The story of Minari tells the Yi family consisting of Jacob (Steven Yuen), Monica (Yeri Han), Anne (Noel Kate Cho), and David (Alan Kim). The four of them are Korean immigrants who have lived in America for a long time, but do not feel part of the country. On the other hand, they still feel foreign and have not really assimilated into it.
Jacob, for example, even though he has lived in America for many years, he still works for the chicken farm. He has the responsibility of sexing, sorting the chicks by sex. In fact, Jacob felt he was destined to do more than just stare at chicken ass every day with other Korean immigrants. He wants to achieve the American Dream, a rich success in the land of Uncle Sam with his own efforts.
Monica, Jacob's wife, was no less stressed. He shares the same dream as Jacob and helps him pursue the American Dream. However, as time went on, she knew that Jacob had to start trying to be realistic and stop being selfish. According to him, the future of their children, David and Anne, is more important than pursuing a clear dream for Jacob's own satisfaction.
The conflict between the two culminates when Jacob spends the family's savings to buy land in rural Arkansas, complete with a converted container house. Dreaming of owning his own farm, Jacob brings Monica, Anne, and David from California there to build his American Dream together. Jacob saw an opportunity to reverse his "just like that" fate.
What Monica saw was different from Jacob's. While Jacob sees an opportunity, Monica sees a wasted opportunity. In his eyes, the money Jacob spent was better saved for Anne's education and David's treatment for a weak heart. Moreover, the location chosen by Jacob is far from anywhere, it's not even an exaggeration to call it far from civilization. The two had a big fight, but Jacob insisted that what he did was the best for Anne and David going forward.
The two finally compromised by bringing Soonja, Monica's mother, to America as well. Jacob's hope, when he was working to build a business and Monica was making a living on a chicken farm, Soonja was the one who took care of David and Anne. However, it just adds a new problem. Soonja who is very Korean and has never been to America has a hard time getting along with the more American David and Anne.
The interesting thing about this film is that the assimilation process is countered by racism and stereotypes. On the other hand, Americans are very "friendly" in this film and very open to the Yi family. Quickly, the Yi family was accepted into the church or in the local community.
The maximum "resistance" from Americans in Minari is only forms of microaggression or questions about stereotypes that have already developed. For example, in one scene, the church congregation calls Monica looks "cute" and "cute" which in a certain perspective could be physical mockery of Asian citizens.
Another example, when Anne's friend asked her about Korean, she used words like ching, chong, wu, mi, and so on. The question might seem aggressive, but Anne's friend asked it out of curiosity.
