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By Kim Bo-eun
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| Min Jin Lee / Courtesy of Beowulf Sheehan |
"I think representation is a worthy goal, but accurate and thoughtful representation is too often missing," the author of best-sellers "Pachinko" (2017) and "Free Food for Millionaires," (2007) said in a written interview with The Korea Times last month.
"I am not interested in ever privileging representation over the values of ethics, accuracy or truth. Misrepresentation is profoundly harmful."
Lee, who emigrated with her family to the U.S. from Seoul at the age of seven, grew up in Queens, New York. She majored in history at Yale, and obtained a degree at Georgetown Law, practicing for several years before she took up writing as a profession.
She has published two parts of a trilogy about Korean immigrants.
Lee captivates readers with her stories, which deal with subjects and themes encompassing identity, class, forgiveness and faith. Her novels depict reality based on extensive research. She writes about plight, but embedded are touching reminders that people can be good.
"Pachinko" is a story spanning four generations of Koreans living in Japan, part of which overlaps with the period during which Korea was colonized by its neighboring country (1910-45).
The novel became a U.S. National Book Awards finalist in 2017 and has been translated into 30 languages. The Korean translation became a local bestseller last year, after the release of the Apple TV+ series based on the book.
Lee was on the list of prominent guests at the state dinner hosted for Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol by U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House in April.
The acknowledgment took time. It took Lee decades to publish "Pachinko," as championing accuracy meant she would discard a draft that took years to compile, to write up a new version. "Free Food for Millionaires" is about the life of a Korean-American woman in New York, but the reception of the translated copy in Korea was slow. The belated discovery of the author and her works led to fresh publications of the Korean versions of both books last year.
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| Min Jin Lee, the author of the novel "Pachinko," attends a press conference in Seoul, Aug. 8, 2022. Yonhap |
A ritual she has stuck to throughout the course of her enduring writing career is reading a chapter of the Bible everyday ― enabling her to have read the book seven times. This is still part of her daily routine and she is reading the book of Jeremiah these days.
"When my students are troubled, I find myself telling them that they are only on the third or fourth chapter of their lives, and there are many more," said the author, who teaches at Amherst College.
"In retrospect, what seemed very important at the time did not end up being consequential. I think the best part of being older is having a slightly better perspective on what may seem like the significant events of one's life."
Lee visited Korea four times last year, to receive awards and promote a newly-translated version of "Pachinko" in Korean. "Pachinko" was awarded the Manhae Grand Prize for Literature, the Bucheon Diaspora Literary Prize and the Samsung Happiness for Tomorrow Award for Creativity.
The author referred to the visits as "meaningful and more layered" each time, and that it was a privilege to share her work in the Korean language.
"I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to write my books, and the writing of each book has changed me. I start from the position that I have questions about certain subjects, and often, I find that my initial position changes and my understanding grows," she said.
"I have always had a strong affection for Koreans around the world, and of course, that affection has only strengthened."
She now is working on the third book of her trilogy, which focuses on Korea's diaspora: "American Hagwon." The book is about the fervor Koreans around the world have for education. "Hagwon" is the Korean word for a private academy, a place that students are often sent to after school, to enhance their academic performance. She hopes the book will be a "dangerous one."
"Writers can be dangerous because our ideals and ideas can challenge the status quo. I am troubled by how the pursuit of high-status education can overlook the needs of childhood."
