The agony and pain of a young man who can neither be American nor Korean
A new way of life where we embrace, heal, and realize one another
The Current State of the Korean Diaspora: Familiar Faces in an Unfamiliar Land

Author Lee Min-jin sheds new light on the lives of our people before and after liberation through "Pachinko," the story of a Zainichi Korean family spanning four generations.
His first novel, Free Food for Millionaires, is an autobiographical novel that deals with the successes, failures, loves, and heartbreaks of young second-generation immigrants in the United States.
The first generation of Korean immigrants to the United States who experienced the Korean War succeeded in establishing themselves in American society through the diligence and sincerity characteristic of Koreans.
The same goes for Casey's parents.
They run a laundry shop and do their best to instill in their children the desire for learning that they themselves had sacrificed their youth to, and it is bearing fruit.
But for the talented and well-educated daughter of immigrants, American society once again presents a rigid wall of gender, skin color, and educational background.
Carrying a heavy burden of guilt for failing to live up to her parents' expectations and anger at the prejudice Korean-American women face, Casey walks alone through a dark tunnel of life with no end in sight.


The title, "Free Food for Millionaires," can be read as both a worldly favor offered to the privileged class and their attitude of enjoying all the world's favors without hesitation.
To become recognized as respectable members of American society, Casey and her friends graduate from prestigious universities, get decent jobs, make friends, and date.
But the world is never kind to Casey and her friends who keep knocking on doors like this.
Just when you think you've achieved a small success, you reveal a colder side.
Even if they prove their abilities, they are not respected, and sometimes they suffer the same discrimination that their parents' generation had to endure.
In a 2021 interview, author Lee Min-jin said, “When it was published in 2007, people were uncomfortable with the main character, Casey Han.
But now I feel like they've come of age," he said.
The America that Casey encountered—curious, talented, rebellious, yet independent—seems not much different from Korea in 2022.
The world, which is infinitely kind to the privileged, turns its cold back on talent and hard work, and the previous generations' lack of understanding, unable to grasp the frustration of standing on the threshold of success, having achieved success solely through sincerity, are vivid and palpable.

“I wanted to show respect by telling the truth about what I know, by revealing both its flaws and its beauty without hiding them.
I wanted the characters in this book to be imperfect and talented.
Because I believe we are all such people.”_Lee Min-jin

But the sons and daughters of immigrants in "Free Food for Millionaires" learn to survive in their own way.
Unlike their parents' generation, who lived a life of patience, sacrifice, and sacrifice for their families, they make their presence known by striving and expressing their desires.
They love and part ways more, and learn about the world that no one teaches them.
As Casey's life is filled with pain as she makes mistakes and fails, paradoxically, the meaning and value of the things that sustain her become clearer.
She also finds comfort in the process of awkwardly embracing the pain of her loved ones.
What I gained by choosing to understand instead of fight was a sense of liberation and freedom.


Author Lee Min-jin has introduced 'Free Food for Millionaires', 'Pachinko', and the currently-written book 'American Academy' (tentative title) as a trilogy about the 'Korean Diaspora'.
Following 『Pachinko』, a survival story of people who lost their hometown, and 『Free Food for Millionaires』, ​​which establishes a second-generation identity after wandering and frustration, it is impossible not to pay attention to what kind of story about 'Koreans' will unfold in 『American Academy』.
Translator Yoo So-young, who brought Casey's New York to life in today's language, wrote that "Free Food for Millionaires" could be a work of encouragement to the countless immigrants and their children who have settled in South Korea.
It is said that this work provides an opportunity to think about the discrimination and barriers within us.
Although Lee Min-jin's book was written in English and first introduced to American readers, it has a special resonance for Korean readers.
Books that inspire us to expand our concept of Korean and think about the stories of the next generation of Koreans who will be with us.
This is why we need to read 'Korean Diaspora'.


Author's Note & Translator's Note

“This novel explores what it’s like for a young dreamer to live in New York City, yearning for independence, glamour, and romance, and what she finds there.
The protagonist and his friends make mistakes, desire good things and bad things, and gradually begin to understand their parents.
So, naturally, my first novel is a love letter to all those who have wanted more for themselves and their families.” _Lee Min-jin

“I imagine what the Korean people will look like in 10 or 20 years.
I hope Korea becomes a country that gives diverse voices a chance to be seen and embraces them as our own, as the voices of Koreans.
“I hope that, like the wave of K that has spread throughout the world, the concept of ‘we’ and ‘Koreans’ itself can expand even a little.”_Yoo So-young (translator)