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American Hagwon
- Author
- Min Jin Lee
- Narrator
- Yerin Ha
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Publish Date
- 29 September 2026
- Run Time
- 22 hours 55 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Genre
- Family saga / generational saga fiction, Narrative theme: love / relationships, Family life fiction / Stories about family, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Narrative theme: social issues / social problems, Religious and spiritual fiction, Contemporary lifestyle fiction, Educational systems and structures, Narrative theme: coming of age
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What to expect
‘You'll be instantly dazzled’ STYLIST
‘Breathtaking … I adored it’ ELIF SHAFAK
‘Masterful’ DOUGLAS STUART
‘Another future classic’ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
Min Jin Lee, the acclaimed author of Pachinko, returns with a breathtaking epic that follows one family as they reckon with personal dreams and familial duty.
John and Helen Koh and their three children – Bo, DH and Mido – are building new lives in Korea when they find their worlds upended, first by a terrible betrayal and then by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Striving to regain their footing, the Kohs set out to do whatever it takes to provide for their children’s futures.
They leave Seoul for Sydney and eventually settle in California, where new opportunities open for the Koh children, as the parents, strangers in a strange land, adjust to a difficult existence in which their qualifications mean little. Their way forward is lit by the faith that education will lead the next generation to the success and security that have eluded their parents.
The Kohs, their friends, relatives and even their foes move in and out of each other’s lives as they navigate love, work, fortune and fulfilment across the years. But with each new sacrifice and fresh horizon, larger questions begin to open up before them: what are we willing to give up to secure the happiness of the ones we love? What is the purpose of education? And what is truly important for a good life?
American Hagwon is the most ambitious and extraordinary work yet by one of our greatest novelists.
A most anticipated book of the year in Guardian, New York Times, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Independent, and more.
‘One of the most important novelists of her generation’ NEW YORK TIMES
‘A sweeping, stirring, epic’ iPAPER
‘I will be thinking about this deeply affecting novel for a long time’ NICOLA STURGEON, in OBSERVER
‘A grand multigenerational saga from the best to ever do it’ VOGUE AUSTRALIA
‘Engrossing … Brilliantly imagined’ COLM TÓIBÍN, author of Long Island
‘If your faith in either humanity or storytelling has dimmed, this will make it blaze again’ KAMILA SHAMSIE, author of Best of Friends
‘An absolute joy that you will take with you for the rest of your life’ JOANNA CANNON, author of An Unlikely Visitor
‘Extraordinary … So rich and intricate that you forget you're reading’ TARA WESTOVER, author of Educated
‘A moving reflection on family, ambition and duty’ MONOCLE
‘An extraordinary diasporic quartet’ HARPER'S BAZAAR
Critics Review
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‘I will be thinking about this deeply affecting novel for a long time’ Nicola Sturgeon, in Observer
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‘Lee has a knack with sharp, distilled dialogue … the novel is excellent on the daily grind of living, however modestly, beyond your means’ The Times
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‘One of the most important novelists of her generation … Like George Eliot, she has a gift for combining intimate character portraits with sweeping macroeconomic narratives’ New York Times Magazine
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‘Another future classic … a must-read’ Good Housekeeping
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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‘A sweeping and immersive reading experience … You’ll be instantly dazzled by Min Jin Lee’s expert storytelling’ Stylist
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‘A grand multigenerational saga from the best to ever do it’ Vogue Australia
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‘Nearly a decade on from Pachinko … Lee returns with an equally sweeping, stirring epic of a novel’ iPaper
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‘A moving reflection on family, ambition and duty’ Monocle
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‘Much-anticipated … a big book tackling big themes about what we are prepared to sacrifice to provide for our loved ones’ Service95
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‘After 600 pages, how could I want more? And yet I did, and that is the magic of Min Jin Lee’ Tahmima Anam, author of Uprising
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‘A profoundly generous and humane novel about duty, family and the dream of a better life … Masterful’ Douglas Stuart, author of John of John
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‘An immersive, engrossing novel … brilliantly imagined’ Colm Tóibín, author of Long Island
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‘Enchanting and elegant … as dazzlingly intelligent as it is emotionally breathtaking. I adored it’ Elif Shafak, author of There Are Rivers In The Sky
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‘Absolutely propulsive … If your faith in either humanity or storytelling has dimmed, American Hagwon will make it blaze again’ Kamila Shamsie, author of Best of Friends
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‘I adored this incredibly beautiful story … American Hagwon is an absolute joy that you will take with you for the rest of your life’ Joanna Cannon, author of An Unlikely Visitor
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‘A world so rich and intricate that you forget you're reading … A stunning achievement’ Tara Westover, author of Educated
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Min Jin Lee
- Narrator
- Yerin Ha
- Duration
- 22 hours 55 minutes
- Release Date
- 29 September 2026
- ISBN
- 9780008823931
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Genre
- Family saga / generational saga fiction, Narrative theme: love / relationships, Family life fiction / Stories about family, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Narrative theme: social issues / social problems, Religious and spiritual fiction, Contemporary lifestyle fiction, Educational systems and structures, Narrative theme: coming of age
Synopsis
‘You'll be instantly dazzled’ STYLIST ‘Breathtaking … I adored it’ ELIF SHAFAK ‘Masterful’ DOUGLAS STUART ‘Another future classic’ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING Min Jin Lee, the acclaimed author of Pachinko, returns with a breathtaking epic that follows one family as they reckon with personal dreams and familial duty. John and Helen Koh and their three children – Bo, DH and Mido – are building new lives in Korea when they find their worlds upended, first by a terrible betrayal and then by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Striving to regain their footing, the Kohs set out to do whatever it takes to provide for their children’s futures. They leave Seoul for Sydney and eventually settle in California, where new opportunities open for the Koh children, as the parents, strangers in a strange land, adjust to a difficult existence in which their qualifications mean little. Their way forward is lit by the faith that education will lead the next generation to the success and security that have eluded their parents. The Kohs, their friends, relatives and even their foes move in and out of each other’s lives as they navigate love, work, fortune and fulfilment across the years. But with each new sacrifice and fresh horizon, larger questions begin to open up before them: what are we willing to give up to secure the happiness of the ones we love? What is the purpose of education? And what is truly important for a good life? American Hagwon is the most ambitious and extraordinary work yet by one of our greatest novelists. A most anticipated book of the year in Guardian, New York Times, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Independent, and more. ‘One of the most important novelists of her generation’ NEW YORK TIMES ‘A sweeping, stirring, epic’ iPAPER ‘I will be thinking about this deeply affecting novel for a long time’ NICOLA STURGEON, in OBSERVER ‘A grand multigenerational saga from the best to ever do it’ VOGUE AUSTRALIA ‘Engrossing … Brilliantly imagined’ COLM TÓIBÍN, author of Long Island ‘If your faith in either humanity or storytelling has dimmed, this will make it blaze again’ KAMILA SHAMSIE, author of Best of Friends ‘An absolute joy that you will take with you for the rest of your life’ JOANNA CANNON, author of An Unlikely Visitor ‘Extraordinary … So rich and intricate that you forget you're reading’ TARA WESTOVER, author of Educated ‘A moving reflection on family, ambition and duty’ MONOCLE ‘An extraordinary diasporic quartet’ HARPER'S BAZAAR
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