Comments on: Come on, kimchi, light my fire

By: Girlgirl

Girlgirl — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:19:27 +0000

i remember buying a small jar from a grocery store, like fred meyers. i think i had tasted it at some cultural fair at college….but kimichi was the first real foreign food to enter our house, ever. no one else wanted to try it, “it smelled like garbage”, and abrothers and afather always teased me about it. i loved it. in a way i didn’t care that they didn’t want to try it, ’cause it was my special thing. my connection to my people, my past. and i didn’t have to share it with them. * speaking of, I had some of the BEST kimchi the other day when hubby and i went out! *drooooool* and the other dishes were drooolicious too.

By: KTMH

KTMH — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:52:38 +0000

i used to eat kimchi at korean camps starting when i was eight b/c it grossed out some of the other campers…they were totally in awe of me, as i was secretly gagging on it b/c i didn’t like the taste but was too stubborn to admit it…but like lissyjo said, maybe i was also too stubborn to admit that i wasn’t a korean-korean…

but for me, i never knew when “it” happened and i started physically craving it. but it did, and now i go through at least 1 jar of kimchi per week, sometimes 2 if its been especially rough

it was definitely an acquired taste…but once acquired, it has been getting stronger…hmm i’m hungry–wonder if i have any left in the fridge…hmmmm

By: Ji In

Ji In — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:22:47 +0000

Hmm, what is a Piper?

By: LissyJo

LissyJo — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:19:17 +0000

I had been exposed to korean food as a kid going to korean camp. My parents swear i didn’t like kimchi at first exposure, but i didn’t believe them, perhaps because it would admit i was not truly korean?

I remember telling my mother-in-law how much i really love kimchi and she shook her head and said, “I think that’s in your blood.” I just love the sound of that….something that just came with me because i’m korean.

Are you a Piper?

By: suki

suki — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:46:29 +0000

I think it was just timing.

By: Sang-Shil

Sang-Shil — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 22:53:03 +0000

I don’t know if I can point to a specific experience or point in time as an awakening of sorts, but food has definitely been a powerful way for me to feel connected to Korea and Korean culture. Some things (like 김치) have definitely been an acquired taste, while others (like 두부 찌개) have been delicious from the first bite.

By: Lee H.

Lee H. — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 23:03:11 +0000

I first had kimchi when I was about 10 years old and wasn’t crazy about it. Then, when I was about 22, I had it again and loved it. Still do. But I think one of my major curiosity moments/turning points was in college when I read my first Korean novel (a novella, actually) called “A Room in the Woods.” Changed my life and got me wanting to write.

By: Mei-Ling

Mei-Ling — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 20:28:15 +0000

Mmmm…

I was into Jpop (Japanese pop) at the time, and I was browsing around mp3 rotations a few years ago and I managed to stumble across a Chinese pop/rock song. And I thought, “Why not? I’ll give it a chance. Who knows, I may like it.”

So I downloaded it, and after the first few listens, I realized something: this was my mother tongue, the language I would have learned.

And it struck me at that moment, perhaps for the first time, that my blood and heritage was Chinese and not Caucasian, however successfully I had assimilated into Canadian culture.

So then I asked my mom if I could see my adoption files and pictures. Half a year later, I sent out the initial letter to my Chinese family. I think I had needed more time to process out the idea of contact, of finding where I was born and reconnecting with my culture.

That was the beginning of my journey. Sorry to ramble!