Log in

goodpods headphones icon

To access all our features

Open the Goodpods app
Close icon
Lives Less Ordinary - Cooking for my mother helped her share a hidden history

Cooking for my mother helped her share a hidden history

11/01/21 • 32 min

1 Listener

Lives Less Ordinary
Grace M. Cho grew up Korean-American in a small town in Washington state. Her mother, Koonja, was a Korean woman who met Grace’s white-American father – a merchant marine – on a US military base in the aftermath of the Korean war. Charismatic and determined, Koonja did everything she could to 'fit in' in their town: she threw a party for Grace and her brother’s teachers to help them integrate at school; she learned to cook American food; and she also founded a thriving woodland-foraging business that led to her being nicknamed “the blackberry lady” by the locals. Still, Grace never felt the family was truly accepted, and they often experienced harassment. When Grace was 15, Koonja suffered a psychological breakdown that would, years later, be diagnosed as schizophrenia. Struggling to help, Grace turned detective and uncovered her mother’s traumatic history in Korea. But it was through cooking – and recreating Korean recipes Koonja had not tasted for decades – that Grace and her mother were able to find comfort and connection. Grace's memoir is called Tastes Like War. Get in touch: [email protected] Presenter: Anu Anand Producer: Laura Thomas Picture: Grace M. Cho Credit: Patrick Bower
plus icon
bookmark
Grace M. Cho grew up Korean-American in a small town in Washington state. Her mother, Koonja, was a Korean woman who met Grace’s white-American father – a merchant marine – on a US military base in the aftermath of the Korean war. Charismatic and determined, Koonja did everything she could to 'fit in' in their town: she threw a party for Grace and her brother’s teachers to help them integrate at school; she learned to cook American food; and she also founded a thriving woodland-foraging business that led to her being nicknamed “the blackberry lady” by the locals. Still, Grace never felt the family was truly accepted, and they often experienced harassment. When Grace was 15, Koonja suffered a psychological breakdown that would, years later, be diagnosed as schizophrenia. Struggling to help, Grace turned detective and uncovered her mother’s traumatic history in Korea. But it was through cooking – and recreating Korean recipes Koonja had not tasted for decades – that Grace and her mother were able to find comfort and connection. Grace's memoir is called Tastes Like War. Get in touch: [email protected] Presenter: Anu Anand Producer: Laura Thomas Picture: Grace M. Cho Credit: Patrick Bower

Previous Episode

undefined - I found my son 32 years after he was kidnapped

I found my son 32 years after he was kidnapped

In 1988 Li Jingzhi’s 2-year-old son was abducted from a hotel lobby in China and disappeared without a trace. She never stopped looking for him, appearing on numerous Chinese television shows and distributing more than 100,000 flyers. Through her many years of searching she was able to help reunite many other parents with their missing children. Then in 2020, after 32 years she was finally reunited with her son. This interview was first broadcast on 5th August 2020. Presenter: Emily Webb Producer: Deiniol Buxton Picture: Mao Yin reuniting with his mother Li Jingzhi Credit: Getty Images

Next Episode

undefined - The man and the shark

The man and the shark

Almost every day for 40 years, expert diver Jim Abernethy has been swimming with sharks at a patch of shallow crystal-clear ocean in the Bahamas known as Tiger Beach. At any given moment Jim can be surrounded by 30 or more tiger, reef and lemon sharks. But Jim has a unique relationship with these underwater predators who swim up to him for affectionate nose-rubs. He tells Outlook's Clayton Conn about removing fishing debris from their mouths with his own hands and his mission to change the world's perception of these endangered sea creatures. Get in touch: [email protected] Presenter: Clayton Conn Producer: Clayton Conn and Mariana Des Forges Picture: Jim Abernethy with a tiger shark Credit: Clayton Conn

Episode Comments

Generate a badge

Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode

Select type & size
Open dropdown icon
share badge image

<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/lives-less-ordinary-39588/cooking-for-my-mother-helped-her-share-a-hidden-history-17289263"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to cooking for my mother helped her share a hidden history on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>

Copy