When Koreans Grew Food, We Shared it With Everyone 한국 사람들이 농사지으면은, 다 그냥 나눠 먹어 “seed” story of Gi Nim Lee 이기님의 씨야기 written and illustrated by Kyu Lee 이규 글·그림 In 2023, I conducted oral histories of my community from the Denver/Aurora area for my history thesis on how Korean immigrants preserved and adapted Korean recipes to life in Colorado during the late 20 century. I enjoyed writing and completing a thesis, but I also realized I wanted to share my research with more people. I wondered, how could these oral histories be shared in a more interesting and accessible way? th It was with this question in mind when I learned about the work of a group called Ssi Ya Gi 씨야기. A Korean diasporic organization based in California, Ssi Ya Gi had collected several oral histories of Korean American elders and their memories related to food. Excerpts from these oral histories were transcribed and illustrated into zines, each one called a “seed story.” Taking inspiration from Ssi Ya Gi’s work, I decided to write and illustrate a seed story from an oral history that had stuck out to me during my research. I chose an interview with my family friend Gi Nim Lee 이기님, a Korean American woman who immigrated to Aurora, Colorado in 1980. She moved to Aurora alongside her husband with her in-laws, where they lived for 20 years. Introduction Aurora is home to many Korean Americans today, but the Korean community was still establishing its roots when Lee first moved there. At the time, it was difficult for immigrants to find the ingredients they missed from home. However, Lee and other Korean Americans found creative methods to recreate Korean recipes. They substituted ingredients like Mexican red pepper flakes for gochugaru, foraged for fernbrakes in the Rockies, and grew perilla leaves for their community members. When my parents moved to Colorado in the late ‘90s, they became good friends with Lee and her husband. I have distinct memories of her hospitality growing up, as she would welcome our family friends during holiday gatherings with a dinner table packed full of banchan. Looking back, it’s clear to me that this warmth grew out of many years of sharing food with others. In this zine, I offer excerpts from Gi Nim Lee's oral history and my own illustrations to accompany her words. I’ve transcribed these excerpts in the original Korean of the interview, and have included English translations as well. I hope you enjoy reading this seed story! 기님이모, 감사합니다. [콜로라도에 처음 왔을때] 재료가 없었어, 응. 미국 가게 가면은 그런 한국, 우리 애들 재료가 없잖아. 지금은 막 많이 들어와 있는 데 그때 당시에는 하나도 없었어. [When I first came to Colorado] there were no ingredients. Going to an American store, there weren’t many Korean ingredients. Nowadays, there are more Korean ingredients available, but at that time, there were none at all. 음식이 없으면은, 그냥 뭐. 안 해 먹었지, 뭐. 안 해 먹었고, 또 비슷한—고춧가루 같은 것도, 인제 미국 grocery같은 데 가서 고춧가루 같은 거, 이렇게, 뭐. 멕시칸 들은 고춧가루를 먹으니까, 조금씩 비닐봉지에 파는 거 갖다가, 그런 걸러도 해서 먹어[봤어]. If there was no Korean food, well, we just didn't have it. We didn't have it, or we found something similar—like with red pepper flakes, I went to American grocery stores to find something similar. Since Mexican people also eat red pepper flakes, I would sometimes buy small plastic bags of Mexican red pepper flakes to use. 콜로라도 고사리는 저기 깊은 산에 가면 고사리 들을 많이 따오더라고, 고사리들[...]나는 한번 도 안 가 봤는데 고사 리하고 송이버섯은 여 기 볼더 하고 와이오밍 에 이런 데 다니면서 사람들이 따갖고 오긴 하더라고 In Colorado, people would go deep into the mountains to pick fernbrakes...I’ve never been but other people would go to Boulder and Wyoming to pick fernbrakes and pine mushrooms. 송이버섯은 이게 나무 그, pine needle이 떨어 져 갖고 그 속에서, 썩어 갖고 그 속에서 그 저 기, 버섯이 잘 아는 거든. 그리고 인제 고사리는 이렇게, 엄청 깊숙이 긴, 깊 숙이, hill이 깊숙이 있는 그런 데에서 자라고. Pine mushrooms grow from where pine needles have dropped, where, after the needles have rotted, the mushroom starts growing from inside the needle. And fernbrakes grow on very deep, long parts of the hill. 한국사람들이 농사지으면은, 자기네 밭에서 농사지으면은 다 그냥 나눠먹어[...]나는 우리 시어머니가 뭐, 저기 깻잎하고 고추 기르고 깻잎 기르고 부추 기르고 뭐 막 해갖고. 그걸 막 다 그냥, 저기 오래 동안 먹으라고 짜게 해갖고서는—밑반찬이라고 하자나, 밑반찬 같이 해서 막 주고 그러셨거든. When Korean people grew food, we shared it with everyone. My mother-in-law grew perilla leaves, peppers, and chives. To preserve the vegetables for longer, she would use salty seasoning—it’s called mitbanchan,* she gave mitbanchan to others. *밑반찬 mitbanchan is a type of 반찬 banchan, side dishes that are preserved to last through methods like seasoning and pickling. 식당이 두 군데 있었다. 한군데는 술집이었고, 술집 하면서 밥 집. 그리고 나는 인제 처음에 와갖고, 사람 구경을 못 하니까, 한국 사람들을 못 만나고 사람 구경을 못 하니까. 그 식당에 그런 식당에 가갖고, 문 앞에 앉아 갖고 사람들 들어오는 거 쳐다 보 고 한국 사람들 쳐다 보고 이렇게 저녁때 아저씨가 끝나고 오면 은 같이 몰래 나가서...시아버지 시어머니 몰래 나가서 거기 가 서 사람 구경하고 사람들 쳐다 보고, 한국 사람들 쳐다 보고. There were two [Korean] restaurants. One was a bar, a bar that also served food. When I first came [to Colorado], I wasn't able to see or meet a lot of other Korean people. So I went to that bar, and I sat near the front door and watched other Koreans come in. When my husband came back from work, we would sneak out to that bar without his parents knowing to that bar. We would go to that bar just to see other Korean people. 그게 아주 너무 좋았어. 한국 사람들 일주일 한 번씩 보는 재미. 한 국 사람들 들어오는 거 쳐다 보면서, "오 한국 사람이다," 그랬어. 한국 사람들 보기가 힘 들어갖고, 재미로. 재미있었어, 그게. I really enjoyed that, getting to see other Korean people once a week. I would watch other Koreans come in and think, "Oh, it's a Korean person." It was difficult to see other Koreans, so it made me happy. 지방 사람들끼리 모여서 친목계를 해. 친목계를 해서 사람들끼리 자주 만나. 만나서, 머고. 서로 음식 해갔고 와서 potluck으로, 음식 해갔고 와서 서로 한국음식, 해갔고 서로 나눠 먹고 뭐 막 이렇게 또 하고 자주 그렇게 했어 옛날에는. Koreans would gather with others based on the region they were from and form a chinmog-gye.* The chinmog-gye would frequently meet and eat together. Back in the day, each person would prepare and bring a Korean dish to a potluck for everyone to share and eat. *계 gye is a communal savings fund, where a group of people collectively contribute to a pool of cash that rotates around for each member to use. 친목 chinmog translates to “amity” or “friendship,” so a 친목계 chinmog-gye is a gye formed through friendship. <Lee’s husband was from Jeolla Province, so they joined a Jeolla chinmog-gye. Jeolla food like 홍어 무침 seasoned skate salad was popular at potlucks.> 그때는 티비도 없었고, 한국 티비 없었고, 아무것도 없었어. 한국 소식을 몰라, 아예 몰라...한국에 어떻게 돌아가는지 몰라. 왜냐면 그런, 아무것도 뭐 없으니까. 그런데 인제 얼마 있다가 인제 VCR, tape, 이렇게 큰 거, 그게 나오기 시작했어. 그래 갖고 한 국에서 인제 그거를 [한국 드라마를] 녹음해서 미국으로 갖고 와. 갖고 와서 그거를 카피해, 어마어마하게 카피해 갖고 사람들한테 렌트를 해주는 거야, 그거를. 렌트 해주고—책방도, 한국 책방도 생기고...그런 것도 빌려주고, 책도 빌려주고. In those days, there wasn't any Korean TV, there wasn't really anything. We wouldn't get any news from Korea, how things were going in Korea, since we didn't have anything. But in a few years, people started recording Korean dramas onto VCR tapes in Korea and brought them to the U.S. The people who brought the VCR tapes here would make so many copies, and then rent them to other people. Small Korean libraries also started to pop up, and they would lend books to people. 나 또래보다도, 나이 드신 분들이—시어머니, 시아버지 그 또래분 들이 더 많이 이렇게 모여서, 음식 해서 모여서 나눠서 먹고 얘 기하고 뭐, 술도 마시고 한국을 그리워하는 거지. 한국 사람들이 니까 한국이 그리워서 자주 가지도 못하고 그당시에는[...]그리 워하고 한국 얘기하면서 그 한국이, 그 저거를 달라는 거지, 고 향이든 저기를 생각하면서. The older generation—my father and mother- in-law's generation, would come together more often to eat and drink together. They would be missing Korea together. In those days, they weren't able to travel back to Korea often, so they would eat and talk about Korea together, wanting to be there again while thinking about places like their hometowns. 옛날에 한인회관 있었어, 한인 커뮤니티가 있었는데. 사람들이 일 년에 한 번씩 연말에 그 파티를 하면은, 다~한복을 입고, 다 ~한복을 입고, 다 파티에 가는 거야. 그래갖고는, 거기 가면은 너무 사람들이 그냥 막 좋아 갖고 한국 사람들끼리 모여서 밥 먹 고, 놀고, 뭐 막 그러니까. 다 한복 입고 와, 다 사람들이. 그래서 나도 그때, 한국에서 한복 많이 갖고 왔어, 파티에 가서 입으려 고. 한복 입고 가서 놀고, 그랬었어. Back then there was a Korean Community Center, where people would host a party at the end of the year. During the party, everyone would wear hanbok to the party, and people would be so happy while they gathered, ate, and played together. Everyone would be wearing hanbok, everyone. I also brought a lot of hanbok from Korea to wear at these parties. I had fun wearing hanbok and going to these parties. 내가 제일 좋아하는 한국음식은 나물들, 나물. 절 temple area에 가면은 온갖 산나물. 산에 가면은, 다 산에서 나는 것들이야. 엄마도 나랑 식성이 비슷해[...]한국 갔다 오면은 나를 나물을 막 사 다 주는 거야, 엄마랑 주위에 있는 사람들이, 나물 좋아하니까[...]맨 날 그거 저기 데쳐서 볶아서 막 그거 집에서, 우리 집에서 맨날 엄 마랑 와갔고 나물 먹고 막 그랬었거든, 응. My favorite food is namul (boiled and seasoned vegetables). If you go to a Korean temple area [in the mountains] they serve all kinds of namul. All of the namul grow nearby on the mountains. [Your] mother and I share similar tastes. When she would come back from visiting Korea, she and others in the neighborhood would always bring me namul because they knew I liked it. Your mother would boil and roast the vegetables into namul, and we would often eat namul together at my house. 읽어줘서 고마워요 Thank you for reading Listen to the original oral history (in Korean) Go to bit.ly/gnl-oralhistory or scan below: