When Things Fall Apart, Can the Family Hold? Family versus Individuals in Minari

This chapter studies the representation of Korean migrant families in the US and the sociological implications represented in Minari (2020). Lee Isaac Chung’s semi-autobiography Minari revolves around a couple, Jacob and Monica, who move to the US from South Korea in search of a better future. Despite the huge leap they take, their long-overdue American dream soon falls short as Jacob becomes more and more fanatical about his farming career, alienating his wife and children. While Asian families are stereotypically characterised by a sense of collectivity, the movie portrays the opposite. Rather than relying on the strength of being one family, Lee champions the unique individuality of every single member. This chapter argues that it is by excavating the collective family identity and celebrating its individuality that the family in Minari can create their own “third space”, as Homi Bhabha terms it. By investigating the power relations between husband and wife and parents and children, as well as grandmother and grandchildren, I argue that while the family may be disillusioned by the American dream, it is the “roots” that each individually grows that will sustain its core unit.