Cooking for my mother helped her share a hidden history
When Grace M. Cho鈥檚 mother developed schizophrenia, Grace found that traditional Korean cooking provided clues to her mother鈥檚 history 鈥� and helped them remain close.
Grace M. Cho grew up Korean-American in a small town in Washington state. Her mother, Koonja, was a Korean woman who met Grace鈥檚 white-American father 鈥� a merchant marine 鈥� 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鈥檚 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 鈥渢he blackberry lady鈥� 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鈥檚 traumatic history in Korea. But it was through cooking 鈥� and recreating Korean recipes Koonja had not tasted for decades 鈥� that Grace and her mother were able to find comfort and connection. Grace's memoir is called Tastes Like War.
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com
Presenter: Anu Anand
Producer: Laura Thomas
Picture: Grace M. Cho
Credit: Patrick Bower
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The Outlook Podcast Archive
True stories of ordinary people and the extraordinary events that have shaped their lives
