Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Free Food for Millionaires | 2007 | Min Jin Lee | Buy |
| 2 | Pachinko | 2017 | Min Jin Lee | Buy |
| 3 | American Hagwon | 2026 | Min Jin Lee | Buy |
Min Jin Lee’s standalone novels span nearly two decades and cover very different settings, though all three deal with Korean and Korean-American life. Free Food for Millionaires (2007) is set in New York City and follows Casey Han, a Princeton graduate from a working-class Korean immigrant family, as she tries to find her place among Manhattan’s wealthy elite. The novel is long and densely plotted, with a large cast of characters whose lives overlap in ways that feel realistic.
Pachinko (2017) is Lee’s most well-known book. It tells the story of a Korean family across four generations, beginning in a small fishing village in Korea in 1911 and following the family to Japan, where ethnic Koreans faced systemic discrimination. The title refers to the pachinko parlor industry, one of the few businesses open to Koreans in Japan. The novel was a National Book Award finalist and was adapted by Apple TV+ in 2022.
American Hagwon is Lee’s upcoming third novel, expected in 2026. A hagwon is a type of private cram school common in South Korea, and the title suggests the book will turn its attention to education and ambition within Korean-American communities.