Choi has translated during eight summit talks between South Korea and France and has also worked as a professional translator in about 1,800 international conferences. However, it was not just her fluent English and French that won her the medal.

Choi runs a website named after her (www.choijungwha.com) that provides various information on interpretation and translation. She is also the author of 18 books, founder of the Korean Society of Conference Interpretation and the creator of a forum with Sorbonne University of Paris. This forum is supported by UNESCO, the United Nations agency for education, science and culture, and has published books in both English and French. In June, Choi also started the Corea Image Communication Institute in order to reach a better understanding of Korea and to convey it to the world.

These accomplishments have won her the Legion of Honor.

Choi married a Frenchman in 1995. Her husband is now the general manager of the Intercontinental Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia. The couple therefore lives apart, and is able to meet only once every two weeks. "I have tried to spend my time alone more productively because I was sorry that I had to live apart from my husband," Choi said. "That has helped me accomplish all that I have accomplished today." (Kang Kyun-hee, khkang@chosun.com )