Interview with Michelle Ko
Background
I decided to interview my mother, Michelle Ko, who is a former immigrant. Michelle was born in Uijeongbu, South Korea, near the DMZ, where the U.S. Army base is located. In 1980, Michelle’s family immigrated to the U.S. with help from her aunt, who was married to a U.S. citizen. They initially settled on the East Coast and the family faced significant hardships due to language barriers and a lack of Korean community in their area. Michelle’s older siblings struggled the most, transitioning mid-school year without language support.
Background of Immigrants coming to America
Korean immigration to the U.S. began in earnest in the early 1900s, although it was initially small and primarily concentrated on the West Coast. Early immigrants included laborers who worked on Hawaiian plantations and a few political exiles and intellectuals escaping Japanese colonial rule (1910–1945). During this time, restrictive U.S. immigration laws, including the Immigration Act of 1924, severely limited Asian immigration, and most Koreans did not settle on the East Coast. The Korean War (1950–1953) and its aftermath were pivotal in shaping South Korean immigration. Many South Koreans fled the devastation of the war, and the U.S. emerged as a destination due to its military involvement and the broader Cold War context. Several groups of Koreans began migrating to the East Coast during this time, including the War Brides Act of 1945.
The War Brides Act allowed Korean women who were married to U.S. servicemen, to immigrate to the U.S. A good amount of orphaned children from the Korean War were adopted by American families, creating a network of Korean-American connections.The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 was a big change in history for Koreans, abolishing discriminatory national-origin quotas and creating new pathways for family reunification and employment-based immigration. This change opened up a lot of opportunities for South Korean immigrants, many of whom chose the East Coast for its economic opportunities and urban diversity. Things that led up to this migration included economic push factors in South Korea, family reunification, educational and entrepreneurial opportunities.
During the 1950s and 1960s, U.S. hospitals faced a shortage of nurses. South Korea supplied trained nurses, many of whom were recruited to work in hospitals on the East Coast. These nurses later sponsored family members to join them.In the 1960s and 1970s, South Korea was still a developing nation, still with limited economic opportunities for many Koreans. Urbanization and industrialization replaced rural populations, while the promise of better wages and a higher quality of life drew many to the U.S. When talking about family reunification, the 1965 act helped Korean immigrants who were already in the U.S., sponsor their family, which eventually led to a trend of migration and the rapid growth of Korean-American communities on the East Coast. Then when talking about educational and entrepreneurial opportunities, many South Korean immigrants sought better education for their children and started small businesses, particularly in urban centers. Koreatowns began forming in places like Flushing, Queens, and Palisades Park, New Jersey. Many middle- and upper-class families move to the East Coast so their children can attend prestigious American schools. These families often settle temporarily, creating transnational lives between Korea and the U.S. Korean entrepreneurs have expanded beyond traditional industries, venturing into tech startups, real estate, and hospitality. Korean bakeries like Paris Baguette and Tous Les Jours have also gained a strong foothold on the East Coast.
By the 1980s and 1990s, Korean communities on the East Coast became firmly established, with distinct cultural and economic contributions such as Koreatowns and small businesses, and religious institutions. Cities like New York, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C., Koreans opened grocery stores, dry cleaners, restaurants, and beauty supply shops. These small businesses were central to community cohesion and economic mobility. When talking about the religious aspect, Korean churches, particularly Protestant congregations, played a vital role as community centers, offering social support, cultural preservation, and a sense of belonging.
When talking about the 2000s to current time, I feel as if that’s when immigration factors had another major shift in the Korean dynamic. As South Korea has become a developed nation, fewer people migrate for economic reasons. Instead, education and professional opportunities remain primary drivers. Many Korean immigrants maintain strong ties to South Korea through frequent travel, business connections, and dual citizenship, reflecting a more fluid and interconnected immigrant identity. New Korean immigrants often settle directly in suburban areas with existing communities, such as Northern Virginia and suburban New Jersey, rather than inner-city enclaves. Known for its high concentration of Korean professionals, especially in government, technology, and education. Annandale, Virginia, is affectionately called “Koreatown” due to its array of Korean restaurants and shops. Korean culture has gained immense popularity through K-pop, K-dramas, and Korean cuisine. Cities like New York and Washington, D.C., host Korean festivals and events that attract both Korean and non-Korean audiences. Koreans moved to affluent suburbs like Fairfax County, Virginia, and Bergen County, New Jersey. This shift reflected a desire for better schools and larger homes. Korean grocery chains such as H Mart often followed these migrations, becoming cultural hubs.
Michelle’s Cultural Adjustments and Family Dynamics
Michelle’s Ko grandparents faced difficulties adjusting to the U.S., as they were non-English speakers and had to navigate a foreign culture. Michelle’s grandmother initially resisted immigrating, preferring to remain in Korea where she had skills in seamstress work and farming. Grew up in Maryland, D.C., and later Northern Virginia. Lost her Korean fluency early due to full immersion in an English-speaking environment, though she is now relearning the language.
Cultural Preservation and Adaptation
Food is central to Korean culture and family gatherings. Michelle highlighted the importance of making and sharing dishes like kimchi, which she was preparing during the podcast. Holidays like Korean New Year and Chuseok (similar to Thanksgiving) remain integral to their family traditions. Michelle emphasized how the Korean community in Northern Virginia supports one another through businesses, churches, and social gatherings. The area has many Korean restaurants and markets, making cultural preservation easier.
Closing Thoughts
Michelle reflected on how Korean traditions and values, such as family and food, continue to thrive despite modern changes and cultural integration in America. The podcast concluded with Michelle encouraging listeners to explore Korean cuisine and culture, highlighting its ability to bring people together and foster happiness.
This is a picture of Michelle and her siblings. Picture was taken approximately a year before coming to the US. They spent a lot of time outside going on picnics with family and friends.
Kimchi is a tradition especially in the winter as families and communities get together, which we call kimjang or gimjang. While I only used 3 heads of korean napa cabbage, over 200 heads of cabbage is used during kimjang in villages and communities. These days, maybe 30 heads of cabbage are used in a household and shared with one another.
Gyeongbokgung palace i remember hearing stories as it was close to where my grandfather’s family is from. I remember him mentioning how the palace was destroyed by the Japanese and the only thing remaining were the walls. My grandfather remembers part of the palace being destroyed during the Korean War as he was a teenager.
Food For Your Seoul Podcast
[00:00:00] Kemon: What’s going on guys, it’s your boy Kemon and welcome to the Food For Your Seoul podcast and introducing special guests who I will be interviewing is my mother, Michelle.
[00:00:55] Michelle: Hi audience. Thank you, [00:01:00] Kemon. Thank you for having me.
[00:01:03] Kemon: Okay, uh, so just to get a little background about who you are, mom, where are you from?
[00:01:15] Michelle: Born in South Korea, the city is called Uijeongbu, South Korea, which is located between Seoul and the Korean Demilitarized Zone, the DMZ. Where there’s a United States Army base, uh, that is stationed in the city that I was born in.
[00:01:50] Kemon: Okay, so, interesting. Uijeongbu, correct? Correct. So, [00:02:00] point, did you move from Uijeongbu to America?
[00:02:10] Michelle: Okay, so, the way that we had immigrated was I have an aunt. Um, so your grandfather’s youngest sister who married a U. S. citizen and she moved to the U. S. and then helped us immigrate to the U. S. And the, uh, It was March of 1980 when we had came to the east coast of the United States.
So it was your grandparents, [00:03:00] me and three of my older siblings.
[00:03:07] Kemon: Okay. And would you say. It was a hard transition or how old were how old were you?
[00:03:17] Michelle: I was three. Okay, but I can remember a lot of the early hardships because of language barriers.
[00:03:32] Kemon: Okay.
And for your older siblings, how would you say they probably would describe it?
[00:03:43] Michelle: Um, we had a discussion not too long ago during Thanksgiving. Well, after Thanksgiving, and we were talking about the transitioning part of the, you know, of immigrants and because they were older, they actually went to [00:04:00] school in Korea, so they were very fluent. Um, it was much more difficult for them.
because they were much older. They were fluent in one language and then had to learn in the middle of the school year. Because remember, we came in the spring of 1980 and where we lived, there was No Koreans other than our family, like our relatives, our cousins, we were the only Koreans there. So for them, it was definitely for the older kids.
It was difficult because they didn’t know the language. They were thrown into the school, um, with with, you know, No, no help. Lack of translation since none of our parents spoke English. [00:05:00] Um, so it was difficult.
[00:05:07] Kemon: So speaking about your grandparents, my grandparents, your parents, um, how would you think they would describe it? Just Knowing that they are born and raised not in America, where are they and how would they describe it?
[00:05:30] Michelle: Well, your grandfather is from Uijeongbu. That’s where he’s originally from. Your grandmother was born in Japan and During the war, uh, she got basically sent back to Korea.
Um, I don’t know exactly how old she was, but she was sent back to Korea to live with relatives. And so, [00:06:00] um, and then she ended up, of course, marrying Your grandfather and she didn’t want to come to America. She wanted to stay in Korea. Um, but of course, your grandfather thought that it would be a better opportunity, you know, so we all backed up your my aunt helped with getting our green cards for all of us.
Um, so we were permanent resident alien green card holders when we first came to the U. S. And they had hardship as well as non english speaking immigrants. And of course, they are older. So the culture is different. Um, and again, like I said, there was not many Koreans or even [00:07:00] Asians in in the area that we moved into.
So there was no one that we can identify with other than our relatives.
[00:07:14] Kemon: Okay. So speaking back to what you said, um, my grandmother, why do you think my grandmother didn’t, did not want to come to the U. S.
[00:07:29] Michelle: Um, I, I think just listening to her, um, you know, speak of the past and things like that. Um, she felt that she would have been more successful in Korea because she had the skills and the trades to make a living.
[00:07:57] Kemon: I did not know that. [00:08:00] And what exactly, what exactly did she do? Do you know?
[00:08:05] Michelle: Uh, seam, seamstress. So she was able to make clothes, um, which she still does up until I think maybe a year or two ago. Um, also farming, um, which again, she, she did up until two years ago. Right. Two years ago. Yeah. You remember, right?
[00:08:33] Kemon: Yeah, I definitely remember
[00:08:37] Michelle: her garden. Um, and, and just the, the, the, the determination that she has, because there was no language barrier, uh, she, she knew how to hustle to, to make a living and it, and it came easy for her, um, because she was very, [00:09:00] very strong willed coming to America because everything was new.
You know, it’s overwhelming. There’s anxiety and there is fear. So the outspoken person that she was in Korea, she couldn’t be here in the U. S. Because of that, the lack of, um, you know, Knowing English. So
[00:09:33] Kemon: she just didn’t feel like she was going to be at home.
[00:09:39] Michelle: Be at home, like comfortable.
[00:09:41] Kemon: Yeah.
[00:09:43] Michelle: I mean, she, she, she made it so that she was comfortable by learning the culture, but at times it was inappropriate culture, the inappropriate, [00:10:00] um, languages that she learned quickly.
[00:10:03] Kemon: Uh, I gotcha. Um,
okay, so let’s take a little sidetrack to when you are you are already here. And, more aware of what was going on. So when you first got here, where did you grow up? Where did you basically start going to high school? Like what area were you in and how did that like affect you in a way?
[00:10:39] Michelle: Okay, so when we first moved, we lived in right outside of D. C., north of D. C. in Maryland. Um, and then we ended up moving to to D. C. Um, in a very, very, I [00:11:00] would say bad neighborhood, but that’s where their business was. Um, it was a pretty good business. They did really well with that business, but it was just not ideal for raising kids, I guess. And so we lived there for a few years, and then we were able to, um, you know, move To northern Virginia in an apartment where I spent most of elementary school and then middle school.
I would say eighth grade. I think the summer of seventh grade we moved in. We were actually, um, we were able to purchase a house. in Alexandria, Virginia. And that’s where I went the last year of middle school and all of high school.
[00:11:59] Kemon: [00:12:00] So graduating high school and all that now, would you say it was hard in any way, especially for you and your family to like jobs knowing that you guys were immigrants, even though you guys had your Green cards and you guys were citizens. And did you guys
[00:12:25] Michelle: well for your grandparents? It’s definitely hard.
Um, getting a good paying job because they don’t have the education, they don’t have diplomas. Um, it’s but you know, if if you have money, of course, then that all works out well for Us. I think I can speak for just growing with my siblings, your oldest uncle. Uh, [00:13:00] he worked at McDonald’s because it seemed like that was the only job as someone in high school that had no experience.
Um, spoke, I guess he limited English at that time can get a job. Um, so I do remember that. But as far as me, Um, once I passed like second or third grade, um, in elementary school, I was basically only English speaker. I no longer spoke Korean because there was no Koreans. So for the first couple of years, you know, it was just English speaking.
We took the ESL class. And then I [00:14:00] consistently each year in elementary school, I was thrown into a ESL class, although I was fluent in English.
[00:14:08] Kemon: Okay.
[00:14:11] Michelle: So I was, I, I picked up the language quick because I was young. And that’s, you know, all I knew because I was three coming to America and English was everywhere. So I was able to pick up the language and completely lost the Korean language
[00:14:34] Kemon: for the people. Have you been trying to get back to your roots in a way?
[00:14:40] Michelle: Not my roots, but the language? Yes.
[00:14:45] Kemon: And how’s that going
[00:14:49] Michelle: slowly? It’s going, but now that we’re closer to family, now that we’re in [00:15:00] an area where it’s like 80 percent Koreans, it’s easier, you know, cause you’re in contact with, you know, the, the native speakers. A lot of them don’t even speak much English. Uh, for instance.
Your uncle’s wife, he, she doesn’t speak very well English. So learning Korean, um, you know, it has been a little bit easier cause it’s forcing me to speak that language and also Korean drama.
[00:15:43] Kemon: Okay. Was it a culture shock to you?
[00:15:49] Michelle: It was because growing up, we were always taught the Korean tradition. Um, so, you know, things, [00:16:00] things like holidays. Things that we eat, um, how we treat our parents and older siblings, older people in general, which, um, we’ve noticed was completely different from how, you know, uh, the kids who were raised here and born here, I guess a typical American family, their family dynamics was different.
Um, we had parents who weren’t home because they worked. Whereas the older other cultures we’ve seen at least one parent at home or both parents will be home at a certain time of day to be with their family. Whereas for us, most of us, Um, I guess like our [00:17:00] family, we just we kind of grew up on our own independently and the things that we the things that we celebrated, you know, we didn’t celebrate Christmas.
We didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving. We didn’t have those type of holidays. Um, but we did still celebrate. The traditional Korean holidays, like the New Year’s, um, you know, like the fall, the fall celebration, I guess it would be considered Thanksgiving here, but it would be on a different day, different month, I think, but, um, very different.
[00:17:47] Kemon: Okay, mother, since being an adult, how’s your experience with Your cultural food.
[00:17:59] Michelle: [00:18:00] So as an adult, I spent most of my adulthood in North Carolina, which was late nineties all the way up until three years ago, there was no Korean food. Very, I would say maybe one or two restaurants that you will go to. Um, so not a lot of variety. So I was kind of not forced, but I had the will to learn making Korean food.
But the difficulty was not having a Korean market, you know, they had the Asian market, the Chinese market, but there wasn’t a Korean grocery store. [00:19:00] So until recently, I moved here to the Northern Virginia area, it’s saturated, nothing but Korean food, nothing but Korean markets, because the population of Koreans here, like I mentioned earlier.
You know, there’s it’s like 80 in our area where we currently live. It’s like 80 percent Korean. So obtaining the food, getting the ingredients that you need to make the Korean food is now easier to make, make the food. Um, I think that’s it. And there’s lots of restaurants that sells, you know, they, they sell more, I would say, Americanized Korean food.
They cater to the non [00:20:00] Korean palates. And then they also have traditional Korean restaurants that you will see a lot of older people going to because they have, Like monthly meetings and stuff like that, the older generation, they will get together at these restaurants. That’s more traditional food. And then of course they have a lot of younger data towards younger generation.
Um, so it’s, it’s more, um, accessible.
[00:20:39] Kemon: Interesting. Okay. So to sidetrack from food and to get onto the topic of how Koreans stay together, I could, I would ask growing up as well as being an adult now, how would you say the Koreans in the Northern Virginia area stay together in a way besides [00:21:00] the food, besides the restaurants?
How have you seen them, you know, come together and celebrate? If it’s not celebrate, you know, just being able to have sit downs together.
[00:21:13] Michelle: Well, you know it, you notice that because they’re all about inclusivity, inclusiveness, you, you know, so they have like the Asian Pacific month, so they do celebrate. A lot of our culture in addition to other Asian cultures.
Um, but for Koreans, food and family. It’s always important, you know, food and family is, you know, you can’t have a get together without good food. You know, and family is always important to us no matter what. Um, luckily, the generation before us are adapting. [00:22:00] To, you know, The, the now the, the, the new culture, they’re more accepting, um, the older generations here in America are more accepting than they are in Korea.
It seems like from what I can tell. Um, so just, it’s definitely easy to, because the, because the community supports one another, they, they really do support one another here. Um, there’s huge, there’s lots of, uh, Korean churches. Um, lots of Korean businesses and, um, they all support one another. So it’s like, although you’re not blood related, we’re, we’re still a community of, of families.
And in this area, it’s like every, you know, it’s, it’s a big area, but when you’re [00:23:00] in an area where we live, it’s, it’s like, you basically get to know everybody and then they know your family. So
[00:23:11] Kemon: Interesting. Interesting. So it’s safe to say that Koreans are doing a really good job of staying together and staying with the culture in a way.
[00:23:25] Michelle: Yeah, definitely. I mean, it’s, it’s really frowned upon in our culture when it comes to like divorce and things like that, you know, but of course here, you know, the, the nowadays it’s, you know, it’s a little different.
Yeah. They’re, they’re more in tune with happiness. As opposed to tradition.
[00:23:54] Kemon: I gotcha. I gotcha.
[00:23:57] Michelle: Food is the most important in our culture. It [00:24:00] gets it. I mean, I think that it’s the same with probably any other culture. You know, food makes people happy.
Korean food, especially makes people happy.
[00:24:14] Kemon: So like everybody needs to try
[00:24:17] Michelle: it. Especially when you’re stressed out. The, um, the, I guess, what do you call it? The most common things that young people do when they get stressed out is in Korea is they eat spicy food.
[00:24:39] Kemon: And why do you think that is? So
[00:24:40] Michelle: if you want to know why, look it up.
[00:24:45] Kemon: Okay. I’ll leave that to the people to do.
[00:24:49] Michelle: Right. Look it up. Why young people in Korea eat spicy food when they are stressed.[00:25:00]
[00:25:02] Kemon: All right. Well, a question for you, Mom. What is your favorite food?
[00:25:09] Michelle: I can’t live without kimchi.
[00:25:12] Kemon: Kimchi. Why is that?
[00:25:13] Michelle: I can eat kimchi with everything. Because it is a staple in the Korean house. And then in the wintertime, it’s called kimjang. I love kimchi. That’s where the entire family, if you’re in Korea, the entire village, if you live in a small area, that entire community gets together and they make kimchi.
[00:25:41] Kemon: That seems lovely.
[00:25:43] Michelle: And it is the time. Of year to do it. They do it in the winter.
[00:25:50] Kemon: And what are you doing right now?
[00:25:52] Michelle: I am making kimchi.
[00:25:57] Kemon: You hear to hear folks. My mom is [00:26:00] making kimchi during this podcast. So Kemon,
[00:26:07] Michelle: can I ask you a couple of questions?
[00:26:11] Kemon: Yeah. Yeah. Go for it.
[00:26:13] Michelle: Now that you’re taking a Korean class, how do you feel about it?
[00:26:18] Kemon: Uh, I feel I feel pretty good knowing that I’m tying back. I’m getting closer to my culture. And knowing that I’m gonna be able to, you know, speak to my grandparents, not fluently, but I’ll be able to speak to them and have, you know, some type of conversation with them.
And it just feels pretty good. It was good to the soul.
[00:26:45] Michelle: Very good. Okay. One last question. What’s your favorite food? Korean food, whether it’s at a restaurant or homemade?
[00:26:59] Kemon: [00:27:00] Uh, I gotta stick with the homemade, you never could go wrong with the homemade, but this, this is a very debatable, controversial, you know, pick in my opinion.
It’s only controversial to me because I’m kind of iffy about it because I got a little bad, bad history with it. I, I’ve been craving japchae for good. Oh, yeah. And it’s, if for those that don’t know, it’s a, it’s like a, almost like a glass noodle. It’s like brownish. And it comes with like vegetables, whatever, whatever type of meat you want, beef, pork, whatever you want.
And it’s just,
[00:27:42] Michelle: do we want a backstory on, uh, why?
[00:27:48] Kemon: So, uh, a few, few years back when I was, what, how old was I? I don’t even know how old I was
[00:27:56] Michelle: elementary school. This was
[00:27:58] Kemon: elementary school.
[00:27:59] Michelle: [00:28:00] Yeah. You were, you were in kindergarten. And you spent your track when you were tracked out of school at how many at your grandparents house for a month.
Was that it? Or was it a little bit older than that? I think
[00:28:20] Kemon: it was
[00:28:21] Michelle: older. It was it. It was elementary school one week. Yeah, it was older and we visited.
[00:28:27] Kemon: Yeah, we visited there. Okay, yeah. Boom. So the story goes, uh, I was in elementary school. I’d probably say third, fourth grade. Uh, we visited my, our grand, my grandmother and she made my favorite top 10 and I hated so much and I felt satisfied, you know, until I don’t know when I threw up, but it happened either at [00:29:00] home or at her house.
But ever since then I stopped eating Japchae for a good, I don’t know, would you say years?
[00:29:09] Michelle: Yes. Years.
[00:29:11] Kemon: For a long, how many years would you say?
[00:29:14] Michelle: Probably, um, even throughout high school you didn’t want any.
[00:29:21] Kemon: Well, there you go folks. Uh, Japchae is my favorite, in a way. I just have a bad history with it. I am afraid that is all the time that we have today.
And thanks for tuning in to Food For Your Seoul podcast with special guests, my mother, Michelle Ko.
[00:29:43] Michelle: Thank you for having me.
[00:29:46] Kemon: Oh, of course. Anytime. Well, if you like this podcast, please leave a like, leave a subscription and a comment down below. If you want to see a part two of Food For Your Seoul
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