John Koh, his wife Helen, and their three children, had moved from Korea for his job three times-to New Jersey, to Australia and finally, back to Seoul. He built his career around friend and boss Shin Taehun, and wherever he was transferred, John would go too. When he and his family lived abroad, they were subsidized by the company and had nice houses and a good standard of living, but on returning to Seoul, they could only afford a small three-bedroom apartment located near the school. To supplement their income, Helen took a job as a saleslady at a high-end department store, where she earned good commissions. This helped with the school expenses incurred by the three children- Bo, the oldest and the most serious about his studies, D.H., the athlete and soccer star, and their sister Mido, the quiet one.
Mido was almost thirteen when she began school in Korea. The Koh children rapidly became aware that classes were harder than those in Sydney, especially math classes, and they were struggling to catch up. After being disciplined by a math teacher in front of the class, Mido made a friend who told her about the Eagle Academy, whose Korean American teachers ran an after-school program to aid students in math and English language skills. Hagwons, called “cram schools” in America, are very common in Korea and many children were enrolled in them, attending for several hours after regular school. Classes ranged from lectures and paperwork to individualized tutoring, and students attended to keep up with schoolwork and to get an edge on others in their classes.
Shin was having a major problem with one of his junior employees, a smart and beautiful young woman with whom he was having an affair. Danbi asked for employment perks that he couldn’t give her and was beginning to take advantage of the situation. He begged John to fire her for cause, as she was directly under him, but her work was exemplary. After John couldn’t take Shin’s badgering any longer, he brought her into his office to complete his boss’s request-the result of this was the catalyst propelling the rest of the novel.
This epic is a result of the meticulous work of Min Jin Lee, author of Pachinko published nine years ago. Masterfully, she steers us through the history of two marriages, the hard choices that each couple makes, and the results of these decisions on the family members. But she also writes about the tradition of the hagwon, and the whole problem of education. Was Maslow right that the goal of learning is achieving self-fulfillment or is it just the best avenue towards achieving money and power? Lee explores both paths and lets readers draw their own conclusions. It was a long novel, but when it ended, I was disappointed that I couldn’t read more about the character’s lives-that is the greatest tribute to an author that any reader can give.
Reviewed by Donna Ballard
September 29, 2026
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