Please note, this episode contains references to self-harm and includes explicit language.

You know, reading your memoir, I was so interested to learn a little bit more about the early days of Korea town in L.A.

In your parents' experience.

There was no Korea town.

It was just maybe a thousand Koreans, but there was no, there was Koreans in a town, but there was no Korea town.

Right, but it wasn't called Korea town yet.

This is Roy Choi, chef and TV personality.

His parents moved to L.A. with the first wave of Korean immigrants in the 1960s.

Today, L.A.'s Korea town has the largest population of Koreans outside of Seoul.

But when Roy was a kid, it was very different.

There were no ingredients, you know, because they were the first wave to come in.

There was no kimchi. There's no napa cabbage. You know, there was no kochadu and all these things.

So you would have to kind of make things on the fly like sauerkraut, clas and sourcrow

with Tabasco sauce. That was the first kimchi of Koreatown.

Oh, wow, that's like quick and dirty Korean imitation kimchi.

Yeah, it's the first kimchi in Korea, Ta.

You heard it here on the Spork Pool.

Yeah.

This is the Sporkful. It's not for foodies, it's for eaters. I'm Dan Pashman.

Each week on our show, we obsess about food to learn more about people.

And before we get into this week's show, I want to ask for your help. We are looking for stories from food obsessives.

And if you listen to this show, I have a feeling that might be you.

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