What is Budae jjigae? It’s a one pot Korean stew that was created during the Korean War using ingredients found at the US Army Base. Budae means army base and jjigae is Korean stew, and the dish was invented by restaurants that had access to remnants from army rations. An intriguing novelty at the time,…
“After losing both of my parents within the last four years, I have felt a stronger urgency to not lose this connection to my ancestral roots.” We’re in EMart, a large grocery store chain in Seoul and as we approach the cashier to check-out, my heart starts to beat a little faster. My Polish-born, blonde…
Long ago, when winter descended upon a tiny war-torn country in Asia called Korea, oversized aluminum kettles called jujunja made their way to the tops of thousands of heaters in chilly classrooms and offices across the country. Kids warmed their hands around it and at lunchtime drank hot barley or corn tea from it while…
Time Predicted It and Chloe Kim Delivered: KA Snowboarder Wins Gold Medal #2 in Beijing When Chloe Kim appeared on the cover of Time magazine on January 31, 2022, she had a tremendous amount of pressure on her going into the Beijing Olympics as the defending champion of the Snowboard Halfpipe competition. But she prevailed…
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Korean ramen consumption jumped sharply worldwide. Korean ramen became an emergency stay-at-home food during the crisis. And with K-drama’s ever-increasing popularity, which frequently showcases the most delicious Korean ramen, several of these noodle-based snacks have become best-sellers.
Korean Hanbok is the traditional attire that has been worn by Korean people for centuries. Literally translated as Korean clothing, hanboks are worn on special occasions like Korean New Year’s Day (설날, Seollal), Korean Thanksgiving Day (추석, Chuseok), Korean 100th Day Celebration (백일, Baek Il), First Birthday Celebration (돌잔치, Doljanchi), and weddings. Hanbok has been…
Long before LA LA LAND brought light to the wonders of the City of Angels, the likes of Jonathan Gold and Anthony Bourdain helped open mainstream eyes to the marvels of the Los Angeles Koreatown food scene. Los Angeles is home to the largest Korean population in America, and serves up some of the most…
“Korean culture and kindness repeatedly found me in my life. Not only did they find me, they kept saving my life.” Powerful words from Africa Yoon, who recently published her book, The Korean. If anyone has a passion for Korean food and culture and its benefits to our mental health, it’s Africa Yoon. I first…
Finally! After a series of canceled world tours throughout the pandemic, many of our favorite K-Pop groups such as ATEEZ, NCT 127 and TWICE have announced new world tour dates. I could not imagine anyone being more thrilled and excited about this than yours truly, but I was wrong. It seemed everyone (and their mother)…
It is not a surprise that Squid Game is one of the most talked-about contenders for the 2022 awards season. Since its debut on September 17, 2021, Squid Game became the #1 show in 94 countries on Netflix including the US. It became the most-watched Netflix show of all time by October 2021, and it…