Minbak cover art

Minbak
Pre-order free with Premium Plus
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Minbak

By: Ela Lee
Pre-order free with Premium Plus

Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Pre-order for $42.54

Pre-order for $42.54

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Minbak (n.) a lodging in a private home

Three generations of women living together in one room with a lifetime of secrets between them.

London, 2008: When her husband dies unexpectedly, Hana is left with a pile of debt and no way to pay it off. With her teenage daughter Ada and her declining mother Yuna relying on her, she has no choice but to move her family into one room, opening up the rest of their home to paying guests as a minbak.

Korea, 1985. Hana was in the same place; running a minbak with her mother and making some life-altering mistakes. Living with Yuna again brings back long-archived secrets for Hana, and, eventually, the truth of what happened over twenty years ago comes erupting to the surface. Eventually, the three women are forced to confront how little they know about each other, and whether it will bring them closer or break them apart.

‘Ela Lee is a remarkable new voice in fiction' Stacey Halls, bestselling author of The Household

© Ela Lee 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

 Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction

Critic Reviews

Minbak is an absolutely brilliant novel that had me utterly engrossed. An incredible story of love, conflict and heartbreak across three generations, from South Korea to London. This is the story of a hidden history — of a family and a country — being dragged into the light, and of what it means to both lose a home and remake one. A beautiful and captivating novel that I wholeheartedly recommend!
Lyrical and devastating, MINBAK is a flawless meditation on memory, love and misunderstanding. Destined to be a modern classic
With love and care, Minbak unearths a dark page of history that has long been in the shadows. Ela Lee has written a beautiful, tender story of displacement and loss which shows the resilience of the human spirit, and the family ties that transcend all wounds
MINBAK is a poignant and precise novel by a writer of great skill. Each of the interweaving narratives exposes the rippling injustice of a global industry too often ignored, bringing so powerfully to life the pain it visits upon these beautifully drawn characters
It takes great skill to expose the dark and unsettling with a light and tender touch. Minbak is a story of family, displacement, and forgiveness that’s richly layered, deeply felt, and as lyrical as it is propulsive
Minbak aches with the unspeakable nature of loss. Deeply moving and graceful, it shines light on a secret slice of Korea’s history, gradually unveiling the secrets that bind—and divide—three generations
Minbak is a stunning portrayal of love, duty, race, and transformation against the alternating backdrops of two nations in turmoil. Ela Lee writes with compassion and great wisdom about the dark depths of the human soul - and the possibility of redemption
A story of profound loss across three generations of Korean women, paradoxically told with a rich sense of presence and history. Ela Lee proves herself a master storyteller
Minbak is a powerful, heartrending family saga that traces the long shadow of grief against the backdrop of Korea’s paper orphans. Lee writes with a quiet, aching honesty that remained with me long after I turned the final page
Minbak is one of those novels that challenges you to see beyond what is front of you, examining the bonds of family, the consequences of sacrifice and pride and shows you that life is a series of decisions, not all of which are within our control. This is a truly gripping and beautiful book that I’ll be thinking about for a long, long time
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.