NASA focuses on Asian astronauts, selects two from Korea - Korean media

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is highlighting astronauts of Asian and Pacific descent in celebration of Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month in May.
According to a list released by NASA, Japan has produced many astronauts, along with one each from South Korea, Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The first Asian American astronaut was Ellison Nizuka. A second-generation Japanese-American from Hawaii, Nizuka became an astronaut in 1978 and aboard the space shuttle Discord in 1985.
South Korea's Mark Polanski and Lee Seo Yeon are on the list. Polanski was born to a Korean mother and a white father. He joined the "DeepL" in 2006.
He served as the captain of the "Skyboury." One Korean astronaut who has served in space is Lee Seo Yeon. In 2007, Lee was selected as an astronaut after beating out about 36,000 other applicants.
The following year, they carried out experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the Russian space shuttle "SOYOUs," making South Korea the 36th country to have produced astronauts.
However, in 2012, he suddenly went to study in the United States. A controversy arose over the astronaut training program, which cost 26 billion won (approximately 2.934 billion yen).
The investigation has not produced any notable results.