Her name was Christina Yuna Lee. Her name was 이유나.

She died on Sunday, February 13, 2022. She was a Korean American woman. She was 35 years old.

She was a New Jersey native. She was a New Yorker. She was a Chinatown resident. She was a Rutgers University graduate. She was a Senior Creative Producer at Splice.

She was a daughter. She was a sister. She was a friend.

Yuna was beloved. She was bright. She was brilliant. She was artistic. She was creative. She had a way of making everyone she met feel seen and heard. She was the type of person everyone wanted to be friends with. Her friends described her as irreplaceable.

Here are a few stories that her friends from Splice shared. May we read these stories and remember the irreplaceable Christina Yuna Lee.

My sincerest thanks to Kenneth Takanami, Katie Smith, Matt Block, and Jordan Welner. Thank you for allowing me to share your stories.

Christina Yuna Lee forever. 우리 영원한 이유나. 🤍

Christina and I were fast friends. On her second week or so at Splice, we met around the corner of her new apartment to get coffee at Sunday to Sunday. She was excited about having her own place to listen to vinyl records, bu longed for our (then) closed office to reopen, so she could be around people again.

Chrstina started at Splice around the same time as the Asian hate crime shootings in Atlanta. It was an emotional and gutting introduction. We met on a call with the other Asians in our work community to support one another. Afterwards, I reached out to her and we talked about how we could galvanize this moment to do some really important work at Splice.

We bonded over a shared mission for a more inclusive creator space, among many other things. She hoped to start conversations around diversity and opportunities for creators of all backgrounds at our company. She formed the Art Appropriation Council after many hours of discussion about the place of Asians in the music community and how we, in our small little corner of the industry, could combat racism and appropriation.

After the Atlanta attacks, we and the other Asians at Splice formed a channel to support one another. The thought of folks we didn't know being senselessly murdred struck us all deeply. We had long conversations about how we could continue to be there for our Splice community. The last and most recent message in this channel was Christina wishing us all a happy Lunar New Year.

There is not much else to say. Christina was an irreplaceable presence. Hearbroken or devastated doesn't begin to cover it. "Now what?" is the question that keeps ringing — what do we do as a community? What could we have done differently? There are no answers. Just endless questions.

Life is fragile. Amidst all the headlines and takes and posts, don't lose sight of the human loss at the center of all of this. Hold tight those you love.

Christina forever. My thoughts to her family and many loved ones.

— Kenneth Takanami, Splice

Christina and I met through work (Splice) in March 2021 and I knew we’d become fast friends, or should I say more accurately, I wanted to become fast friends. Sitting in front of me was a kind, smart, cool, beautiful person… who wouldn’t want to be friends with her? And luckily, we became just that, having so much in common around our interests and how we see the world and we were both single gals in the city who loved to go out on the town and all that fun stuff. We just really bonded.

But the important point in all of that is I know it’s not unique to me. I know I’m one of countless people in the world who had that exact same experience with her. Maybe you’re not a single gal in the city, but you connected with her in a real way right off the bat because Christina made you feel heard and accepted and warm. What a special person, to have those abilities, to be so generous of spirit that you constantly make the people around you feel good.

Years ago a friend told me about this idea, that everyone’s personality and core has a different color light attached to it—pink, purple, blue, green, etc. and as you move through the world, you bond with certain people based on these colored lights, whether they’re the same or complementary colors, etc. and that there are a few special people out there that simply contain the whole spectrum of visible light—they bond with all the colors and brightly reflect all colors back.

I truly believe that Christina was one of those special reflective lights and all who knew her are so much brighter for it.

— Katie Smith, Splice

From the first time that we met about a year ago, the qualities that instantly stood out about Christina were how genuine, selfless and passionate she was. That is how I will always remember her.

Christina's dedication to empowering the 30+ producers on our team and the hundreds of sample creators and musicians worldwide evolved the way that we release packs on Splice. She was committed to amplifying creators' stories and fostering intentional representation for the communities with whom we work. This rang true from planning new sample labels to triple checking an email address to ensure that every creators' voice was heard as part of a pack story she was working on. No detail was too small.

When I met Christina for the first time in person last Fall, it felt like we had been friends for 10 years. When I asked her for visual artist recommendations for the album with my grandfather (with a very vague description) she hit me back in 10 minutes with a fully fledged pinterest board of ideas titled "Block Grandpa" so that she could better understand who might be a good fit. This was just the kind of person she was.

There really aren't any words to capture how unbelievably tragic, senseless and horrific this loss is. There is a saying, though, that I've held dear for over a decade: In Remembrance There is Life. I know that everyone who was fortunate enough to cross paths with Christina will continue to carry her light forward and honor her memory.

Rest in peace, Christina Yuna Lee, may your memory be a blessing.

— Matt Block, Splice

In fall of last year, I decided it was time to escape my apartment and give Splice’s recently opened Manhattan work space a chance. It was a Tuesday and although I didn't expect a crowd, I was surprised to find only one person tucked away in the back of the office. I was familiar with Christina but only as a friendly face on occasional zoom calls. We exchanged casual hellos and I took a seat nearby.

As I began unpacking my things Christina perked up asking "Is that On The Road!?" I was a little embarrassed to be reading Kerouac’s quintessential hipster bible but felt immediately at ease in conversation with Christina who excitedly shared that she had read it for the first time a year prior and how it sort of fueled her fascination with the city. We went on for at least 30 minutes talking about books and sharing recommendations and I knew right away that I was making a very special friend.

I was completely swept up in Christina's sincere curiosity and kindness. I was inspired by her confidence and openness especially given we'd never met in person. She then insisted on giving me a tour of the office, showing me were I could find all the snacks and other nicknacks.

After that day, we continued to text, share books and met up on a few occasions for drinks with friends. More recently, I asked her if she'd be interested in joining a small book club with some friends of mine, which she enthusiastically accepted. I was SO excited to be making friends with Christina. I got a strong feeling that this is the type of friend that will help me become a better person. I saw characteristics in Christina that I wanted to adapt myself and reflect to others. I'm so grateful for these memories and will never forget you Christina <3

— Jordan Welner, Splice