The visit

On Saturday, Jiea and I (Lois) met with the grandparents at their senior apartment in Garden Grove. When I had given them a call a few days prior explaining our intentions and that we'd bring lunch, Grandpa immediately told me to bring hamburgers and nothing fancy. "Save your money," he said. What better way to save money than to bring homemade food! So, I prepared some kalgooksoo broth at home and served this traditional noodle dish with kimchi.


Grandma was so excited, as was Grandpa in a more nonchalant way. Ever since Dave and I came to California in 2007, the grandparents have told us they wanted hamburgers for lunch. We soon caught on that it wasn't their love for hamburgers but their love for their grandchildren that spurred them to tell us that this was their favorite dish. To them, it was the cheapest option. The trick was, of course, to say we'd bring hamburgers but surprise them with something else.

In the kitchen, Grandma stood around looking to help. "Wow~! Look Grandpa, they brought seafood," she exclaimed, laughing and clapping her hands. When we told her why we were there, she was ecstatic to share what she remembered as we stood in the kitchen preparing lunch.



After lunch, Grandma sliced some oranges, and we set-up the camera to start the interview. Grandpa quickly caught on and jokingly said, "These girls, they buttered us up with noodles and now they're interrogating us." The full interview lasted about 3.5 hours including some lecturing, family history and Q&A from questions Jiea had obtained from some family members on her way there.

I want to do an accurate job of transcribing our family history in relation to our world events at the time, so it will take some time. At first, Grandpa was reluctant to share, but when Jiea and I had explained our intention to pass down our history for the next generations, they obliged.