Min Jin Lee to present 2027 Hatfield Lecture
The 2027 John L. Hatfield ‘67 Lecture hosted by Lafayette College Libraries will feature acclaimed author, Min Jin Lee, in conversation with Professor Seo-Hyun Park (Government and Law & Asian Studies). The event will take place on February 17 at 4:30 PM in Williams Center for the Arts. A book signing and reception will follow.
Min Jin Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea and immigrated to New York with her family when she was seven years old. Lee is a writer whose award-winning fiction explores the intersection of race, ethnicity, immigration, class, religion, gender, and identity of a diasporic people.
Her debut novel Free Food for Millionaires (2007) was a Top 10 Books of the Year for The Times of London, NPR’s Fresh Air, USA Today, and a national bestseller. Pachinko, her second novel, was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction, runner-up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, winner of the Medici Book Club Prize, a New York Times 10 Best Books of 2017, and a Best Books of the 21st Century in The New York Times and Kirkus Review. American Hagwon (Cardinal,/HBG September 29, 2026) is her third novel in the Diaspora Quartet. Read more about Min Jin Lee via The New York Times.
This event will be recorded. If you are unable to attend the lecture in-person and would like access to the recording, please contact us.
Affiliated Events:
Book Giveaway
Free copies of American Hagwon will be available to Lafayette community members at Skillman Library from 10 AM on November 17th, while supplies last.
Lafayette Faculty Panel Discussion
Reading Min Jin Lee: An Interdisciplinary Guide
Please join professors Catherine Kim (English), Stephanie Chan (Government and Law), and Paul Barclay (History & Asian Studies) and moderator Seo-Hyun Park (Government and Law & Asian Studies) on Tuesday, January 26 at 7 PM in Kirby 104 as they discuss Asian-American history, the politics of immigration, and diaspora identities as well as other themes explored in Min Jin Lee’s latest novel, American Hagwon. Refreshments will be provided.
To help guide the discussion, we welcome questions and comments about the book, its context and its themes. Please submit any questions at this link no later than January 17, 2027.