Helie Lee (born August 29, 1964) is an American writer and university lecturer [2] who has also made a documentary film.
She attended El Camino Real High School and graduated from UCLA in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.
In 2002, she testified before the Senate Subcommittee Hearing on Immigration to urge increased American support for North Korean refugees.
[6] In her second book, In the Absence of Sun (1998), Lee recounts her family's experiences in helping her uncle escape from North Korea.
A review in the LA Weekly panned the "cutsey one–woman-show framing device" but stated that the experiences that "upend [Lee's] preconceptions, mak[e] for engrossing viewing.