He offered an anecdote about how embarrassment turned to love. He met his wife Roz during a diving exhibition.
“My trunks fell off in mid-air, and it was love at first sight,” Lee said.
Upon viewing several rows filled with young Korean-American women, Lee urged them to sign up for one-on-one lessons in “CPR and chest compression.” Lee’s raunchy brand of humor, which he said could make Margaret Cho blush, was one of the highlights of the evening, according to some audience members.
“His humor was part of his fluency and was what made him seem so American,” said So-One K. Hwang ’05. “I’ve never seen that from a person from his generation.”
The Korean Association will sponsor several other events throughout the semester to celebrate the centennial, including a photo exhibit and a speaker series.
—Staff writer Sarah L. Park can be reached at slpark@fas.harvard.edu.