MEDIA RELEASE
Internationally acclaimed author Min Jin Lee will appear at Adelaide Town Hall on the opening night of Adelaide Writers’ Week to speak about her much-anticipated new novel, American Hagwon.
The special event at Adelaide Town Hall, part of her national tour, will be hosted by the editor of The Monthly, Michael Williams.
Lee is primarily known for her bestseller Pachinko, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, named one of The New York Times’ 100 Best Books of the 21st Century, and adapted into the acclaimed Apple TV+ series.
American Hagwon is her first novel since Pachinko and the third book exploring the Korean diaspora. Sweeping across Korea, Australia and the United States, it follows the Koh family as the 1997 Asian financial crisis transforms their lives, sending them first from Seoul to Sydney and eventually to California.
At the novel’s heart is a question that will resonate widely: how much should we sacrifice to give our children a better life? Through the Kohs’ experiences, Lee examines the profound faith placed in education as a pathway to security, alongside the pressures created by ambition and changing ideas of success. The title refers to Korea’s hagwons, private academies that have become central to the country’s intensely competitive education culture.
Adelaide Writers’ Week Director Rosemarie Milsom said Lee’s visit to Australia was an extraordinary opportunity for readers and she was excited to be launching the return of the festival with the leading writer.
“Min Jin Lee takes the forces that shape our lives – history, migration, family expectation, and identity – and helps us understand them through characters we come to care about deeply,” Rosemarie said.
“Pachinko introduced millions of readers around the world to a history that had too often been overlooked. With American Hagwon, Min Jin Lee has again created an expansive family story, but one that feels urgently connected to the questions many of us are asking about what constitutes a good life and what we are prepared to sacrifice for the people we love.”
Bios
Min Jin Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea, and immigrated with her family to Queens, New York, at the age of seven. After studying history at Yale University and law at Georgetown University, she practised law before turning to writing full time. Her debut novel, Free Food for Millionaires (2007), was an international bestseller and named among the year's best books by numerous publications. Her second novel, Pachinko, became a global literary phenomenon. Following four generations of a Korean family living in Japan, it was a finalist for the National Book Award, named one of The New York Times’ 10 Best Books of 2017 and, in 2024, one of its 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.
Michael Williams is the editor of The Monthly. He was previously artistic director of Sydney Writers’ Festival. He spent a decade at The Wheeler Centre in Melbourne as its founding head of programming and then as its director. A regular host and interviewer for literary and ideas events around Australia, his background is in publishing and broadcasting.
Min Jin Lee will appear in conversation with Michael Williams at Adelaide Town Hall on Friday 26 February 2027. She will also appear at the Wheeler Centre on Wednesday 24 February and at Sydney Opera House on Thursday 25 February.
Adelaide Writers’ Week will run from 26 February – 4 March 2027.
