Renowned author and Director of Princeton University’s Creative Writing Program, Chang-Rae Lee, visited Underwood International College (UIC) May 20-31 as a Shinhan Distinguished Visiting Faculty member. During his stay at UIC, the Pulitzer Prize Finalist, noted for works such as Native Speaker and Aloft, conducted a special creative writing seminar, devoting eight sessions to mentoring UIC students on the finer points of the creative writing process. Professor Lee also gave a public reading from his forthcoming novel, On Such a Full Sea, in New Millennium Hall on May 22. Chang-Rae Lee was born in Seoul, but immigrated to the US as a child. A graduate of Yale and the University of Oregon, he worked briefly on Wall Street before embarking on a full-time career as a writer. He has received many awards, including the prestigious PEN/Hemingway. Professor Lee was quick to stress the importance of creative thinking, as well as how creative writing can be a vehicle to success in fields beyond the arts. “What we do in the classroom has no bearing on what [the students] will ultimately [do in their careers], but the class teaches them to express themselves creatively through storytelling. It is artistic training but it’s not training for one particular thing.” Writers, he noted, “tend to be people who are very observant, who read very carefully, and who express themselves very carefully.” “People have found that creativity is important in all fields,” stated Professor Lee. “That’s where you get innovative ideas, innovative techniques, and approaches to problems.” Although most UIC students will probably not go on to become professional writers, Chang-Rae Lee’s brief seminar may have provided students with an advantage for their future careers by teaching them to think creatively. “I think [creativity] is a skill and maybe even a talent that business, politics all these other fields are valuing highly,” he said. “[Employers] want people who have that kind of innovative approach to solving problems.”