From the journal.
Recipes, culture, hanbok, and the meaning behind Korean traditions. Written by Eric and Mrs. Lee Youngsook, posted as we cook and source.
What to Wear at Sixty
What hwangap is Hwangap (환갑) is the Korean celebration of a person's 60th birthday. The Korean zodiac and ten heavenly stems form…
Hanbok GuidesThe Quietest Hanbok in the Closet
What baji are Baji (바지) are the traditional pants worn under a jeogori or durumagi in men's hanbok. Wide through the thigh…
Hanbok GuidesThe Silk That Outlasted My Grandmother
Why hanbok care matters A well-cared-for hanbok lasts decades. A poorly-cared-for hanbok lasts one wedding. The difference is not…
Behind the ScenesWhat Makes a Hanbok Last Generations
The question of quality We get asked, often, how to tell whether a hanbok is well-made. The honest answer is that most customers…
Behind the ScenesA Fitting in San Mateo
The first time most people walk into our San Mateo studio, the assumption is that a hanbok fitting will feel like a tailor…
RecipesThe Cookbook Youngsook Would Write
If I ever wrote a cookbook, it would not look like a cookbook. It would not have grams or milliliters or photographs styled to…
Korean-American LifeWhy the Second Generation Is Going Home
Reverse migration used to be the rare exception in Korean American families. The arrow ran the other way for fifty years: from…
Korean CultureThe Songpyeon That Teaches the Kids
Chuseok is the Korean autumn harvest festival, the closest cultural cousin to American Thanksgiving. Three days of family, food…
Hanbok GuidesWhat Guests Will Notice at Doljanchi
Doljanchi is your child's first birthday, the one Korean families have been throwing for centuries to mark a baby surviving the…
Korean CultureThree Generations, One Dinner Table
The generation gap in Korean diaspora families is older than any of us. It is also more textured than the standard "first…
Hanbok GuidesFrom Joseon Court to Your Closet
Hanbok has been the everyday and ceremonial dress of Korea for roughly 1,600 years. The garment we now call hanbok stabilized in…
Korean-American LifeThe Heritage Essay Without the Cliché
Every year a few thousand Korean American high school seniors sit down to write the college essay about their heritage. A large…
Korean CultureWhat Korean American Means Now
"Korean American" used to be a simple compound noun. Hyphen on, hyphen off, two words pointing at a single identity. In 2026 the…
RecipesTen Jars Every Korean Kitchen Holds
A Korean American kitchen needs ten things on the shelf and in the fridge to actually cook Korean food at home. Without them, you…
Korean-American LifeRaising Kids Who Speak Korean
Teaching Korean to diaspora kids is the slowest, most frustrating, most rewarding project a Korean American family takes on. The…
Hanbok GuidesFive Wedding Hanbok Variations That Work
Korean American weddings in 2026 are hybrid by default. Western ceremony for the vows, paebaek for the family ritual, sometimes a…
RecipesYoungsook's Soondubu, the Way She Makes It
Soondubu jjigae is the silken tofu stew that runs Korean home kitchens. The version you order in a Bay Area Korean restaurant is…
Bay AreaA Korean Event in the Bay Area
Decide what kind of event you are actually planning Korean-themed events range from a small family dol party (entirely Korean…
Bay AreaTwo Cultures, One San Mateo Childhood
The mixed identity experience Korean-American in the Bay Area is its own specific identity. You are not Korean in Korea…
Korean CultureTen Gifts a Korean American Will Keep
Korean-American gifting tends to fall into two camps: practical (cash in a white envelope) and meaningful (something that honors…
Bay AreaHow We Hold Chuseok in California
Why Korean holidays feel different in the Bay Area In Korea, Chuseok and Seollal are national holidays. Offices close, traffic…
Korean CultureSix Cushions, One Bow
Korean weddings have layers. The Western-style main ceremony is the part most non-Korean guests recognize. The paebaek and…
Bay AreaWhere Korea Lives in San Francisco
Where San Francisco’s Korean life clusters There is no real Koreatown in San Francisco. There is a stretch of Geary…
Hanbok GuidesHanbok for the Days Between Ceremonies
Daily hanbok is the part of the category most Korean-American customers underuse. They commission a beautiful linen jeogori, wear…
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