In 2024, Michelle Zauner decided she needed a break and went to Korea. Over the year, the musician and author became a regular at classic Seoul eateries; studied Korean at Sogang University—and spent a lot of time allowing herself to be sad.
Though Zauner had been an indie pop star in music since debuting under the moniker Japanese Breakfast in 2016, it wasn’t until 2022 that she accomplished several other ambitions she’d long dreamed of: in just one year, she released Crying in H Mart, a memoir about her mother’s death, to critical and award-winning acclaim. Zauner’s third album, Jubilee, earned her a mainstream fan base, plus two Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album, and yet she felt lost and unfulfilled.
