In 1995, Min Jin Lee made a significant life change by leaving her position as a corporate lawyer in her mid-20s. After being diagnosed as a hepatitis B carrier during her teenage years, medical professionals warned her about a heightened risk of developing liver cancer in her 20s or 30s. “I thought, if I’m going to die, I’m going to write a book first,” reflects Lee, now 57, as she recounts her choice to prioritize writing over a stable income and health insurance. “I was told repeatedly that my health would decline, so I felt compelled to finish a meaningful book before my time ran out.”
Lee appears vibrant and healthy during our video call from her home in Harlem, New York, her background filled with towering bookshelves. We connect to discuss her latest novel, American Hagwon, which she describes as the concluding work of her “Korean trilogy,” following Free Food for Millionaires released in 2007 and the acclaimed Pachinko, an international bestseller adapted for Apple TV in 2022. “Actually, it’s a Korean quartet!” she corrects me with a smile. Thanks to advancements in experimental treatments, she feels well enough to embark on another writing project. “I plan to submit my manuscript before I turn 70,” she jokes, adding, “I’m writing the four books I’ve always wanted to create, and then I’ll take a long break.”
Lee’s writing pace has been measured, averaging one book every decade. It took her 11 years to complete Free Food for Millionaires, which explores the lives of Korean immigrant children in 1990s New York. Her ambitious work Pachinko, which spans nearly a century—from a fishing village in Japanese-occupied Korea to Wall Street in the 1980s—took two decades to finish. The novel has received accolades, including a place among the New York Times’ 100 best books of the century, and has sold over five million copies worldwide. Her newest novel, American Hagwon, tracks a family’s journey from Seoul to Sydney and California during the tumultuous years surrounding the 1997 Asian financial crisis, having been acquired in a competitive 12-way publishing auction. Recently, she returned from a research trip in Germany for her upcoming project titled Marshall Plan, which focuses on a 1963 agreement that led to numerous Koreans migrating to West Germany to work in various sectors. The central theme connecting all four novels is the Korean diaspora.
“I’ve had to learn how to do this, to speak with you,” Lee shares with a smile, revealing her once shy and financially struggling background in Seoul. Despite her success, she maintains a humble perspective, saying, “I often feel unwanted.” However, she takes pride in her accomplishments, exclaiming, “Wow, I have done this. I would be curious to know how many Asian American women have been featured in the New York Review of Books.” In her essay for the NYRB, she offered a thorough evaluation of fellow novelist Han Kang, who made history as the first Korean recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2024. While Lee’s expansive, multi-generational narratives differ significantly from Han’s concise, poetic works, both authors delve into challenging aspects of their nation’s history that have often been overlooked. Interestingly, both have gained recognition amid the rise of hallyu, or the Korean Wave, a cultural movement promoting Korean entertainment in the West, including K-pop and Squid Game.
Weighing in at over 500 pages, Lee’s novels occupy substantial space on bookshelves, akin to the complete works of other authors. “I would love to write a shorter novel, but I struggle to simplify these themes,” she admits. “I often think to myself, ‘Why not choose something easier? How about a story about two people sharing their feelings at a kitchen table?’”
Lee’s books are not only physically substantial but also rich in narrative depth and moral significance, reminiscent of the Victorian literature that shaped her as a writer. “Most of the authors I admire are classic British writers,” she notes. “Jane Austen and George Eliot had immense compassion and were deeply romantic about human potential.”
While her earlier novels focused on themes of assimilation and colonization, American Hagwon tackles a critical issue for many Koreans worldwide: education. The term “hagwon” refers to the private tutoring schools prevalent in South Korea. “If there’s one word I want you to remember to understand any Korean person, it’s ‘hagwon,’” Lee emphasizes. “In Korea, it’s as essential as water.” Some publishers initially hesitated to title Pachinko due to its unfamiliarity to Western audiences, yet the game serves as a fitting metaphor for the unpredictable nature of success, especially for Korean-Japanese immigrants facing significant odds.
In American Hagwon, characters John and Helen Koh are forced to relocate their family after a betrayal in business. John transitions from a lucrative insurance job to managing a nail salon in Los Angeles, while their three children—Bo, DH, and Mido—confront challenges that extend beyond traditional classroom lessons. The book dedicates over 600 pages to the themes of studying, tutoring, and establishing a hagwon, a concept that may be unfamiliar to many outside of Korea. However, Lee aims to convey deeper messages about the pressures associated with the overachieving Asian stereotype, the sacrifices made by “tiger moms,” and the disparities within elite educational systems. “How do you live wisely?” the novel prompts. It is a narrative rooted in “power, ambition, and the pursuit of goals,” she explains. “In America, we idolize hard work and success, but we often overlook the journey to achieve them. In Korea, there is a greater emphasis on examining how one attains their goals.”
She likes to encapsulate her thesis with the opening lines of each novel: “Co…
