Min Jin Lee

Min Jin Lee is a Korean-American author known for her critically acclaimed historical fiction. She was born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1968 and immigrated to the United States with her family when she was seven. She graduated from Yale University and received an MFA from the University of Virginia. Lee's debut novel, "Pachinko," was published in 2017. It became an international bestseller and was translated into more than 30 languages. The novel follows four generations of a Korean family living in Japan during the Japanese occupation and its aftermath. "Pachinko" won numerous awards, including the National Book Award for Fiction and the PEN/Hemingway Award. Lee's second novel, "The Free," was published in 2023. It explores the experiences of people living in Seoul during the years leading up to the 1980 Gwangju Uprising. Lee's work has been praised for its lyrical prose, complex characters, and insights into the Korean experience. She has been honored with the Order of Cultural Merit (Cultural Medal) by the South Korean government and was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2021.