Seoul Food

Seoul Food is the first creative non-fiction book about second generation Korean Americans growing up in Los Angeles County.

The book captures snapshots of Korean Lifestyles that provides a taste of the complexities of the Korean culture and issues that are often unaddressed and misinterpreted of children and their parents.

Written in a non-critical and humorous tone, Seoul Food wittingly and subtly unpack issues of family expectations, identity issues, and life pressures

202

PAGES

31

Vignettes

Multiple

SALES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Dr. Sarai Koo

"Dr. Seoul Food"

Dr. Sarai Koo

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

Most revered for her revolutionary, time-sensitive presentations, Dr. Sarai Koo has been developing people all over the world to live happier and healthier lives. She is a transformative speaker, culture change engineer, coach, author, and community leader.

Sarai is the CEO and Founder of MAPS 4 College, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that helps students develop necessary competencies to graduate from high school, succeed in college, excel professionally and live a life with character and excellence. Students who completed her one-year college preparatory program all went to college and graduated. She has served more than 17,000 people in five counties throughout California and internationally and developing more than 200 innovative leadership, career training, and culture change programs. In 2014, the organization was chosen as the best service organization out of 28 cities.

Dr. Koo was the CEO and Founder of Project SPICES, a coaching, consultancy and speaking firm, creating programs and services for other companies and their leaders in leadership development, organizational behavior, and workforce transformation to advance new ways of doing things. She uses her SPICES Paradigm™, a process-oriented, decision-making approach to develop diverse people to become productive; assist workforce personnel to explore their respective strengths, recognize and maintain positive relationships and work-life balance; become aware of and release hindering behavior, and design a life plan that fulfills their potential.

She appears on national and international media; coaches people globally; and speaks at various universities, companies, nonprofit organizations, non-governmental associations, schools, and governmental agencies (CIA, ODNI, State, etc.). In 2011, Dr. Koo, was chosen as one of the top 25 Korean-American community leaders under the age of 40 nationwide.

AUTHOR CAREER BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Koo has had an extraordinary life. She was a former CIA officer, educator/professor (taught preschool to graduate university students), leader at a $2.1 trillion dollar agency, an actress, and much more.

She wrote Seoul Food to help readers learn more about the Korean-American culture and heal from past wounds.

Three Parts Make One Beautiful Book

Pojagi

pojagi is a traditional form of Korean patchwork quilting using free form or rectangular multicolored squares of linen from a variety of materials

Bibimbap and Banchan

Bibimbap is mixed rice and banchans are small side dieshes of food served with rice

Jeon

Jeon is a pancake-like dish made form a variety of vegetables, meats, and seafood

Learn more about Seoul Food 31 Vignettes

List of chapters included in the ebook

Vignette 1

Pojagi

Vignette 2

My Gah-Jok, My Family

Vignette 3

Happy Travels

Vignette 4

Working in the Hood

Vignette 5

My Home, My Communities

Vignette 6

Bibimbap and Banchan

And more!

Seoul Food Tour in Seoul, Korea

ARTICLE AND VIDEO INTERVIEWS

Halo Halo ch. 13 Interview

Short Interview

Radio Seoul 1650 AM

The Interview is in Korean

Bibimbap Time

YTN Global News Interview

The Korea Times Article

The Korea Daily Article

READ IT IN ALL DEVICES

Stories for the Immigrant Seoul

Seoul Food is a creative non-fiction book about the lives of second-generation Korean Americans growing up in Los Angeles County–the Mecca for the diversity of cultures.

Targeting a young adult readership, Seoul Food captures snapshots of Korean lifestyles and the sometimes shameful, dysfunctional family dynamics created by the disconnect between Korean-born parents and their American-born children. The book not only infuses the work with credibility but also brings to light quintessential aspects, including universal issues confronting much youth of many cultures.

Stories of Korean Americans’ private experiences may go unnoticed, or their lives may be misinterpreted. Most often, the media portray Koreans as the model minority. Seoul Food wittingly and subtly unpacks these perceptions with a candidness and humor that will cause readers to rethink their assumptions. As Korean music, drama, culture, and food have spiced the lives of many people across the globe, Seoul Food is a literary work that will find its home in your heart.

WHAT READERS HAVE SAID

PK

Founder of Kollaboration, Co-Founder of Liberty in North Korea

"Seoul Food peels away the mask that all Korean Americans are expected to wear in public and eloquently exposes what's underneath. As a Korean American preacher's kid of a prominent pastor that later "fell away from the faith" and became a stand up comedian, Seoul Food spoke to me in a very real way. I highly recommend it."

Steve Myung

Writer and Director

“Refreshingly written, wittingly articulated. Seoul Food allows you to taste the bitter sweetness of immigrant life.”

Katherine Iniba

"Halo Halo with Kat Iniba" Host/Producer

"Beneath the entertaining and lighthearted tales of her childhood lies the true message of her book, which is the importance of family, the search for identity, and love for humanity. Seoul Food is a must read, especially for 2nd and 3rd generation Asian Americans."

Seoul Food Testimonials

Zozo

I really liked Seoul Food because it had two things that I really enjoyed: food and honesty. Some chapters were written short and simple and basically what was said was what was meant. Sometimes I chuckled, sometimes I nodded in agreement, and sometimes I just had to pause and take it all in. Other chapters seemed to cut deeper, and despite not being Korean or a first generation American in my family, I felt myself resonating with a lot of things including the struggles with the expectations that family and those who barely even know you have upon you and struggling to find your identity that honors those before you but also yourself as well. Seoul Food was an amazing reminder that we all go through many things and until we allow ourselves to be vulnerable with each other and share our stories then yeah, it will seem like we have nothing in common. Sarai Koo took that risk and was vulnerable and showed that a young Korean American girl growing up in Los Angeles had more than one thing in common with a young African American girl growing up in Chicago.

Hannah

Sarai Koo is able to beautifully capture the true complexities of what it means to grow up as a female Korean-American. Her stories will make you laugh, cry and inspire you to fully embrace your own life story.

esk002- "Haven't laughed this much in awhile and it gets better as the story progresses"

This book had me laughing on every page!! Haven't laughed this much in awhile and it gets better as the story progresses. Also, this book made me appreciate the Korean culture. The stories were relatable and reminded me about my past, friends and family. This is definitely worth reading. I ordered mine on kindle and just ordered 6 more books this week to give it to friends as gifts.

L.S. - "Excellent book, funny and moving"

Loved this book! It was great insight of the Asian American family. Funny, articulate, moving. I highly recommend it to those who like to read great stories about life and family.

Andrew - Honestly written

Sarai Koo accurately, and emotionally depicts many colors of the life of a Korean-American first generation: the joy, the pain, the confusion, and most importantly, strong family ties and love. Love that is shown in unique ways. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about Korean- American culture, conflict, and love. The book provides for a good laugh and good cry.

Courtney Loi - The Most Important Book of Today

This book is one of the most honest, funny, and insightful books I have ever read. Each page comes to life and impacts you in a different way each time. Koo delicately explores the human condition and what her life experiences have influenced her knowledge of the human condition. Koo wrote the book in such a way that it's not like you're reading a piece of text, but connecting to her personally. This is a book I consider a must read and recommend to anyone and everyone who wants to learn more about themselves, the world, and spirituality.

T.N. - Great Book! This is a Must Read!

This is a great book. I love how Sarai was able to share her Korean culture and upbringing using different Korean foods as metaphors. I was impressed the most with the "ka-shi"; I absolutely agree with this metaphor. I did not grow up eating small fish, actually I chose not to eat any seafood growing up, but once my now husband introduced me to his cultural dishes almost 25 years ago (he is a first generation Japanese) I was also taught to be careful of the small fishbones on the white rice. Understanding about the "ka-shi" has given me hope to relate even more to the members of our Japanese congregation.Thank you, Teri, for sharing this book with me! I am so glad to have been given such a treasure of information.Thank you, Sarai, for writing this book! I am planning on sharing this book with the young people in our church. Thank you, again!Wonderful book!!!(I have yet to ask my husband this word "ka-shi" in Japanese.)

Helen - Engaging, thoughtful, and deep!

Seoul Food gives a refreshing and truthful mix to the understanding of immigrant experiences in Los Angeles. Putting stereotypes of Asian American experiences on its head, it unveils the lives of Korean Americans and the struggles they've faced with identity and culture.Yet, beyond the cultural understanding it lends to readers, there is also a contemplative spirit about the author as she sincerely describes her experiences and thoughts growing up. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an engaging and light filled book with a deep message!

Jay LC - Amazing read!

I could totally relate to the author and think this was an amazing book! I hope she comes out with a part II. Excited to read more about her journey!

Onedeesse - A Voice For a New Generation of Americans

I loved this book because it addresses the experience of a young Korean American living a bicultural identity. Although I am not Korean American, I related to her stories of navigating the home identity of her immigrant parents and the pressures to conform to American society (which is not easy). This coming of age story through the eyes of a young woman is a must read for high school and college level students because it hits on the themes of gender identity, ethnic stereotypes, adolescence and family relationships. This book can be integrated into an Ethnic Studies, Sociology, Women's Studies and even an English course. The chapters are short, broken down into three major parts and the reading goes fast because each chapter story is interesting. Dr. Koo is an up and coming storyteller.

Interested in Booking Dr. Sarai Koo

List of chapters included in the ebook

Keynote/Workshop Speaker

Call

Transformation

Culture and Leadership

Kirkus Review

A writer shares anecdotes from her youth in Los Angeles County’s Korean American community in this debut memoir.

The child of South Korean immigrants, Koo, along with her siblings, was forced to abide by certain traditional customs when she was growing up.

This included respecting elders, like her grandmother, even when their behavior was somewhat bizarre: “Without our permission, my dad’s mom rampaged through our house with a pair of silver shears, grabbing and cutting pieces of our clothing, big blankets, and any available patches of fabric…She took those pieces of old and new fabric to make oddly-patched small pillow covers.”

Sometimes this traditional Korean worldview was shocked by the reality of the family’s American surroundings: Koo’s father’s first gas station was on Crenshaw Boulevard in South Central LA, and a few months after he sold it, the building was set on fire during the city’s riots in 1992. But there was no shortage of other Koreans in LA County, and Koo’s childhood was an often hilarious clash between her American-born peers and her parents’ immigrant generation.

At the center of it all, there was always a table laden with traditional food: jeon, bibimbap, banchan, bulgogi, and even the Korean adaptation of the American hamburger (or hambegeo, as the author’s mother called it).

Koo’s prose is conversational and amusing, managing to make both Korean and American cultures appear simultaneously alien and familiar: “Ken had long bangs that dangled to the sides of his chin. He was a young eleventh grade ‘wangsta,’ a wannabe gangsta, who wore baggy clothes….He often went to noraebangs to drink, smoke, and sing the latest Korean songs with his fellow wangsta friends, and sometimes he got into trouble.”

The book is a thoroughly enjoyable coming-of-age tale of a somewhat precocious girl finding her way in a particularly loud and chaotic environment where the old and the new rested side by side and not always comfortably. Additionally, the work captures a specific time and place in the history of LA and the so-called “Third Wave” of immigration to the United States.

A compelling and often funny account of growing up in one of America’s Korean enclaves.