In 1955, 25-year-old Chang (“Chuck”) Ahn arrives at The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee from Korea after the Korean War ends.

Katherine is in an ill-defined relationship with Charles Addison, an English professor at the college and her father's former roommate.

During his time in college, Chuck remembers his experience during the Korean War, where he worked as a translator for the American forces.

When Chuck hears news of their engagement, he leaves Sewanee for Chicago to take a summer job in a book bindery that the dean of The University of the South arranges for him.

Kirkus Reviews called the book, "An uneven first novel that elegantly details the love story of two young people.”[1] A review by Publishers Weekly said, "Love develops between two troubled people from vastly different worlds in this impressive debut.”[2] The Foreign Student won the Asian American Literary Award for Fiction.