The author of Pachinko is coming to Flushing with her next book. Min Jin Lee will talk about her new novel, American Hagwon, at Kupferberg Center for the Arts on the Queens College campus on Saturday, December 12, at 7 p.m. The evening is a reading, an onstage conversation and an audience Q&A, followed by a book signing, and it runs about 75 to 90 minutes.

What the book is about

American Hagwon was published on September 29, 2026. It follows the Koh family, Korean, across Seoul, Sydney and Orange County, California, from 1992 to 2007. The title refers to the hagwon, Korea's system of private after-school academies, which the novel uses as the center of a story about ambition, the pressure on children to achieve, money gained and lost during the Asian financial crisis, and what parents and children owe each other. The center describes the program as a look at the inspiration for the book, how Lee wrote it and the themes that run through her work.

Who is onstage

The conversation is moderated by Kyung Yoon, president and CEO of the Korean American Community Foundation, which is the event's official partner. The Queens College Foundation, the college's School of the Arts, its English department and its MFA program in creative writing and literary translation are supporting the event.

Tickets, and the book pick-up in Kew Gardens

There are three ways to buy in:

  • $15 plus fees for the event ticket only.
  • $45 plus fees for a ticket and a copy of American Hagwon, picked up at Kew & Willow Books in Kew Gardens.
  • $51 plus fees for a ticket and a copy shipped anywhere in the U.S.

The center says a limited number of signed editions are available. Queens College students with a valid student ID get 50 percent off the event ticket, but only when buying in person at the box office; students who choose the book bundle collect their copy at Colden Auditorium on the night instead of at the bookstore. Questions go to the box office at (718) 793-8080.

More at Kupferberg before then

The center's calendar between now and the reading includes Malika Zarra on Friday, November 6, at 8 p.m.; Salcedo's Latin Soul celebrating the release of its album Pops y Palmas on Sunday, November 15, at 3 p.m.; Keith Michael's The Nutcracker on Friday, December 4, at 7 p.m.; and Handel's Messiah, the QCCS 86th annual winter concert, on Sunday, December 13, at 4 p.m.

Getting there

Kupferberg Center is at Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Boulevard in Flushing. The Q25 and Q34 buses run along Kissena Boulevard to the campus from the Main Street station on the 7 train. Tickets are sold through the center's website.

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