Lee was born in
Busan, where she began playing table tennis at the age of nine and was competing six months after that. She won her first National Junior Championship at the age of 12. Soon after Lee left home to receive extensive training under the world champion
Lee Ailesa, at the
Korean National Training Center. She later trained under the supervision of Olympic Gold Medalist
Hyun Jung-hwa. Lee won 5 more Korean National Junior championships, followed by three wins in Korean national tournaments. Lee enrolled in
Korea National Sport University where she was coached by
Ahn Jae-hyung and joined the national team. In 2001, Lee was a member of the silver medal winning South Korean team at the
World University Championships in
Beijing. While studying at the university, Lee earned degrees in sports psychology and physical education. In 2004, Lee decided to move to
New Zealand to learn English. Lee won the New Zealand Women’s Singles Championship and she was named New Zealand Female Sportsperson of the Year. Lee moved to the
United States in 2007 while her sister was studying in
Chicago,
Illinois. Lee moved to
Los Angeles, California where she enrolled in
UCLA. She won several tournaments in the United States, including the US Open in 2007, and
Killerspin Invitational in 2009. ==Modeling and acting==