Minari and Lifelong Education
Caitlin Taylor, EAD 860: Concept of a Learning Society, 2/22/26
Introduction
A weed is just a weed, or it is a connection to home, or a metaphor for resilience under pressure. Minari, named after a Korean weed, is a film about the immigrant experience that weaves learning throughout the story (Chung, 2021). Lifelong education is the framework that describes how education occurs across an individual’s life and considers wisdom across cultures, occurs in non-linear ways, and empowers people to problem solve (Benavot et al., 2022; Brandi et al., 2024). This essay argues that Minari depicts lifelong education by showing how learning persists even under intense instability and occurs in informal contexts.
Description of Movie
Minari tells the story of the Korean-American Yi family, who have recently moved to rural Arkansas from California in pursuit of the “American dream.” This film displays one small part of the family’s experience, as viewers only learn about their time in Korea and California through character perspectives. The story centers on the complex relationships of the family, highlighting both conflict and celebration as they navigate the complications of immigration.
Informal Learning
The film depicts informal, intergenerational learning within the Yi family. Formal learning occurs in traditional environments with structured curriculum, non-formal learning includes activities outside of formal spaces like workplace training, and informal learning refers to learning within the context of daily life (Brandi et al., 2024; Howard Morris et al., 2024). Benavot et al. (2022) critiques the field of lifelong learning as undervaluing the impacts of informal learning. But, as demonstrated in Minari, deep learning can happen in informal settings.
Members of the Yi family learn from one another, and this learning is not just adult to child, but child to adult. Brandi et al. (2024) position learning as non-linear, and that time is allocated in diverse ways within an individual’s life. Jacob’s cultivation of the farm is on his own time, starting as a hobby with the goal of growing into a sustaining business (Chung, 2021). While Jacob has basic knowledge, he practices self-learning in the set-up of the farm. Self-learning is recognized across lifelong education literature, as discussed by Howard Morris et al. (2024) and Mukherjee and Agrawal (2021), who agree that self-learning is about an individual learning about their interests and about themselves. Furthermore, the farm could be described as a “learning project,” which Howard Morris et al. (2024) uses in relation to the work of Tough (1971) who argues that learning is an intrinsic part of living. While self-learning can occur in formal and non-formal settings, in Minari it is informal.
Jacob teaches David about the importance of being self-reliant. Rather than pay for well installation, Jacob talks David through the process of finding water, digging the well, and connecting to the crop system (Chung, 2021). Jacob’s informal teaching is a representation of the shift towards education that encompasses all forms of learning, as advocated by Benavot et al. (2022). Yet, Jacob is also a learner, unlearning and relearning through the process of developing the farm (Mukherjee & Agrawal, 2021). While he has knowledge about Korean plants, he does not have knowledge about how to grow crops in Arkansas. He learns from Paul about how to best position the plants in rows (Chung, 2021).
Additionally, Grandma Soon-ja learns about American culture from Anne and David. In this scenario, the children are the teachers and their grandmother the learner. This dynamic connects to the philosophy of Jiddu Krishnamurti, whose work was analyzed by Mukherjee & Agrawal (2021). Krishnamurti advocated for non-hierarchical learning environments, posing that both teachers and students are learners. While the Yi family still maintains specific roles in the family structure, there is flexibility in how they learn together.
Knight et al. (2023) suggest that the development of skills should not be narrowly defined to only focus on work or productivity. When Grandma Soon-ja introduces Anne and David to boxing and playing cards, the purpose is to share her interests. Grandma Soon-ja also encourages David to participate in physical activity, not for a particular end goal, but in recognition of his desire. She comforts him as he struggles with fears of dying, and ultimately, her support helps him to stop wetting the bed (Chung, 2021). This further supports Mukherjee and Agrawal (2021) and the assertion that learning involves unlearning and relearning, all of which are driven by inner transformation.
Learning Under Precarity
The core of Minari showcases the Yi family’s move and how they experience a new environment. Brandi et al. (2024) reference the work of Carlbaum (2021) to describe migration as a “temporal factor” that causes a major shift in a person’s life. Howard Morris et al. (2024) describe learning under precarity as learning impacted by social and cultural turmoil. The family’s migration to Arkansas positions them in learning situations under precarity.
Humans engage in a process of making meaning of their perspectives, and according to Hoggan and Hoggan-Kloubert (2021), the work of an adult’s life is to analyze their perspectives and meaning schemes to form opinions and thus understand the world. The entire family is under intense pressure to learn about their unfamiliar environment, to understand the culture they have entered, and to contribute to the family. Hoggan and Hoggan-Kloubert (2021) also describe conflict that can occur internally when meaning perspectives are shifted. As Monica speaks with her co-worker, she suggests that they form a Korean church. Monica is surprised when her co-worker admits that the local Korean immigrants are happy to live outside the city-centric standards of attending church (Chung, 2021). In this moment, Monica learns that her perspective does not align with her peers. Morris (2024) references the work of Jarvis (2007) to describe a shift in meaning perspective as disjuncture.
The family lives under pressure, even from the natural world. Over the course of the film, they experience a major tornado, lose access to water, and have a fire in their barn. In each instance, members of the family are forced to make adjustments and sacrifices. Howard Morris et al. (2024) pose that people create solutions to an issue through continuous lifelong learning.
Despite coming face-to-face with destructive natural forces, there are moments of inspiration, particularly related to Grandma Soon-ja. She brings traditional Korean knowledge, using special tea to support David’s health. This emphasizes the importance of supporting Indigenous learning practices and ways of knowing, tied to the work of Benavot et al. (2022) and Zembylas (2025) who advocate for non-Western, decolonial approaches in lifelong education.
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Grandma Soon-ja also teaches David about a plant, minari. She tells David that minari is hearty but needs the right environment to grow strong, and the minari that she plants thrives. This further builds on the importance of both cultural practices and nature to our learning. Learning, nature, and inner growth are interconnected (Mukherjee & Agrawal, 2021).
While the family comes together stronger because of the adversity that they face, taking a macro view of their struggle leads to questions about society at large. As Zembylas (2025) says, the root cause of conflict is often ignored. The Yi family is based on director Lee Isaac Chung’s family, but their story exemplifies many Korean immigrants who moved to the United States in pursuit of the “American dream,” and to escape poor conditions that resulted from the Korean War (Bradshaw, 2021; PBS Origins, 2023). As Morrice (2021) remarks, the migration of people cannot be untangled from the European colonial project. A supportive and inclusive society would develop a planning backwards approach, which, as Morrice (2021) states, considers the needs and existing knowledge of an individual and builds resources to support them. While learning under precarity will continue as social and cultural conditions shift, the issues faced by the Yi family could be addressed with support and recognition of their existing knowledge.
Conclusion
Minari showcases that lifelong education occurs within informal contexts, and that learning still occurs under precarity. Members of the family experience transformational learning and exemplify an approach to education that recognizes learning as a dynamic process. The Yi family demonstrates the importance of informal education and that culturally informed practice can help individuals navigate the complexity of life. (1350)
References
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