Fresh Air - Novelist Min Jin Lee on the promise and perils of Western education

Min Jin Lee’s new novel American Hagwon is her first in nearly a decade. ‘Hagwon’ is the Korean term for private tutoring centers. It’s the third installment of a four-part series on the Korean diaspora. Her previous, Pachinko, was a finalist for a National Book Award. In American Hagwon, Lee is taking on the promise and perils for Koreans who pursue a Western education. “I think education is a really beautiful thing,” she tells guest interviewer Aarti Shahani. “But I think we now really have to ask: Why do we get it and what do we want from it?” She’ll also reflect on surviving what she was told was a terminal diagnosis.  

Critic-at-large John Powers reviews the new British comedy series Small Prophets. 

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter 
Follow us on Instagram 
Subscribe to our YouTube channel 
Check out the Fresh Air Archives

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy