The year she turned 28, she and Ko San were chosen as South Korea’s first astronaut candidates at a selection contest broadcast live on SBS. She was a KAIST doctoral student at the time. In 2007, she began training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia, and in September she was named the backup astronaut.
The breakthrough yearThe year she turned 30, she received her doctorate from KAIST in February, and in March the flight astronaut was changed from Ko San to her. On April 8 she launched on a Soyuz spacecraft as South Korea’s first astronaut. SBS’s broadcast at the moment of launch drew a 29% rating, and she returned to Earth on April 19 and to Korea on April 28. Herald Business named it one of the year’s top 10 domestic news stories.
In 2009, she gave a lecture for young people. In its December report, Maeil Business Newspaper wrote that her emergence as South Korea’s first astronaut was the previous year’s No. 1 science and technology news story. In 2010, she gave a special lecture at Ajou University. In 2011, she joined an astronaut panel discussion in Vienna, Austria.
In 2012, she published the book Yeolhan Beonjjae Dokkijil, took leave from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, and entered the MBA program at UC Berkeley. In 2013, she married in the United States. In 2014, she submitted her resignation to the institute, and it was accepted.
In 2016, she gave an interview to the U.S. outlet Cosmopolitan and was appointed assistant professor at Pierce College in the Seattle area, to teach physics. The year she turned 40, she held a press meeting for the first time in about five years and said she had never given up her South Korean citizenship. SBS Special also aired a program marking ten years since her flight.
In 2019, she gave a lecture on the space industry at the National Assembly. In 2022, she was reported to have joined the diagnostics company Noul. In 2023, she published the essay collection Uju-eseo Gidarilge and appeared on KBS Radio.
In 2025, she took part in a talk concert at the National Gwangju Science Museum, and in November she was among the 12 people selected for the Asian Hall of Fame in the United States. In 2026, she gave the keynote speech at the opening ceremony of International Space Summit 2026.
Yi So-yeon (born Jun 2, 1978) was chosen as a candidate for South Korea’s first astronaut on Dec 25, 2006, the year she turned 28, and became known when she flew to space on a Soyuz spacecraft on Apr 8, 2008, the year she turned 30.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.