1.5-Generation Korean New Zealander | Continuing to Thrive Through Tears and Laughter | Helen Lee
Authentic Leadership Podcast by Ivan Yeo
Episode notes
Behind every migrant family is a story of sacrifice, resilience, and love that often goes untold.
In this deeply personal conversation, Helen Lee shares her journey as a 1.5-generation Korean New Zealander—growing up between two cultures, rediscovering her Korean identity, and finding purpose through community service.
Helen reflects on the extraordinary courage of her parents, who left South Korea to build a new life in New Zealand, the profound impact of losing her father at just 19 years old, and how grief transformed the way she saw her mother—not only as a parent, but as a woman navigating her own loss.
Together, we explore identity, belonging, volunteering, intergenerational change, migrant family life, and the quiet strength that shapes the next generation.
This is more than a conversation about migration. I ...