Min Jin Lee, the bestselling author of the global sensation "Pachinko," will return this fall with a new novel titled "American Hagwon," focusing on the intense Korean commitment to private education. Cardinal, the publisher of Lee’s new book, said Wednesday that “American Hagwon” is scheduled for release on Sept. 29. It marks the third installment in Lee’s "diaspora quartet," following "Free Food for Millionaires" (2007) and "Pachinko" (2017). The term "hagwon" in the title refers to Korean private tuition companies that provide intensive after-school lessons. Lee explained that her curiosity about why Koreans are so obsessed with education was a primary motivation for the book. The novel follows a middle-class Korean family whose lives are shattered by a betrayal and the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Their journey takes them from Seoul to Sydney and finally to Southern California as they try to find their footing again. "Almost a decade ago, I started to write 'American Hagwon' because I wanted to understand why education is so important to Koreans everywhere," Lee said in a sta