Min Jin Lee Wants Us to Rethink Education
Summary
Min Jin Lee discusses her new novel, American Hagwon, which follows a Korean family navigating the 1997 and 2008 financial crises while migrating to the United States. The conversation explores the deep cultural faith in education, the rise of private tutoring centers, and the specific economic pressures faced by the diaspora. Lee also shares her research process, including interviews with immigrants and experts, to authentically depict themes of community, faith, and the trade-offs of upward mobility.
Topics discussed
Sponsor: YouTube Premium
Introduction to Min Jin Lee and American Hagwon
Author's nervousness and media training
Defining the hagwon and its role in the story
Social novels and modern educational concerns
Critique of laptop-based learning and critical thinking
The IMF crisis as a pivotal historical event
Neoliberalism, austerity, and loss of safety nets
Survival strategies: family bonds and community
Community as a radical and time-tested gesture
Character dynamics and the youngest daughter Mito
Migration, friendship, and 21st-century strategies
Specificity of money and economics in fiction
Subprime mortgage crisis and immigrant ambition
Mortgage brokers and the housing market
Sponsor: Apple Card
Sponsors: Instagram and NYT subscription
Research process: interviews and finding drama
Interviewing the Korean diaspora in Brazil
Techniques for building character and verisimilitude
Personality, location, and cultural behavior
Defining the 'Korean problem' and educational attachment
Powerlessness and the belief in meritocracy
The Suneung exam and cultural pressure
Fairness, testing, and parental accommodations
Hagwon teachers and the missing element of education
Sponsor: Apple Card
Sponsors: Instagram and SNHU
Character development and narrative control
International students and global citizenship
Parental sacrifice and the long game of education
The role of church and community in the novel
Faith and representing the church authentically
Pachinko's early reception and personal hardship
Networking vs. community and cynicism
College experiences and the value of networking
Defining true relationships vs. transactional bonds
Supporting oneself during the writing process
Preview of the next novel: Marshall Plan
Remittances and the rebuilding of home countries
Credits and final sponsor: Suburban Jungle
Listen ad-free on Castria