[REVISION HISTORY]

Release of Min Jin Lee’s novel American Hagwon

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2026-09-28 18:44 UTC → 2026-10-23 22:47 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The release of Min Jin Lee’s new novel, ‘American Hagwon’, involves both print and audiobook formats. The novel is the third in a planned four-book series exploring the Korean diaspora, following the Koh family across South Korea, Australia, and the United States between 1992 and 2007. In preparation for the book’s release, it was announced that actress Yerin Ha would narrate the audiobook in both English and Korean. Author Min Jin Lee described Ha’s performance as a ‘wondrous and mesmerizing reading’ that captures the family’s experiences with displacement and the pursuit of success through education. Following its release, the novel—which took nearly a decade to complete and exceeds 600 pages—has been noted for its examination of the Korean tutoring system, known as hagwons. The narrative tracks the Koh family, including parents John and Helen and their three children, as they navigate a significant decline in status following the Asian financial crisis. The story explores how the pursuit of education and social standing impacts family relationships and individual identities as they migrate from Seoul to Sydney and eventually to California.

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