# Michelle Zauner
**Michelle Zauner** (born 1989) is a Korean American musician and writer, known as the lead singer and songwriter of the indie pop band [Japanese Breakfast](https://www.edgepedia.org/japanese-breakfast) and as the author of the bestselling memoir *Crying in H Mart* (2021).[1](https://www.lemonde.fr/livres/article/2024/07/03/pleurer-au-supermarche-de-michelle-zauner-le-gout-du-kimchi-maternel_6246489_3260.html) • [2](https://www.litcharts.com/author/michelle-zauner) She was born in Seoul to a Korean mother, Chongmi, and an American father, Joel, and moved to [Eugene, Oregon](https://www.edgepedia.org/eugene-oregon), in the first year of her life.[2](https://www.litcharts.com/author/michelle-zauner) • [3](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/japanese-breakfast-interview-michelle-zauner-b1854878.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1989, Seoul; raised in Eugene, Oregon[1](https://www.lemonde.fr/livres/article/2024/07/03/pleurer-au-supermarche-de-michelle-zauner-le-gout-du-kimchi-maternel_6246489_3260.html) • [2](https://www.litcharts.com/author/michelle-zauner) |
| Musical project | Japanese Breakfast, a Philadelphia-based indie pop band; four studio albums, 2016 to 2025[4](https://pitchfork.com/features/profile/japanese-breakfast-interview-jubilee-crying-in-h-mart/) • [5](https://apnews.com/article/71b54d46eeba2ca25987e1ee179d9209) |
| Breakthrough year | 2021: memoir *Crying in H Mart* (April 20) and album *Jubilee* (June 4)[6](https://www.vice.com/en/article/japanese-breakfast-michelle-zauner-crying-in-h-mart-memoir-interview/) |
| Grammy nominations | Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album for *Jubilee* at the 2022 Grammys[7](https://www.grammy.com/news/japanese-breakfast-michelle-zauner-jubilee-interview-video-2022-grammys-meet-first-time-nominee/) |
| Memoir sales | About one million copies sold in the United States[1](https://www.lemonde.fr/livres/article/2024/07/03/pleurer-au-supermarche-de-michelle-zauner-le-gout-du-kimchi-maternel_6246489_3260.html) |
| Second book | *Thank You for Your Suffering*, a memoir of a year in Seoul, due April 27, 2027, via Knopf[8](https://pitchfork.com/story/michelle-zauner-announces-new-memoir-thank-you-for-your-suffering/) |
## Early life and education
Zauner spent her first year in Seoul before her parents relocated to Eugene, Oregon, a city she has described as "a hippie town where everyone wears Birkenstocks and makes nut butter."[4](https://pitchfork.com/features/profile/japanese-breakfast-interview-jubilee-crying-in-h-mart/) Her childhood included visits every other summer to Seoul, her mother's home city.[9](https://www.kcrw.com/shows/good-food/stories/michelle-zauner-crying-in-h-mart) As a teenager in the [Pacific Northwest](https://www.edgepedia.org/pacific-northwest) indie rock scene of the 1990s, she was a devoted fan of artists including [Modest Mouse](https://www.edgepedia.org/modest-mouse), Joanna Newsom, and [Mount Eerie](https://www.edgepedia.org/mount-eerie), and she cited Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, whose Korean American heritage she shared, as a formative influence.[4](https://pitchfork.com/features/profile/japanese-breakfast-interview-jubilee-crying-in-h-mart/)
At [Bryn Mawr College](https://www.edgepedia.org/bryn-mawr-college), a women's school near Philadelphia, she studied creative writing and film studies through an independent major while performing in the indie pop group Post Post.[4](https://pitchfork.com/features/profile/japanese-breakfast-interview-jubilee-crying-in-h-mart/) After graduating in 2011 she moved to Philadelphia and started the indie and emo band [Little Big League](https://www.edgepedia.org/little-big-league), which released two records and drew some critical attention before its prospects dimmed.[4](https://pitchfork.com/features/profile/japanese-breakfast-interview-jubilee-crying-in-h-mart/)
## Japanese Breakfast
Zauner began recording as Japanese Breakfast, a solo project based in Philadelphia, and her music career rose in the same period as her mother's illness.[10](https://www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/literary/michelle-zauner-interview-crying-in-h-mart) Her first two albums under the name, *Psychopomp* (2016) and *Soft Sounds From Another Planet* (2017), were written in the wake of her mother's death in 2014, and both have an insular sound compared with her later work.[4](https://pitchfork.com/features/profile/japanese-breakfast-interview-jubilee-crying-in-h-mart/) She has said that *Soft Sounds* was "about disassociating to preserve my mental health."[4](https://pitchfork.com/features/profile/japanese-breakfast-interview-jubilee-crying-in-h-mart/)
**Jubilee and recognition.** Her third album, *Jubilee*, was recorded in 2019, delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and released in June 2021, debuting at number seven on both the Independent and Alternative albums charts.[4](https://pitchfork.com/features/profile/japanese-breakfast-interview-jubilee-crying-in-h-mart/) • [11](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/japanese-breakfast-mn0003475118) Where the earlier records centered on grief, *Jubilee* turned toward joy; Zauner has described it as an album about "the other end of human experience."[3](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/japanese-breakfast-interview-michelle-zauner-b1854878.html) She helped compose its string and horn arrangements for the first time, encouraged by her bandmate and co-producer Craig Hendrix, and directed the album's music videos herself.[4](https://pitchfork.com/features/profile/japanese-breakfast-interview-jubilee-crying-in-h-mart/) • [3](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/japanese-breakfast-interview-michelle-zauner-b1854878.html) The album earned Japanese Breakfast nominations for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album at the 2022 [Grammy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/grammy-awards), and the band performed on [Saturday Night Live](https://www.edgepedia.org/saturday-night-live).[7](https://www.grammy.com/news/japanese-breakfast-michelle-zauner-jubilee-interview-video-2022-grammys-meet-first-time-nominee/) • [12](https://www.caa.com/caaspeakers/michelle-zauner/) In 2022, TIME named Zauner one of its 100 Most Influential People.[12](https://www.caa.com/caaspeakers/michelle-zauner/)
Her fourth studio album, *For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)*, arrived in 2025. Zauner has described its mood as a pensive, anticipatory grief about the passage of time rather than the raw bereavement of her earlier records.[5](https://apnews.com/article/71b54d46eeba2ca25987e1ee179d9209) • [13](https://time.com/7266341/michelle-zauner-interview-japanese-breakfast-for-melancholy-brunettes/)
## Crying in H Mart
In 2018 Zauner published a personal essay, "Crying in H Mart," in *The New Yorker*, named for the Korean grocery chain where she shopped for ingredients to recreate dishes she and her mother had shared.[14](https://www.eater.com/22395652/crying-in-h-mart-michelle-zauner-japanese-breakfast-maangchi-interview) • [3](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/japanese-breakfast-interview-michelle-zauner-b1854878.html) She expanded it into a memoir of the same name, published by Knopf on April 20, 2021.[6](https://www.vice.com/en/article/japanese-breakfast-michelle-zauner-crying-in-h-mart-memoir-interview/)
The book centers on her mother Chongmi, who died of cancer in 2014 at age 56, and on Zauner's attempt to hold on to her Korean identity after that loss.[1](https://www.lemonde.fr/livres/article/2024/07/03/pleurer-au-supermarche-de-michelle-zauner-le-gout-du-kimchi-maternel_6246489_3260.html) • [3](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/japanese-breakfast-interview-michelle-zauner-b1854878.html) Learning to cook Korean dishes such as jatjuk, a pine-nut porridge, and kimchi-jjigae, a spicy stew, became her way of grieving for a mother who had cooked for her for years but never taught her how.[15](https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/japanese-breakfast-michelle-zauner-crying-in-h-mart-interview-25369/) The memoir also examines her guilt over arguments with her mother during her teenage years and her confusion about how to connect with Korean identity without her mother's guidance.[3](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/japanese-breakfast-interview-michelle-zauner-b1854878.html) It became a *New York Times* bestseller and sold about one million copies in the United States.[8](https://pitchfork.com/story/michelle-zauner-announces-new-memoir-thank-you-for-your-suffering/) • [1](https://www.lemonde.fr/livres/article/2024/07/03/pleurer-au-supermarche-de-michelle-zauner-le-gout-du-kimchi-maternel_6246489_3260.html)
## Film, Seoul, and later work
*Crying in H Mart* was optioned for a film adaptation in 2023, with the actor and director [Will Sharpe](https://www.edgepedia.org/will-sharpe) attached and Zauner writing the screenplay and opening a casting call for the lead role of herself.[8](https://pitchfork.com/story/michelle-zauner-announces-new-memoir-thank-you-for-your-suffering/) • [5](https://apnews.com/article/71b54d46eeba2ca25987e1ee179d9209) Production was halted by the Hollywood strikes and then paused after Sharpe left the project in 2025.[5](https://apnews.com/article/71b54d46eeba2ca25987e1ee179d9209) • [8](https://pitchfork.com/story/michelle-zauner-announces-new-memoir-thank-you-for-your-suffering/)
In the aftermath, Zauner moved to Seoul for a year, immersing herself in [Korean language](https://www.edgepedia.org/korean-language) and culture.[5](https://apnews.com/article/71b54d46eeba2ca25987e1ee179d9209) Before leaving she discovered a handwritten diary by her mother in the safe-deposit box of her parents' local bank, which sharpened her resolve to learn the language well enough to read it.[8](https://pitchfork.com/story/michelle-zauner-announces-new-memoir-thank-you-for-your-suffering/) That year abroad is the subject of her second memoir, *Thank You for Your Suffering*, scheduled for April 27, 2027, via Knopf.[8](https://pitchfork.com/story/michelle-zauner-announces-new-memoir-thank-you-for-your-suffering/) • [16](https://www.elle.com/culture/books/a73725575/michelle-zauner-book-thank-you-for-your-suffering/) The title comes from the Korean phrase "gosaeng haesseoyo," a polite way of acknowledging someone's efforts that translates literally as "you suffered."[16](https://www.elle.com/culture/books/a73725575/michelle-zauner-book-thank-you-for-your-suffering/)
## References
1. [« Pleurer au supermarché », de Michelle Zauner : le goût du kimchi maternel, Le Monde (2024)](https://www.lemonde.fr/livres/article/2024/07/03/pleurer-au-supermarche-de-michelle-zauner-le-gout-du-kimchi-maternel_6246489_3260.html)
2. [Michelle Zauner – Author, LitCharts](https://www.litcharts.com/author/michelle-zauner)
3. [Japanese Breakfast: If I had cancer like my mother's, 'I would just euthanise myself', The Independent (2021)](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/japanese-breakfast-interview-michelle-zauner-b1854878.html)
4. [Japanese Breakfast Is Working the Pain Away, Pitchfork (2021)](https://pitchfork.com/features/profile/japanese-breakfast-interview-jubilee-crying-in-h-mart/)
5. [Q&A: Japanese Breakfast's Michelle Zauner on melancholy and her new album, AP News (2025)](https://apnews.com/article/71b54d46eeba2ca25987e1ee179d9209)
6. ['Crying In H Mart' Is for Everyone Who's Ever Eaten Their Feelings, Vice (2021)](https://www.vice.com/en/article/japanese-breakfast-michelle-zauner-crying-in-h-mart-memoir-interview/)
7. [Meet The First-Time GRAMMY Nominee: Japanese Breakfast's Michelle Zauner, GRAMMY.com (2022)](https://www.grammy.com/news/japanese-breakfast-michelle-zauner-jubilee-interview-video-2022-grammys-meet-first-time-nominee/)
8. [Michelle Zauner Announces New Memoir Thank You for Your Suffering, Pitchfork (2026)](https://pitchfork.com/story/michelle-zauner-announces-new-memoir-thank-you-for-your-suffering/)
9. ['I was always rewarded for being a courageous eater', KCRW Good Food](https://www.kcrw.com/shows/good-food/stories/michelle-zauner-crying-in-h-mart)
10. [Michelle Zauner on her bestselling memoir of love and grief, Pan Macmillan](https://www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/literary/michelle-zauner-interview-crying-in-h-mart)
11. [Japanese Breakfast – Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/japanese-breakfast-mn0003475118)
12. [Michelle Zauner – Speaking Fee, Booking Agent, & Contact Info, CAA Speakers](https://www.caa.com/caaspeakers/michelle-zauner/)
13. [Michelle Zauner Stares Down the Darkness, TIME (2025)](https://time.com/7266341/michelle-zauner-interview-japanese-breakfast-for-melancholy-brunettes/)
14. [In 'Crying in H Mart,' Michelle Zauner Cooks Through Grief, Eater (2021)](https://www.eater.com/22395652/crying-in-h-mart-michelle-zauner-japanese-breakfast-maangchi-interview)
15. [Michelle Zauner's Bittersweet Journey, Rolling Stone Australia (2021)](https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/japanese-breakfast-michelle-zauner-crying-in-h-mart-interview-25369/)
16. [An Exclusive First Look at Michelle Zauner's Next Book, Thank You for Your Suffering, ELLE (2026)](https://www.elle.com/culture/books/a73725575/michelle-zauner-book-thank-you-for-your-suffering/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Rock, metal, and popular-band musicians › Indie rock and lo-fi › 2010s and 2020s indie musicians*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license