Cooking for my mother helped her share a hidden history
When Grace M. Choβs mother developed schizophrenia, Grace found that traditional Korean cooking provided clues to her motherβs history β 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 Graceβs white-American father β a merchant marine β 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 brotherβs 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 βthe blackberry ladyβ 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 motherβs traumatic history in Korea. But it was through cooking β and recreating Korean recipes Koonja had not tasted for decades β 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
Podcast
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The Outlook Podcast Archive
True stories of ordinary people and the extraordinary events that have shaped their lives
