United States, 22nd May 2026 – Huey is the daughter of a prominent South Korean chaebol family, a dynasty that controlled vast wealth, employed thousands, and expected absolute loyalty and silence. When she was four years old, her world was upended. She left Seoul for Los Angeles, not on a private jet but through the fog of a childhood she would spend decades trying to make sense of it.
The Attorney Turned Author Bares Her Soul in a Cinematic, Unforgettable Debut That Reads Like a Thriller and Heals Like a Prayer
LOS ANGELES, CA – 27 April – What happens when the family name that you’re meant to protect becomes the very thing that shatters you? What happens when you trade chauffeurs for bus passes, palatial halls for silent nights in a foreign land, and still manage to claw your way to the top of the legal profession, only to discover that success is loud, but loneliness is louder?
Today, Huey Choi launches Who Stole My Pork Belly?, her debut memoir. As a veteran corporate bankruptcy attorney, she has spent twenty-five years navigating the high-stakes world of BigLaw while quietly carrying a past that reads like a K-Drama intertwined with a Greek tragedy.
This isn’t a celebrity tell‑all, nor is it a self‑help guide disguised as a memoir. It is a raw, lyrical, and deeply honest account of a woman who was born into one of South Korea’s most powerful chaebol families, only to have her life upended at age four by a sudden, traumatic move to Los Angeles, trading a dynasty for uncertainty.
WHY THIS BOOK WILL CAPTURE MILLIONS
A Hook for Every Reader
- For fans of Crying in H Mart, Educated, The Glass Castle, and When Breath Becomes Air – Huey’s voice is intimate, unsentimental, and relentlessly honest. She does not ask for pity. She invites you to sit with her in the discomfort of the in‑between.
- For the corporate crowd – Voted a top 5% attorney in America writing about resilience, bankruptcy (both financial and emotional), and the art of rebuilding. This is a book for every lawyer, executive, and entrepreneur who has ever felt like an imposter.
- For the Korean culture wave– With BTS commanding global headlines and Korean storytelling reshaping platforms like Netflix, Huey’s memoir arrives at a cultural inflection point. She draws readers into the guarded world of a chaebol family, weaving in tender memories, her late grandmother’s Korean fried chicken, a comforting stew quietly bubbling in a ttukbaegi, and the gentle warmth of a celadon teacup, each a subtle act of quiet defiance.
- For the animal lover – A central thread of the book is Huey’s rescue dog, Charlotte, a disabled pup, who, as she puts it, “rescued me right back.” This is a story for anyone who has found healing in the eyes of an abandoned animal.
- For the solo travelers and Foodies – Huey’s healing journey takes her through European cafés, Asian night markets, and solo oceanic vistas. The book includes a photo section of her travels, unvarnished, unglamorous, and deeply moving.
What Makes This Debut Different
Most memoirs of hardship follow a familiar arc: struggle, triumph, lesson learned. Huey disrupts that formula. She writes with the precision of a lawyer and the heart of a poet. Every chapter is a revelation:
- The dynasty that fell overnight – Not through scandal or war, but through a quiet, unexplained collapse that left a four‑year‑old girl wondering why love had a passport and a price.
- The American dream, shift by shift – From a mother wiping down diner tables to a ceiling dripping water into a bucket, Huey paints financial hardship not as a montage but as a lived, relentless geography.
- The glass tower – Law school. The Bar. BigLaw. Huey achieves what immigrants are taught to aspire. But she finds that success without connection is its own kind of solitary confinement.
- Loss upon loss – A marriage that ends. Miscarriages that are never named. A family legacy that demands silence. Huey writes about each loss with a restraint that makes every sentence hurt and heal.
- The fall of the conglomerate – While she rebuilds her life, the Choi empire crumbles. Greed, gaman, grace, grief and gratitude, each word becomes a chapter.
- The warmth of a celadon teacup – Huey’s Korean rituals are not decorative, they are lifelines. The simple act of sitting with tea before the chaos begins becomes a “prayer before the prayer”.
- Charlotte – A disabled rescue dog who teaches Huey that love does not have to be earned, it simply arrives.
PRAISE FROM EARLY READERS
“A knockout debut. Huey Choi writes like she’s been doing it for decades – sharp, tender, and utterly unforgettable. This memoir will find its way into your bones and refuse to leave.”
– Early Reader Review
“I’ve never read a memoir that so perfectly balances legal precision with raw emotional excavation. Choi’s voice is a revelation.”
– Advance Praise, Anonymous Editor
“This book made me cry, laugh, and call my mother. It is a gift to anyone who has ever felt like they didn’t belong anywhere.”
– Advance Reader ARC
ABOUT THE AUTHOR (THE REAL STORY-BEHIND-STORY)
Huey Choi is a seasoned attorney with over twenty‑five years of experience in corporate bankruptcy and creditors’ rights. She has been voted in Best Lawyers in America, a peer‑review recognition that places her among the top 5% of U.S. attorneys. A graduate of the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, she navigated the high‑stakes world of BigLaw while quietly carrying the weight of her past.
But the Bio line does not tell the full story.
Huey is the daughter of a prominent South Korean chaebol family, a dynasty that controlled vast wealth, employed thousands, and expected absolute loyalty and silence. When she was four years old, her world was upended. She left Seoul for Los Angeles, not on a private jet but through the fog of a childhood she would spend decades trying to make sense of it.
In the pages of Who Stole My Pork Belly?, Huey reveals for the first time:
- The truth behind her family’s decision to flee South Korea, and the cost of protecting a name that never protected her.
- The silent years of emotional and financial hardship, with a single mother who worked tirelessly and prayed alone at night.
- The pressure to perform, to become a lawyer, to represent a legacy that had already abandoned her.
- The marriage that failed. The children that never came. The cult‑like expectations of a family that demanded grace while offering none.
- The healing she found not in therapy but in her late grandmother’s Korean fried chicken, a comforting stew quietly bubbling in a ttukbaegi, the warmth of a pale celadon teacup, and the unconditional love of a disabled rescue dog.
Huey Choi is also the founder and CEO of Snubbed, LLC, a company she launched in 2017 to support animal welfare initiatives. Through Snubbed Hats, she raises funds to feed and rehabilitate snubbed dogs, the ones no one else wanted. She lives in Southern California with her three rescue dogs, Angel, Portia, and Captain, and cares for her elderly mother.
A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR (EXCLUSIVE)
“I wrote this book for the person who feels like they are performing a life instead of living one. I wrote it for the immigrant who is tired of being the model minority. I wrote it for the lawyer who wins cases but loses sleep. And I wrote it for anyone who has ever loved a dog more than a family member.”
~ Huey Choi
FOR MEDIA, REVIEW COPIES, OR INTERVIEW REQUESTS
Huey Choi is available for select interviews on a confidential basis concerning, among other topics:
- Resilience and reinvention
- Korean American identity
- Women in law and leadership
- Animal rescue and healing
- Memoir writing as a form of therapy
Available on
Website: http://whostolemyporkbelly.com/
Amazon link: https://a.co/d/0exoTyvq
Media Contact
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Contact Person: Jacob
Website: http://whostolemyporkbelly.com/
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