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Min Jin Lee’s 2017 novel “Pachinko” was a National Book Award finalist about four generations of a Korean family that had emigrated to Japan. She returns with her third novel, “American Hagwon” (published by Cardinal), about the importance placed on education by Koreans and people of Korean descent.
Read an excerpt below, and don’t miss Jo Ling Kent’s interview with Min Jin Lee on “CBS Sunday Morning” November 15!
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Tom and Clara observed that Mido had hardly made a sound.
Clara smiled. “Mido?”
Helen leaned in. “She’s shy.”
The boys stared meaningfully at their sister, feeling protective yet recognizing that this interview mattered. Earlier that week, Helen had prepared them for this. They wore their Sunday clothes.
“It’s okay to be shy,” Tom said, and smiled at her.
Mido held her breath. They were watching her, and she swallowed.
“I’d like to study with Yun here. I know I have a lot to learn in Korea.” Mido took a breath. “I’m a hard worker. I promise to do all my Eagle hagwon homework. Yun told me there is a lot.”
Clara and Tom laughed, and Helen closed her eyes and exhaled almost silently. Both Bo and DH smiled, trying not to make a big deal of their sister’s comprehensive answer.
Helen handed Clara a folder, and she continued to speak in English, which felt strange, but it allowed her to be less formal and less aware of her status. She was a supplicant, although she was the elder. Helen believed in her children and didn’t want to sell them as if they were a pair of expensive shoes or an article of designer clothing.
“I brought their report cards from Sydney. They’ve done well. I don’t think their recent grades on quizzes and tests here reflect their abilities,” she said.
Clara stood and faced the children.
“We have assessments for all three of you. Come with me. I’ll let Dr. Song speak with your mother.” She smiled.
The children followed Clara to the next room
*
Tom watched them walk out, and Clara closed the door softly behind her.
“Your children are great.”
Helen smiled, not knowing what else to say as his face grew sober.
“You see, the problem is that I have a waitlist for new students, and even if the assessments showed that they were an ideal fit for Eagle, I want you to know that it’s highly unlikely”—he corrected himself— “no, it’s actually impossible, for us to accept them even if something changed with our enrollment, because you’re not looking for one spot but three. There are parents who have been waiting for more than two years for a space to open. It’s really my fault for accepting this meeting, and I blame myself. I would not want to mislead you. If you would rather that the children not take the assessment, I do understand—”
This was the hardest part of success—the need to say no often. On occasion, a parent thought he was negotiating and offered more money, which was refused. If that didn’t work, the ones who were used to getting their way would reach out to a more prominent parent, but the more they tried, the more awkward the situation grew. Tom, a liberal American who had written his doctoral dissertation on education reformers, repudiated status performance of any kind. The irony of him owning a private tutoring center was not lost on him; but the longer he did this, the more he believed that he could make a difference by being a useful educator. The children here needed his care and protection, in some ways, much more than those back in the States.
Helen folded her hands in her lap.
“They won’t mind the assessment. At least you’ll have their results. In case—” Helen looked up, trying again. Sonya had said Helen couldn’t give up until she heard the word “no” at least three times.
“How about just Mido? She’s such a good student, and it would mean so much—”
“The assessment isn’t long. I suppose there is no harm—” he interrupted, not wanting to hear her plea. It was difficult for him to say no; Clara was the tougher one.
“They’ve moved around so much, and Bo and DH may take the Suneung and apply to colleges here. Of course, their grades have to be good, too. DH wants to study in America, but it might be hard—”
Helen felt overwhelmed by the number of rungs on the ladder, and, as usual, each child would need different things. Abroad, their education had seemed more manageable, and she hadn’t felt so powerless and alone.
Excerpted from “American Hagwon” by Min Jin Lee. Copyright 2026 by Min Jin Lee. Used with permission of Cardinal, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
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