Mei Tran and Nari Lee
Mei Tran and Nari Lee were best friends whose relationship began before either woman had children and connected their families across decades. They raised their children within the same extended family network in Tianjin and maintained the friendship after the Lee family moved to Baltimore.
Origins and Shared Family Life
Mei and Nari were already close before Minseo Lee’s 2007 birth. The circumstances of their first meeting were not recorded. Both women spoke Mandarin, which gave them a shared everyday language despite their different Chinese-Vietnamese and Korean-Chinese family backgrounds.
Nari married Joon-Ho Lee before Minseo’s birth, while Mei married Bao Tran before Minh Tran’s birth in 2015. Minh and Minjae Lee, born months apart in 2015, grew up within the families’ existing friendship. Their childhood bond later became a romantic partnership and marriage.
Family Connection
Their friendship connected the Tran and Lee families. Nari treated Mei’s daughter, Minh, as a second daughter and supported Minh’s relationship with Minjae and their marriage. Mei and Nari trusted one another with their children’s welfare and made the decision together, with Minh’s involvement, for Minh to accompany the Lees to Baltimore.
Distance and Life Changes
After Minjae’s late-2032 Rome competition and health decline, the Lee family spent late 2033 completing the approvals and preparation for an international move. They physically relocated to Baltimore in early 2034, and Mei remained in Tianjin. Mei and Nari maintained their friendship through regular video calls across the distance, while Minh’s life with the Lees kept both households closely connected.