Krys Lee, author of How I Became a North Korean

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Friday, October 7, 2016, 7:30 p.m.- 9:00 p.m. (doors open at 7:00 p.m.)
- Temple University Japan Campus, Mita Hall 5F
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(access: http://www.tuj.ac.jp/maps/tokyo.html)
- Speaker: Krys Lee, award-winning author and Assistant Professor of
creative writing and literature at Yonsei University, Underwood
International College, in South Korea
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​Overview:

*HOW I BECAME A NORTH KOREAN *introduces readers first to Yongju, the elder
son and accomplished student of a prominent North Korean family on the cusp
of violent political persecution by the Dear Leader. Then there is Jangmi,
a fellow North Korean who has fended for herself since childhood, often by
smuggling goods across the border, now pregnant and desperate to protect
her unborn child. Across the ocean in California, Danny is a
Chinese-American whose quirky intelligence has caused him to be ostracized
by other high school students. After a particularly humiliating incident,
his father agrees to let him fly to see his mother, who is working as a
missionary in China. In order to escape their circumstances, Yongju, Jangmi
and Danny cross borders—struggling against informants, husbands, thieves,
abductors, and even missionaries in the process—and eventually cross paths
with one another. Against a harsh and unforgiving backdrop, they form a
kind of adoptive family—but will they ever find the better lives that they
risked everything for?

Krys Lee’s first book, *Drifting House*, won the 2012 Story Prize Spotlight
Award and was named a best book of the year by *The San Francisco Chronicle
*and *Kansas City Star*, which likened Lee’s work to that of Jhumpa Lahiri
and Alice Munro. *HOW I BECAME A NORTH KOREAN*, her first novel, was
inspired by Lee’s personal experiences as a humanitarian helping North
Korean refugees. This suspenseful, emotional literary work merits
comparison to novels by Anthony Marra, Téa Obreht, and Adam Johnson, all of
which shed light on conflicts in different parts of the world through
masterful storytelling.

She will be in conversation with Mariko Nagai on the origins and
inspiration behind *HOW I BECAME A NORTH KOREAN*​
​
, and the delicate balance between fiction and non-fiction. For more
information please visit
​*http://kryslee.net/press/how-i-became-a-north-korean/
*​

"A forceful debut novel...not just another simplistic indictment of a
country in thrall to its Dear Leader, Kim Jong-il, but a compelling vision
of both North and South Korea."
— New York Times Book Review

​Speaker:​

Krys Lee is the author of the short story collection *Drifting House *and *How
I Became a North Korean *(
​​*​http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/309864/how-i-became-a-north-korean-by-krys-lee/9780670025688/
*
) She is a recipient of the Rome Prize and the Story Prize Spotlight
Award, the Honor Title in Adult Fiction Literature from the Asian/Pacific
American Libraries Association, and a finalist for the BBC International
Story Prize. Her fiction, journalism, and literary translations have
appeared in *Granta, The Kenyon Review, Narrative, San Francisco Chronicle,
Corriere della Sera, and The Guardian*, among others. She is an assistant
professor of creative writing and literature at Yonsei University,
Underwood International College, in South Korea.

________________________________

Robert Dujarric, Director
Kyle Cleveland, Associate Director
Eriko Kawaguchi, Senior Coordinator

Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies
Temple University, Japan Campus
www.tuj.ac.jp/icas
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ICAS events do not reflect any TUJ opinions but solely those of the
speakers and participants.