ROK Consulate hosted welcome reception at the Consul General Song Yong Wan residence last May 11th, 2012 at 6:00 PM. Consulate staff, Korean American Community leaders gathered and welcomed Dr. Yi So Yean. Meanwhile Consular Affairs Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahn Young Jip which he was on the way to returning to South Korea next day from San Francisco also visited Seattle and made special welcome speech, and Bill Stafford from Boeing Future of Flight gave welcome speech. Dr. Yi So Yean expressed special thanks to Consul General  including other officials and to the Community leaders . Soyeon Yi (Ph.D.) Astronaut and senior researcher of Korea Aerospace research institute center made short speech that she is proud of Korea which develped country and  significant economic improvement since last 1950's Korean Korean and expressed that she is looking forward to giving keynote speech for other events: May 15, 2012 in Everett, at the Boeing Future of Flight and also Korean American Federal Way Community invited on May 16, 2012. Community leaders have epxressedd that they are proud of her as the first women who achieved her dream as an Astronaut in Asia and made successful trip to space.

Dr. Yi So Yeon was one of the two finalists chosen on 25 December 2006 through the Korean Astronaut Program.

On 5 September 2007, the Korean Ministry of Science and Technology chose Ko San, over Yi So-yeon, following performance and other tests during their training in Russia.

On 7 March 2008, she was selected to train with the primary crew, and on 10 March the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology announced that Yi would replace Ko. Yi was launched into space on board Soyuz TMA-12, with two Russian cosmonauts.

South Korea is reported to have paid Russia $20 Million for Yi's space flight.   

Dr. Yi So Yeon is the third country, after the United Kingdom and Iran, to have a woman Astronaunt as its first space traveler.  However, she is the first women Astronaunt  in Asia who had first space trip.

South Korean astronaut Dr. So-yeon Yi launched to the International Space Station on a Soyuz spacecraft with the Expedition 17 crew and returned on a Soyuz spacecraft with the Expedition 16 crew under a commercial agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency.  The space trip was 11 days. You can see the excitement of count down the space shuttle lift off by ROK President Lee and many citizens of South Korea:  See more detail

Everyone is invited to the Future of Flight Foundation Presents: IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FUTURE
COMMUNITY SPEAKER SERIES:
“I Sang In Space”  Keynote Speaker: Dr. Yi So Yeon:  May 15, 2012:

May 15, 2012 FOF Aviation Center 8415 Paine Field Blvd Mukilteo, WA 98275

Speaker Presentation: 7:00pm to 8:30pm Boeing Theatre FREE to the Public Limited Seating Available!

Meet the Speaker: 6:00pm to 7:00pm [$20, Refreshments included, RSVP & prepayment required] kendall@futureofflight.org