Five years ago, Andrew Lee found out his relative Yi Seok, ‘The Singing Prince’, was the last emperor of Korea’s Joseon dynasty Today, Lee is the official successor to the crown. This is his Cinderella story
A ndrew Lee is princely, but in a modern, self-made tech-royalty sense rather than a traditional crown-and-sceptre way. His ears sparkle with diamond studs, while his shoulder-length curls are tucked under a flat-brimmed, hip-hop-style baseball cap emblazoned with the words “Handshake Hodler” – terms used in blockchain and crypto culture.
Lee, 34, also happens to be the newly crowned prince and successor to the imperial throne of Korea.
Until his inauguration in October, Lee led an existence typical to many Korean-Americans, running a tech company and raising two young children with his wife in the suburbs of Las Vegas, where the family recently relocated from Los Angeles.
But in an elaborate twist straight out of the plot of a South Korean drama, Lee’s life took a Cinderella-like turn five years ago when he found out he was related to Yi Seok, the “nominal emperor” of Korea and self-proclaimed remaining heir to the long-abolished and nearly forgotten Joseon dynasty, the region’s last monarchy, which ruled over the peninsula for over five centuries from 1392 to 1897.
Lee was born and raised in Indianapolis, the capital of Indiana, along the rust belt where only corn and other agricultural industries reign. He says his parents (his father is related to the Yi family) never disclosed their royal relations, so he only learned about the family dynasty through a passing reference from a relative. “I wasn’t aware of our family background,” Lee says.
“You don’t learn much about the Joseon empire or Korean history growing up in the US.”
He dropped out of university in his early 20s. “I don’t really have much of an educational background,” he says, adding that while he was not the best student, he had an interest in computers and coding from a young age. “I went to Purdue University, I ended up transferring to Buffalo, New York. At some point I just left school and started my work on the internet.”
Lee went on to found his own tech company, Private Internet Access – a VPN service provider in the United States. While Lee refuses to share who or how many use his services, citing user confidentiality, the firm is among the most well-known VPN providers in the world, according to user and internet search rankings.
And he has continued along this unconventional trajectory of success. A few years ago, when he finally met his relative Yi Seok, they got on so well Yi decided to make Andrew his heir.
Last month, Yi held a “passing of the sword” ceremony inside the plushly orientalist decor of the Crustacean Beverly Hills, a high-end Vietnamese seafood restaurant in Los Angeles. “I will commit to the values of love, human rights, peace and freedom for humanity to the best of my ability,” Lee swore on a ceremonial sword. Those present included Korean government officials from Jeonju city, the family’s ancestral home; Los Angeles city council members; and Bermuda Premier David Burt.
“People think it’s cool that I’m royalty [now],” Lee says. “But I don’t go around saying ‘Hey, I’m a prince’, I stay pretty low key.”
And while he may be crown prince of Korea, Lee says culturally he feels more Korean-American; he has only visited his parents’ native South Korea a handful of times. Next year, however, he plans to visit Jeonju, where Yi resides.
THE SINGING PRINCE
Lee’s benefactor, Yi Seok, has led a colourful life.
Born in 1941, Yi lived in the shadows of his royal name for most of his existence. “I was born when my father Yi Kang, the second son of Emperor Gojong, was 62 years old,” he says, in an interview from Jeonju. “Being the ‘Last Prince of the Joseon dynasty’ is a burden because of our family’s long history.
