Michelle Zauner is a darling of the modern indie music scene, better known by fans under her solo project alias Japanese Breakfast. Zauner’s family moved to the United States from South Korea when she was just months old. She spent her formative years as one of only a handful of Asian American students in her Eugene, Oregon neighborhood and school. The young songwriter grappled with her own “sense of Koreanness” then – and continued her journey of self-discovery while attending college and finding her footing in the East Coast music scene. Zauner fronted the Philadelphia-based rock band Little Big League from 2011-2014, before her mother’s unexpected cancer diagnosis compelled her to return home to Oregon. During this time, Zauner began to compose and record solo music, including the acclaimed album Psychopomp. She shared her story in 2018 in a viral New Yorker essay. Zauner’s unflinching, book-length memoir, titled Crying in H Mart, hit shelves April 20.

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