Lee Young-Mee was born in Seoul in 1961. She received a B.A. and an M.A. (specializing in contemporary literary criticism) in Korean Language and Literature at Korea University. She worked as a chief researcher at the Research Center for the Arts at Korea National University of Arts and taught at Sungkonghoe University and Munhwa Graduate School. In the 1980s she participated in the progressive drama and music movement, a sector of the democratization movement in South Korea. Her work, Stories of Songs (1993) deals with the history of minjung music and momentous songs that contributed to socio-political changes. Characteristics of the Madang Theater Form (2002) chronicles the aesthetics of the madang ('open air') theater, a unique genre active in the 1980s minjung movement. From the 1990s to the present, Lee has been considered THE pioneer in the field of Korean popular art. History of Korean Popular Music (1998) is the first comprehensive academic treatment of the subject. She has one English publication, "The Beginning of Korean Pop: Popular Music During the Japanese Occupation Era (1910-45)" in K. Howard ed. Korean Pop Music: Riding the Wave (2006). Her numerous publications include Understanding Korean Popular Art Through the Lens of Melodramatic Sentimentality (2016) that covers the eight decades of twentieth-century popular arts, novels, plays, songs, films, comics, and TV and radio dramas. The book received two prestigious awards, "Chihoon Academic Achievement Award," and "Nojeong Prize." In addition to her scholarly achievements, she is also known for her media presence through her popular radio shows on Korea Broadcasting Station (KBS), Munhwa Broadcasting Station (MBC), Christian Broadcasting Station (CBS), Buddhist Broadcasting Station (BBS), and Gugak Broadcasting.