Choi will be honored for her global communication endeavors through CICI, which has acted as a conduit for introducing Korea to the world and vice versa since it was established in 2003.

The organization hosts year-round networking events and awards, such as the Culture Communication Forum, CICI Korea Image Awards and Korea CQ Forum. Hundreds of influential people -- ambassadors and diplomats, corporate executives and entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers, artists and journalists -- have been CICI members or graduated from its programs.

Choi has been a professor for the last 30 years at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, her alma mater, where she has taught interpretation and translation of French, Korean and English. 

She is widely regarded as Korea’s pioneering figure in the field. The scholar became the country’s first registered international conference interpreter, Asia’s first doctorate holder in the field and presidential interpreter between France and Korea.

Choi has also written over 37 books, and in 2003 became the first Korean woman to receive France’s highest award, Legion d’Honneur.

By Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)