started writing for The Korea Times upon the prodding of his friend Choi Jae-ho, who was then working as a reporter for the newspaper.

``When I was starting my career, one of my friends, who was working in the newspaper, suggested I write something for the paper. It was 1967 and I was working for the Korea Exchange Bank. I had just come back after completing my master’s degree in Boston College. Since I studied in the U.S. for a few years, I started to write my impressions about Korea,’’ he said, in an interview with The Korea Times.

Lee decided to write down his observations about the changes in Korea. His article, ``Changes at Home During Absence,’’ was published in The Korea Times’ Thoughts of the Times on Oct. 15, 1967.

As he climbed up the corporate ladder at the Asian Development Bank, Korea Exchange Bank, Korea Foundation for Middle East Studies and The Export-Import Bank of Korea, Lee has managed to find time to write 165 articles for Thoughts of the Times.

But if you count the letters to the editor he started writing to The Korea Times in April 15, 1964, he has written for over 40 years. His most recent article, which was published on Sept. 26, 2005, was about his daughter’s marriage.

Lee said he enjoys writing on a wide variety of topics such as memorable family events, domestic and international travels, movie and book reviews, and his opinions about social, political and economic issues.

In 1998, he even published a book compiling all of his 122 contributions to Thoughts of the Times from 1967-1997.

Writing for The Korea Times has brought his some fame with many readers sending him letters of praise and sometimes, criticism. He said he has met many people, including foreigners, embassy staff and top officials of multinational companies, through Thoughts of the Times.

On a lighter note, Lee recalled several incidents when strangers have recognized his name from reading The Korea Times. ``When I was at the airport, the immigration official saw my passport and he said he enjoyed my articles in Korea Times, so he allowed me to go through,’’ he said.

Perhaps one of the most memorable articles he has written is one that never even got published in The Korea Times. Lee submitted ``Memories in Deutschland’’ on July 4, 1985, about his trip to then communist East Germany in 1985. He was one of the very few Koreans who had ever stepped into West Berlin.

``At that time, Korea was still anti-communist. Even if there was no reference to communist ideology at all in the article, the Ministry of Culture and Information was very concerned about it because of the anti-communist law and didn’t want to have it published,’’ Lee said.

Twenty years later, Lee said the same piece, which was basically a travelogue, would not have raised eyebrows. ``Years ago, it was not allowed to be published. Now things are totally different,’’ he said.

Although retired since 1999, Lee is currently busy with his duties as outside director of Kukdong Oil and Chemicals Co. Ltd. and as a representative consultant of Sang-G Business Consulting Co. Ltd.

Lee said he hopes Korea Times will continue to provide news and information about Korea to the world and find a broader audience in the local and international market.

``I hope The Korea Times prospers and comes up with more creative, innovative ideas in the future,’’ he said.

Thoughts from the Youth

It was an article in Thoughts of the Times about the Korean educational system that prompted Lee Min-ha to write a piece for the Korea Times.

She hoped to have had it published on the Student Corner section, but somehow the article ``Deplorable Education System’’ ended up being published in Thoughts of the Times on Oct. 6, 2005.

``In my English class, the teacher showed us an article written by an English teacher at a Korean high school in The Korea Times. The teacher wrote about how the third year high school students really suffer from exams, and how we’re all stressed… I thought it would be a good idea to write about the Korean educational system from the point of view of a student. The article didn’t really mention how we can improve it,’’ she said, in an interview with Korea Times.

In her article, Lee Min-ha showed her keen observations about the Korean educational system, especially since she has the benefit of having studied abroad.

Her family moved to Hong Kong three and a half years ago, and she studied at a British school called Island School. ``I enjoyed making friends there. I was really sad to leave… My aim was to master my English skills and Mandarin skills. I really ended up having a good time,’’ she said.

She has only been back in Korea for three months and is still adjusting to her rigorous school schedule and Korean life.

Lee Min-ha said she has always liked writing. As an elementary school student, she wrote and eventually became chief editor for a children’s newspaper. Perhaps the love of writing runs in her family since her father, Lee Yang-soo, is a journalist.

Right now, she is focusing on her studies to get good grades to be able to enter a good university. She also tries to find time for her hobbies, such as playing the flute and calligraphy.

``I want to have plenty of time studying in Korea (in Korean educational system) before I become a formal member of society as an adult, whether in Korea or abroad. Because I believe that you can only be ‘international’ after being a true Korean,’’ she said.