Kimchi Mamas

Kimchi Mamas cook with Kimchi Chronicles

In the interest of full disclosure, after our review of the Kimchi Chronicles TV series in June, Kimchi Mamas bloggers were offered free copies of the Kimchi Chronicles Cookbook by Marja Vongerichten.  Below are reviews from Jomama and Shinyung:

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I was delighted to open up the Kimchi Chronicles by Marja Vongerichten.  The book is heftier than my other 2 Korean cookbooks, and has my favorite features of both.  LOTS of pictures of the finished dishes, and even a couple of before and after.  She also tells stories throughout, beginning with her personal adoption story, and explanations of the context of the dishes and her family life featuring her chef husband and radiant daughter.  Oh, and neighbor Hugh Jackman makes an appearance and a few mentions too!  Even if you had no interest in cooking at all, anyone interested in Korean culture, or adoption, or family life, would enjoy this book for all the narration throughout.

But if you didn't want to cook, or eat, then you'd be missing out.  This is a great collection of recipes!  From traditional Korean dishes, to adapted American style classics.  (Why had I never thought to put kimchi on a hot dog?  I love sauerkraut!  Oooh, I just invented a new recipe: kimchi reuben--thanks for the inspiration, Marja!)  I did find the American cheese a little odd in kimbap, but I can see it in soups as she suggests.

Thanks to all the extra information in each chapter, and every recipe, I learned a lot about Korean culture and cuisine that I never knew.  As a Korean adoptee myself (but without the successful birth mother reunion, chef husband, and movie-star neighbor--other than those little details, we're just the same!), I appreciated her "outsider's" consideration in providing so much background information for those of us who did not grow up in Korean kitchens.  I love that she included recipes for even simple things like sesame oil + salt + pepper.  A native Korean would probably never think of providing that, but I found it very valuable.  I've had this sauce, but wasn't sure what was in it.

What's the "right" way to ask about your children's ethnicity or race?

I really enjoyed reading everyone's comments on my last post about ethnicity/race here... but now I am curious...

What is the "right" way to ask questions about a bi-racial/multi-racial (or not-so-obvious ethnicity/race) child's ethnicity/race? Especially if the child is only with one parent and it's not obvious, or if the child is adopted from a ethnicity/race not the same as both or either parent. Or is it even Kosher or PC, to ask about ethnicity/race anymore?

Some of the wrong ways might be:

Is your child adopted?

Is your wife/husband Oriental?

Is that your friend's son/daughter?

Are you the nanny?

Is he/she from China?

Where is your family from?

If you are the parent of a multi-racial or biracial child, how would you prefered to be asked about your child(ren)'s race, if at all?

 

- Mary

Giants vs. Indians, Korean-style

Special opportunity for San Francisco Bay area Kimchi Mamas!  Looks like Shin-Soo Choo is coming to town with the Cleveland Indians, and there will be some special entertainment and giveaways.  Jomama and Mary Choi have already booked their tickets--hope some more of you might join us!

To purchase tickets, click this link.  Between Shin-Soo and the Giants, I'm not sure which team I'll be rooting for! (And yes, the Cleveland Indians cartoon logo of a Native American does make me cringe)

Some of the proceeds will be supporting local Korean groups, like AKASF (which I have recently joined, but not yet had the pleasure of meeting), KAPS, Korean Center, and other community groups serving Korean populations in the Bay Area.   

Go Giants/Indians!

--Jomama

 

Colorblind kids

This post about a cute Halloween story on my personal blog reminded me of a story my Mom told years ago, that illustrated beautifully how colorblind (to race) children can be.  She taught 3rd grade in a public school back East, and the area was largely Caucasian.  Our white family with 2 adopted daughters from Korea stood out.

One day when I was visiting my mother at school (I would hang out with her when my elementary school was closed on a day her district was open), we were on line in the hallway waiting to go to lunch.  A fellow teacher was walking her class past us, when one of the students grabbed her hand, pointed to me, and asked who I was.  The other teacher, Ms. F, explained that I was Mrs. C's daughter, and visiting for the day.

The astounded child responded, rather loudly, that "that girl" couldn't possibly be Mrs. C's daughter... The mortified teacher moved the class quickly out of earshot, and took the verbose child aside to have this private conversation:

OK, Johnny, I assure you "that girl" is indeed Mrs. C's daughter.  Why don't you think it could be?

Ms. F prepared to have a discussion about race and family.  Instead, this was the response Johnny gave; 

Mrs. C has a son who taught us physical education last year.  She's too OLD to have a daughter that young!

Gotta LOVE how colorblind young children can be.  Not AGE-blind, though, I guess!

It's Open Thread Thursday!  What's on your mind?

--Jomama

Korean Movie Night: The Man From Nowhere

Hi Everyone,

Don't fall over stunned on seeing my 3rd post in a week!  This arrived in my inbox today, from a Korean Adoptee maillist I am on for the San Francisco Bay area:

To read more about the movie, click here.  I have not seen it yet, so can't offer a review, but there are some on the bottom of the page.  The short storyline here is that a man gets pulled (back?) into a drug crime situation when a neighbor and her daughter get kidnapped.  The star is Won Bin, and he is, ahem, attractive.  It sounds fairly violent, so not for the whole family.

For those like me, whose Korean is weak, the movie is subtitled in English.

The movie is actually playing in Cupertino tonight through Thursday, November 4th.  To see movie times, click here and select "AMC Independent" and the date for which you want showtimes.  The gal who sent out the email said all are welcome at the AKASF event, whether adoptees or not, so consider coming to their times.  I may try to make it, but can't commit.

Let's do this like the Book Review this summer.  I'll try to see it this week.  If you've already seen it, let us know your thoughts.  If you have not seen it, then come back and comment when you have.

Have a great weekend everyone!

--Jomama

 

Who Jomama?

Hello!  I've been reading Kimchi Mamas for over a year now, and submitted a guest post last year about My first Christmas Memory.   I was delighted to be invited to join as a regular, even though it took me a month to get my act together for my introduction.

Having been adopted at age 6, I arrived in the US speaking fluent Korean and no English.  I quickly lost my native language, and mastered English to join my first grade class 6 months later with no accent.  It would take me much longer and more effort in college to regain any semblance of fluency in Korean again.  

Basic stats:  I am married to a bek-in (white guy), and we have two hapa boys, Teddy (11) and Barley(8).  Although DH and I both grew up back East, we have migrated westward, until landing in Silicon Valley, where we both attempt to balance work and family life.

I never heard the term "banana" or "twinkie" until I was in college, but instantly related to the term.  Having been raised by white parents in a 99% white community, it was a major research project for me to learn what it meant to be Korean.  I was fortunate to meet a good Korean friend in college, and then spend a year at Yonsei Hanguk Uh-Hakdang, learning to speak, read, and write Korean.  By the end of the year, I was able to defend myself from taxicab drivers who criticized my lack of fluency in the mother tongue.  Phew!

In the Matter of Cha Jung Hee

I had the privilege of watching the film In the Matter of Cha Jung Hee at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival last month. Deann Borshay Liem produced and directed the film and it's sort of a follow up to her first film, First Person Plural, which is a documentary film about her experience as an international adoptee.

The auditorium of the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley was packed for this world premiere. The audience was very diverse and a group of Korean American adoptees were there as well, as an organized event by AKASF.

Research study on Korean adoptees

I recently received an email from my friend Saebom, who is a Korean adoptee doing a research study on the experiences of Korean adoptees.  This is such an under-studied topic, and I think it's so important that Korea adoptees are starting this research.  Please help out if you can, and feel free to pass this information along!

- eliaday, who wants to help out a friend

--

We need your help if you are a Korean adoptee who is:

* Currently 20 years or older
* Went to Korea at age 20 or older
* Went to Korea and RETURNED to pre-Korea life 

Please respond to our independent research study! 

There are only 49 questions, and it should take 20-30 minutes. Email us for the password  at 2curiouskads [at] gmail com, and then proceed to this link: http://www.kwiksurveys.com/online-survey.php?surveyID=BIDNH_636365b6. Be sure to enable cookies before you start so you can go back  later on if you need to.

Some of these questions might seem personal, but the more open and honest you can be the more helpful your responses will be for other adoptees. Please know that your responses are generated anonymously. 

Feel free to post this message on your own blog or copy, paste and email it to anyone who might be interested in participating. Or simply email us at 2curiouskads [at] gmail com, with a list of emails, and we'll be happy to send out the information.

Here’s some info on us. We are Korean adoptees, 32 and 35 years old, who've been Korea 2-3 times. After we returned from Korea last year we felt isolated. Displaced. Confused. Unable to ease back into our pre-Korea lives. We wondered if other adoptees felt the same way. More importantly, if they didn't, what had they done to prevent these feelings from manifesting? What sort of foundations, behaviors, life circumstances did they have in place that enabled them to feel rooted and connected when they returned? And how could this information offer support to other adoptees? 

This is where you come in. If we get enough responses we will develop the results into a presentation for the IKAA Gathering in Seoul this summer so that your responses will help others just like you. 

Much appreciation,
Rae Anne and Saebom
2curiouskads [at] gmail com

My first Christmas memory

Guest post from the lovely Jomama.

Picture a little girl, about 5 or 6 years old, supposedly.  It's hard to believe that can be accurate, since she is so small stepping off the plane that has just brought her from Korea to New York's bustling airport (Kennedy or LaGuardia?  I'm not sure)

Two people are waiting for her--both Caucasian.  One is a plump middle-aged woman, with curly brown hair in a styled hairdo--freshened up at the salon she visits every week.  The other is a tall thin man, and the little girl has to crane her neck to see his face.  They both embrace her, taking her from the greeter who relieved the chaperone that flew across the Pacific Ocean with her to bring her to her new family.  This will be the last time for a while that she will be able to speak to anyone, as she does not yet understand any English words.  The small bag that was packed for her by the orphanage was lost somewhere along the flight.  All she has is the clothing she is wearing, which include rubber shoes (kudus) that are too big, and held on her feet by rubber bands.  She is clutching the papers she drew on to occupy her during the flight.  The lines make no sense to her new parents, since they are the beginnings of hangul, Korean writing.  No loops or curves are visible as you would see in Roman letters.