Entrepreneur

What Running a Tour Company in North Korea Taught This Founder About Customer Service

Travel can spark unexpected businesses, and Andrea Lee started hers after a pleasant trip to… North Korea?
Andrea Lee in Shanghai, where she's based.

My parents are from Korea, but I was born in Chile, grew up in the U.S. and became a private equity lawyer in New York. It was a 9-to-5 job -- and I don't mean 5 p.m. I wasn't necessarily “unsatisfied,” but I wanted to set my own schedule and build something lasting. 

My dad started traveling to North Korea in the '90s as part of a Korean-American business delegation. I went, which brings people to North Korea, with $20,000 in savings. 

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