Lee Geum-hee

Lee Geum-hee (born on December 12, 1966, in Seoul, South Korea) is a South Korean radio presenter, television announcer, television personality, and voice actress.

She rose to prominence as a KBS announcer, hosting programs such as 6 o'clock My Hometown, Love Request, and Power Interview.

Particularly, she left a lasting impression on viewers as the host of KBS Morning Garden for 18 years and the narrator of Human Theatre for approximately 10 years, infusing the programs with her distinctive touch.

She was known as one of the nation's top broadcasting talents and has been honored with the title of "Nation's Announcer" by the public.

Lee Geum-hee, born on December 11, 1966, in Bulgwang-dong, Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, is the fourth daughter of five siblings.

Her father was employed as a police officer.

Due to financial difficulties faced by her father as a low-level government official, her mother raised her five daughters while working as a hairdresser and tailor.

In her early years, Lee faced health challenges, and doctors had little hope for her survival beyond the age of three.

However, her mother, who had previously experienced the loss of a child, wholeheartedly devoted herself to caring for Lee, leading to her growing up in good health.

Due to financial constraints, Lee's parents were unable to afford kindergarten for her, resulting in her enrollment in Bulgwang Elementary School at the age of five, despite her birth month falling before January or February.

Nonetheless, Lee's mother found solace and joy in observing her daughter flourish and attend school, despite the initial concerns about her health.

Because Lee's mother was an attentive listener, Lee enjoyed sharing every detail of her day with her.

This habit played a vital role in the development of her speaking skills and her ability to be an attentive listener herself.

In the fifth grade of elementary school, Lee and her friends had the fortunate opportunity to attend a KBS show called Who is Better at Who? a KBS nursery rhyme contest program, where She was captivated by the female host.

This experience had a profound impact on her, and she decided to become an announcer.

During her time as a student at Dongmyeong Girls' High School, Lee was also actively involved in broadcasting activities.

She graduated from high school in 1984, and when choosing a university, one of the criteria she considered was whether there was an on-campus broadcasting station.

During her senior year in 1987, she participated in the announcer exams for both KBS and MBC.

However, she was eliminated in the final interview for both broadcasters.

Nevertheless, this setback did not discourage her from pursuing her career aspirations.

Instead, she began working as a radio reporter, securing a position through a special hiring program designed for individuals who did not pass the final interview.

It was during her time as a radio reporter that she crossed paths with announcer Jung Eun-ah.

However, after working for nearly four months, she eventually decided to resign, likely due to exhaustion.

Additionally, she briefly worked as a secretary at a company, making sure to leave work on time in order to study for the announcer's exam.

She went on to study Political Science at Sookmyung Women's University and graduated in 1988.

In February 1989, she mustered the courage to participate in the 16th KBS announcer public recruitment and she finally was recruited.

Upon joining the company, her first program was a radio show called On the Wings of Song. Subsequently, she had the opportunity to host the KBS Creative Children's Song Contest, which served as the successor to Who is Better at Who? which was a show that had played a significant role in fueling Lee's dream of becoming an announcer.

Being a part of it was both an honor and a somewhat surreal experience for her.

During her early days at KBS, the announcer director commented on Lee being the most old-fashioned among the other announcers.

Despite being from Seoul, she was considered less fashionable compared to the other flashy and sophisticated announcers.

However, it was precisely for this reason that she was chosen as the host of 6 o'clock My Hometown in 1991.

Lee saw this opportunity as a chance for personal growth and focused on developing her strengths.

During that time, she even wrote an essay titled 'Clumsy Announcer' to express her concerns, and it was later published in a middle school Korean Textbook.

Lee Geum-hee began to gain recognition from the public in June 1998 when she started hosting KBS Morning Garden.

The image of her quietly nodding her head at the performers' words while holding her microphone with both hands became her trademark.

Furthermore, she served as an adjunct professor at Sookmyung Women's University, where she has been teaching speaking classes since 1999.

As an author, she has written two books, "I Don't Want to Stand Out" and her bestseller "We, Speak Comfortably", which was published in October 2022.

Since 2007 and up to the present day, she has been engaging with listeners through KBS Cool FM's It's Lee Geum-hee, a Good Day to Love, and she also manages her own YouTube channel called My Geum-hee. She also appeared on TV shows, including 2022's Stopping on the Road Once in a While.

She continued in this role for 18 years until the sudden cancellation notice on June 30, 2016.

As the host of KBS Morning Garden, Lee Geum-hee conducted interviews with 23,500 individuals.