EPICANTHUS

Euna Lee and Laura Ling, two American journalists jailed in North Korea for 140 days earlier this year, have been named 2009 Women of the Year by Glamour magazine. Lee, 37, and Ling, 32, were on assignment for Current TV’s Vanguard Journalism unit based in Hollywood when they were captured by guards along the border of China and North Korea on March 17.

In June, they were sentenced to 12 years hard labor by a North Korean court after a closed trial in Pyongyang.

The Current reporters were freed Aug. 4 after former President Bill Clinton brokered their release and flew to the North Korean capital to fetch the pair in a private jet. Lee and Ling have made few comments on their capture and imprisonment since returning home three months ago.

“They are extraordinary women who were brave and resourceful, reporting a story that no one else was. They showed remarkable courage and initiative during their ordeal,” said former vice president and Current TV chairman Al Gore in reaction to the Glamour selection today.

Also named among the magazine’s 2009 Women of the Year were pop singer Rhianna; fashion designer Stella McCartney; California First Lady Maria Shriver; comedienne Amy Poehler; Google executive Marissa Mayer; athlete Serena Williams; pediatrician June Aronson; U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice; The Women of Iran’s One Million Signatures Campaign; and poet Maya Angelou.

Read the Glamour’s entire Lee-Ling tribute here.