John and Helen Koh and their children -Bo, DH, and Mido- are building new lives in Korea when they find their worlds upended, as they shift, settling, resettling between New Jersey, Seoul and Sydney in response to global tides of opportunity and recession. Propelled by the cyclonic winds of 1997 Asian financial crisis, a personal scandal and a terrible betrayal they leave Seoul for Sydney and eventually anchor in Orange County, 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 are a loving family, with some branches harbouring unexpected knots and tangles. Striving to regain their footing, the Kohs set out to do whatever it takes to provide for their children’s futures. 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?
John prefers concrete problem-solving, since “family life had far too many unknown variables”. Helen record each child’s history and longings in a separate spiral notebook, pasting a manila envelope on the back flap where she tucks away cash to meet their needs.
The other central presence is the culture that surrounds hagwons- a Korean term that covers everything from cram schools to specialist academies that promise to nurture a sporting or creative talent. For minorities such as the Korean, Indian or Chinese communities in the US, academies can become “a haven away from intrusive parents and school bullies, and a place where they could ask questions and learn about their own pace”. Lee’s fictional Eagle Academy and Fortress become shelters of children like the shy inquisitive Mido and her brother Bo. Learning aspiration and success are intertwined especially for immigrant communities, which also reveal a thirst for belonging. Despite the perils of pursuing the American Dream, the Kohs manage to hold on to their best selves.
In American Hagwon, Min Jin Lee builds a portrait of a younger generation under pressure, always racing to do better- from Bo, who runs into trouble trying to clear a major exam in Seoul before the family’s move to California, to DH, blessed with early success thanks to a football scholarship, who will discover that the American dream can be elusive and slippery.
American Hagwon comes to life when the community’s scandals, gossip and politics surface at the Gospel Presbyterian Church. Lee makes the Kohs so sane, loving in the face of injustice amid the whole saga often spark into life thanks to family dysfunction or chaos. Helen’ sister Sonya is crisp, self-contained, married to a womanising wastrel, and has deep feelings for her husband’s successful uncle, whom she refers to respectfully as the Chairman. The voluptuous amoral Danbi, instigator of scandals, is a spectacularly successful agent of chaos, drawn in bold strokes as a seductress who appeared to “look like an angel but had the heart and mind of a best”.
Lion Han, a colossus in the private teaching world, pleads with a parents’ gathering to remember that the purpose of education is to transform the lives of the young and help them discover who they should be.
American Hagwon dives into the parallel church education, the sacraments and privileges it offers, the faith that it inspires and ultimate rewards.
American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee, 4th Estate £25/ Cardinal $36, 656 pages.
