Vietnamese-South Korean Lee Ho-jeong was selected as one of the four national pilots to represent the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) at an upcoming air show, beating out nearly 2,700 candidates.

Lee, 41, along with three other newly named 'national pilots' will fly in a T-50 fighter jet at the Seoul air show this week, the Vietnam News Agency cited ROKAF on Wednesday. 

She moved to South Korea from Vietnam to get married in 2001 when she was 19. She obtained her South Korean citizenship six years later. 

When she is not flying, the now-mother-of-two works as a banker and Vietnamese language tutor.

She currently holds a pilot’s license to fly light aircraft in South Korea.

Lee said she hopes being named amongst the four selected national pilots will inspire other marriage migrants to achieve their life goals, The Korea Times cited ROKAF.

The three other national pilots that will join Lee include Kim Eui-hyeon, a neurosurgeon at Severance Hospital in Seoul; Kim Jong-seop, 49, the older brother of late Air Force Major Kim Jong-soo who died on active duty in 2005; and Yoo Dong-hyun, a 26-year-old college student who set a Guinness World Record in 2018 as the youngest finisher of the 4 Deserts Ultramarathon Series.

The four selectees beat out 2,678 candidates for this year’s national pilot program, the highest number of entrants since the program’s launch in 2007.

ROKAF selects four national pilots every two years and the winners are given the opportunity to fly a military aircraft. 

South Korean citizens over 17 years old can apply to the program. The selection process includes a thorough interview round and intensive flight training course.

This year, the national pilots will fly T-50 fighter jets within the framework of the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) at the Seoul Air Base in Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province. 

During the experience flights scheduled on Saturday, the national pilots will fly above the mountainous Gangwon Province to the east coast under the guidance of ROKAF pilots. 

Upon returning to the Seoul Air Base after their one-hour flights, the new pilots will be presented with commemorative red scarves, a proud symbol of ROKAF pilots.

To date, 37 people of different backgrounds and age groups, including students, office workers, police officers, nurses and teachers, have been selected as national pilots for South Korea, according to ROKAF.

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