'Pachinko' Author Min Jin Lee: Message of New Book Is 'Love That Inspires Sacrifice'

Korean-American author Min Jin Lee has stated that the message she wants to convey through her new novel "American Academy" is a love that involves giving up one's own desires for the sake of a loved one.

In an interview with The New York Times (NYT) on September 28 (local time), Lee said, "What I want to convey to readers through this new work is 'love that inspires sacrifice.'"

She explained that while writing "American Academy," she thought about the issue of sacrifice more than in any of her previous works.

"American Academy" features characters who give up their pride and personal ambitions to protect their families.

One father chooses to fry shrimp and make fish sandwiches in the kitchen of a fish fry shop to sustain his family following a financial crisis.

Even though people around him try to dissuade him, saying the job is beneath someone with a high level of education, he puts on a hair net and knee-high rubber boots and begins working without complaint.

Lee emphasized, "Sacrifice always gets a bad review, but it's not always bad."

The NYT analyzed that while "American Academy" contains clear critiques of education and materialism in South Korea and the United States, its underlying foundation is an exploration of sacrifice, love, and the meaning of family.

The theme of sacrifice has appeared repeatedly in Lee's previous works.

Some characters refuse to make sacrifices for their families, while others are ruined because of them.

On the other hand, there are characters who discover the purpose of life through painful self-sacrifice.

The themes of economic survival and sacrifice for the family, which are recurrently dealt with in Lee's novels, are evaluated as being connected to her personal life.

Lee immigrated to the United States from South Korea with her parents and two sisters in 1976 at the age of seven.

In Seoul, Lee's father was a marketing executive, and her mother, who graduated from a music college, taught piano to children.

However, after immigrating to the United States, the family's first home was a rundown, one-bedroom apartment infested with rats and cockroaches.

Finding jobs at a wholesale jewelry store, her parents had to leave for work at 6 a.m. every day except Sunday.

The exploration of sacrifice is expected to continue in her upcoming work.

In her next novel, known as "The Marshall Plan," Lee plans to highlight the role of remittances sent home by overseas Koreans during South Korea's economic growth in the 1960s.

In particular, Lee is focusing on Korean women who married U.S. soldiers and moved to the United States.

She said, "Given the current splendor and beauty of South Korea, people don't think about the bar women who married U.S. soldiers in the past and lived in Texas, being called prostitutes by people," adding, "But if it weren't for them, there would have been no way to invite cousins and brothers to the United States or send money for their education."

Lee expressed regret over the fact that these women sacrificed a great deal yet were insulted by other Koreans.

The NYT reported that Lee has begun filling her office bookshelves, which stretch from the floor to the ceiling, with relevant research materials to write her next work.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.