Joseph Han (writer)
Joseph Han | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Education | University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (PhD) |
| Occupations | Writer, professor |
| Honours | National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 |
| Website | joseph-han |
Joseph Han is a Korean American writer and professor. In 2022, he released his debut novel, Nuclear Family, which was published by Counterpoint Press, and was named in the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35.[1][2]
Early life and education
[edit]Han was born in Seoul, South Korea, after which he grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii with his grandparents; his parents and younger sister joined him years later.[2] His sister, Julie, would later become a member of the K-pop group Kiss of Life in 2023.[3]
In college, Han took an interest in writing, specifically around questions pertinent to the history of the Korean diaspora. He attended the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where he received a Doctor of Philosophy in English and Creative Writing and began working on his debut novel, Nuclear Family.[4][2]
Career
[edit]Han's work has been supported by the Kundiman Fellowship and Tin House.[5] He has also served as an editor for Joyland.[2] His writing—consisting of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry—has been featured in LitHub, Gulf Coast, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, and others.[6][7][8] Additionally, after college, Han has taught Asian American literature, fiction writing, and composition at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and also served as a guest faculty member, in fiction, at the Antioch University Los Angeles' low-residency MFA in Creative Writing program.[9][2]
In 2022, Han released Nuclear Family, a novel following a Korean family in 2018, months before the false missile alert, living in Hawaii. Han had based it on his own experiences as a Korean immigrant living there and reflected "my own coming into awareness, as a Korean settler on Hawaiian land, of Korea and Hawai'i's entangled histories of US occupation and militarization."[2][10] It was selected for NPR's Book of the Day and was named an "inventive debut" by the Los Angeles Times.[11][12] In the same year, Han was named as a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree; he had been selected by Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi.[13]
Han is currently at work on his next book, a short story collection titled Monster House.[4]
References
[edit]- ↑ "'Nuclear Family' fallout: Joseph Han's stunning debut novel". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "An Indies Introduce Q&A With Joseph Han". the American Booksellers Association. 2022-05-11. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ↑ "키오프 쥴리 "친오빠 소설가 한요셉, 교수님이기도"(컬투쇼)" [KIOF Julie “My older brother, novelist Joseph Han, is also a professor” (Cultwo Show)]. Newsen (in Korean). October 17, 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
- 1 2 Kuga, Mitchell (2022-10-25). "Joseph Han Tells a Genre-Bending Ghost Story for Our Uncertain Times". FLUX. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ↑ Voulgares, Chelsea (2022-06-15). "The Struggles are Entwined: Talking about Nuclear Family with Joseph Han". The Rumpus. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ↑ Han, Joseph (2022-06-06). "Making Meat Jun, Facing History: Flattening Korean Tradition in Hawaiʻi". Literary Hub. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ↑ "Ultrazone". gulfcoastmag.org. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ↑ Han, Joseph. "Terms and Conditions for Meeting My Korean Parents at Their Place for Dinner". McSweeney's Internet Tendency. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ↑ "Joseph Han Writes From, and for, Community". Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ↑ "Joseph Han on U.S. imperialism, Korean ghosts and Guy Fieri : It's Been a Minute". NPR. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ↑ "Blurred Family History Gets Questioned in Joseph Han's Debut Novel, 'Nuclear Family' | Book of the Day". WKNO FM. 2024-04-07. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ↑ Patrick, Bethanne (2022-06-17). "Review: A Korean Hawaiian American dream (with Guy Fieri) goes pear-shaped in an inventive debut". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ↑ Moro, Adam (2022-04-07). "The National Book Foundation Announces Its 2022 5 Under 35 Honorees". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2025-05-05.