Young-ja Lee is a South Korean music educator and composer. She is considered the most important Korean woman composer of our time. Born in Wonju, she studied at Ewha Womans University, the Conservatoire de Paris, and the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. She continued her education at the Manhattan School of Music. Lee endured hardships during the Japanese occupation and Korean War, but emerged to become one of the dominant forces in Korean music in the 20th century.