{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/7659c6tw52/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["LAPL Community Histories -  Alex Park (Choeng Wun Buffet)"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/200/original/lapl_logo.png?1628076950","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Alex Park","Tien Nguyen"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2025-11-07"]}},{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["Alex Park, nephew of Chang Hun Kang, owner of Choeng Wun Buffet, is interviewed by Tien Nguyen, Los Angeles Public Library Creator in Residence. The interview was conducted on August 14, 2025 at Choeng Wun Buffet, located at 944 N. Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90029."]}},{"label":{"en":["Format"]},"value":{"en":["MPEG-4"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["TheirStory"]}}],"summary":{"en":["Alex Park, nephew of Chang Hun Kang, owner of Choeng Wun Buffet, is interviewed by Tien Nguyen, Los Angeles Public Library Creator in Residence. The interview was conducted on August 14, 2025 at Choeng Wun Buffet, located at 944 N. Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90029."]},"provider":[{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Los Angeles Public Library"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Los Angeles Public Library"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/200/original/lapl_logo.png?1628076950","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/302/536/small/Choeng_Wun_Buffet_exterior.jpeg?1770825577","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - open-uri20260211-1103947-1i8lnt.mp4"]},"duration":4088.42667,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/302/536/small/Choeng_Wun_Buffet_exterior.jpeg?1770825577","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-lapl.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/302/536/original/open-uri20260211-1103947-1i8lnt.mp4?1770825297","type":"Audio","format":"audio/mp3","duration":4088.42667,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["TheirStory Transcript (Paragraphs with Speakers) [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Just to start, would you mind saying your name?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2.16,3.68"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e My name is Alex Park.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=4.6,5.88"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Thank you.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=6.04,6.56"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e So I'm related to my uncle on my mom's side. They came to the States—my mom's side of the family, they're from Seoul. And they came to the States, the date that they celebrate every year is June 6th, 1986, I believe. They moved to LA after my grandpa, he was, I think, in the photography business here in Korea, but he had some business troubles, and they sold everything, moved to LA. I don't know if I already had existing family in LA, but I know that my mom was in the middle of college here. She got into a pretty good school here in Korea. But yeah, they decided to move all at once. I believe— I'm not exactly sure, I know that they had a few kind of businesses throughout Koreatown. There was this, like, swap meet up on—it's a bit like north of where that restaurant is located. There's, I believe a Home Depot next to the 101, near Hollywood. And they had the swap meet there. A lot of Korean immigrants had really small businesses. And so, yeah, my mom would work there. My family, I think they lived in Glendale at the time. Sorry. I lost my train of thought for a second.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=6.96,123.8"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e It's okay. They","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=123.84,124.252"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e lived in Glendale. And then, yeah, my mom went to Glendale Community College, transferred to UCLA. So that side of the family is like more my mom's side, and we're all really close. We still get together every year for, like, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I believe they got out of that swap meet business around like, late '80s, early '90s. And I think they had, I've been told, like 1 or 2 restaurants near Vermont. I'm not exactly sure the name, but I might be able to get those for you. Do","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=124.252,169.48"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e you remember what they were serving or what kind of food it was? If not, that's okay.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=169.48,179.69"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. No, they've told me, but it's just—I can ask them again.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=180.45,185.97"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e That's ok. But","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=186.21,186.656"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e they had a few restaurants and during the riots, it burned down. There's a lot of, like, memes about the rooftop Koreans and my uncle and and my dad were some of them, you know, defending their own businesses after LAPD kind of left that vacuum. Another interesting background tidbit is that my dad and my uncle who runs the restaurant are like high school, old high school friends. And that's how my dad met my mom, was through my uncle and my aunt. And so that was like early '90s, '92. So that was when around a lot of my cousins were born. That's when my aunt and uncle had their first kids and they're the oldest; my aunt was the oldest one. And so, you know, they started having kids and then my mom has three sisters and a brother, and she's kind of the middle child, the third daughter. And so it's the eldest aunt, it was the one that ran the restaurant with my uncle. And so, yeah, I kind of grew up in a very big family. I think we have a total of, I want to say like 9 or 10 cousins amongst the five, you know, the five families. So, pretty big family. That restaurant was kind of like our home base. So growing up, my mom, she was getting her teaching credentials to be a teacher at LAUSD. My parents would just leave me at the restaurant to roam, which is—yeah, I have a lot of fond memories of that restaurant. You know, Koreans have that big ceremony, first 100 days or sometimes first birthday, either one. But a lot of my cousins have had their that ceremony at that restaurant. And so a lot of fond memories there. I remember we would go to church every Sunday, and we would always meet at the restaurant. And so I think the heyday of that restaurant was like late '90s to early 2000s. That's kind of when that concept of the all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue, I think, really started.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=186.656,366.425"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e I tried to do some research myself about the history behind all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue, but it seems like there's not really any authoritative sources out there. And so it makes me believe that probably my uncle's restaurant was, you know, the source of it. And the way he's explained it to me, it was originally— that restaurant we bought from the previous owners who started the restaurant, I think, in the early '80s. It was originally just a Korean restaurant. It wasn't even a buffet, until our family kind of took over it. Oh,","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=367.39,411.6"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e okay.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=411.72,412.16"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e But they took over it with money they received from FEMA, from the government after the riots, you know.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=413.56,422.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Right. Your uncle had mentioned that as well.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=422.2,424.72"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. That restaurant, the location of it was— I don't know how much the riots had to do with it, but a lot of the Korean businesses in Koreatown probably burned down, like, near Vermont. And so I think they wanted to be a little bit out of the way, perhaps, I don't know if that was like an implicit thought that they had, but also it was kind of closer to the swap meet where my family had their other small business. And so I think that was a restaurant that they frequented a lot. And they really like Korean barbecue. And so after they got that money, they kind of wanted to have another restaurant, and that's how we took over it, I think in the early '90s. And so, yeah, you know, all the cousins were being born at that time.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=425.6,495.06"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Right.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=495.1,495.58"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Back then, it was pretty busy, from what I remember. Any time you would go there, you would find a bunch of Korean businessmen having drinks and talking to clients and a lot of families would come by. And so I think if you were Korean and growing up in Koreatown or even, like, Koreans from the suburbs, they would usually come into the city for church to get groceries, right? Like, H Mart wasn't as big back then. And so a lot of the things were pretty centralized in Koreatown. And so I think most Koreans would know that restaurant. And so that was kind of the spot. I remember there started to be more and more Korean barbecue restaurants. There were a few that still were the big ones. I think Chosun Galbee was another one that that's been there for a long time.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=495.82,563.354"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. But","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=563.68,564.126"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e there started to be more all-you-can-eat places, I think, starting in the mid-2000s, late 2000s. That was kind of when business started to suffer and I think my aunt and uncle—I don't know how much of it they've expressed at times that this wasn't their passion, right? Like, this was kind of just a family thing, and it was more of a family obligation that they kind of just got caught up into it. So sometimes I feel like, you know, I think there were opportunities that were missed, and that our family couldn't take advantage of. And so, yeah, business started to kind of trickle down throughout the years. The recession in '08 was pretty scary for them as well, but yeah, they got through it. And I think things were okay. And","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=567.16,633.986"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e I first started to get involved, I think around like 2014 or 15. I went to college in Santa Barbara studying political science. I was having a hard time with school, with life. There were some things that I didn't know about myself. And so I took some time off, and that was kind of when, like, oh, well, I don't really know what I want to do. And I saw the need for this restaurant. This restaurant, it holds a very special place in my heart. My aunt who passed away, she kind of regarded me as her as her son. That's kind of where I came in. Started helping them make a website, kind of modernize things a little bit, creating their social media page and, and reaching out to publications to try to at least just get our name out there so that people know about us. And so that was kind of the extent to of my involvement. It was more of just like a passion project. And it was a way—I remember when my aunt passed in 2019, I kind of felt a lot of, like, regret, like, maybe I should have done more. Maybe if the business was more successful, she would have had to spend less time there. Sometimes I think about being in a Korean barbecue restaurant, breathing in the fumes and carcinogens from the meat, and sometimes I wonder, you know, did that do it? And so, I still try to help out my uncle just because, in her memory and I guess a bit of guilt of feeling like I hadn't done enough. I had this dream of me and my uncle, and he was closing down the restaurant, and he was, like, wrapping his arms around me. And just saying that, you know, we tried our best. And so I think that also kind of haunts me a little bit, of trying to prevent that. But I also know that he's getting old.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=634.26,788.13"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=788.55,788.99"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Now, sometimes I think him being in that restaurant is not good for him. He has to process his grief and he's struggled a lot because of that. And so I don't know.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=789.51,803.11"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e That's a lot, dude.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=803.15,804.03"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e It's a lot, yeah. And I've wanted to—I don't know, it's a good story. And I feel like it's a story that needs to be told. That's my way of honoring the legacy of my aunt. And yeah, she sometimes—we had this joke in our family, because I would always eat at that restaurant and I loved it. And so they always joke that one day I was going to pay for all the food, pay back my debt, that I would take over one day. And that was kind of a dream of mine. I don't know how. It's complicated; it's their restaurant, and I have things that I want to do, and the health issues I'm struggling with, that that make it hard. It would be nice to—I don't know. I don't know if there would be a happy ending to this story. But at least, you know, I wanted it to be told. Maybe like writing a documentary about it. Even my partner, she works in film in Hollywood. So, you know, we've talked about it. It's a story. I think the crazy thing is that like, all you can eat Korean barbecue has become like a thing and not just in LA, but like, everywhere.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=804.79,899.42"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=899.46,899.86"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e I'm sure there have been other restaurateurs throughout the Korean diaspora that have thought of it. But, you know, I just think that because the Korean community is so big in LA and because I haven't seen any other restaurants that have done it, that have started that concept before. I mean, it's different now. Like, all you can eat is kind of like, you just you just order it and a waitress comes and gives you as much meat as you ask for. But I think the original concept was kind of like, you serve it yourself. It was very much kind of, I think, inspired a little bit by how our family likes to eat. We just have all the food out on the table. You just grab whatever you want and just, you know, just cook it yourself and just talk over some soju or just having family conversations. I guess that is our origin story of all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue. And I don't know if it's the one, but it would be interesting to—I just wanted to claim that spot.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=902.66,985.64"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=985.68,986.08"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e And if someone else had their story, I would have just loved to hear it. It's a topic that's very close to my family. And so, I'm just curious myself.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=986.12,1002.54"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, me too. I have always wondered where all-you-can-eat barbecue came from. Because on its face, it just sounds like almost absurd, right? Like, all you can eat meat. I mean, it's like Todai, you remember, like in the '90s, there was Todai? Of","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1002.58,1014.769"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e course! All-you-can-eat","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1014.769,1015.732"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e seafood. That sounded ridiculous. You can eat all this crab for one price. I could totally see why it would catch on, you know, just as the idea of all-you-can-eat . But yes, I've always wondered as well, what was, you know, the first, or the original, or among the first restaurants to offer this type of ordering KBBQ.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1016.734,1038.361"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. There was that Todai in, like, Studio City that we used to go to all the time. I think that's part of the immigrant story of trying to get as much bang for your buck. Right? And so like places like Todai and my uncle's restaurant. Yeah. We love that stuff. If you find out any other restaurant that came before, I would love to know.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1042.859,1072.84"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e I will let you know. I will let you know, because like I said, I've been very curious about it. I was aware about buffet-style, you know, a couple Korean restaurants doing buffet-style, where it was kind of similar, where you kind of—it's like a salad bar, right? But with banchan and and everything, and you go up and serve yourself. And then at some point, the model shifted to servers, you know, taking your order and bringing relentless amounts of dishes as you ordered it.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1072.88,1099.92"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, I think that part of that was a bit related to the cost. I remember back in the day, like meat costs were a lot more cheaper, and so there was no need to—I think with all-you-can-eat in buffets, food waste is kind of an issue, so they kind of wanted to control that a little bit better. Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1101.08,1126.21"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e So it's probably more of a development from that. But I mean, yeah, back in the days, meat was pretty affordable, and so it was just, all you can eat, just grab as much as you want. Yeah, we would see a lot of people get a bit greedy.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1126.33,1146.391"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/36","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Do you have memories of what was offered back then, in terms of what was available? Was it very different?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1153.33,1162.273"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/37","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Oh, the same.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1162.37,1162.61"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/38","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Oh, it's the same? Okay. The","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1163.01,1164.17"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/39","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e exact same. Yeah. And so I think even the recipes, they tried to keep it as original as possible. And I think over the years, you keep doing the same thing over and over again, it's hard to quality control that. But I think they tried to stay true to what it was like in the '90s and 2000s.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1164.17,1187.437"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/40","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. What was your favorite thing there? I mean, you mentioned the galbi in your email.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1187.67,1191.803"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/41","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, yeah. So the joke in the family was that whenever I would go to Choeng, it would always be just rice and galbi, that's all I needed. Back then I didn't really eat vegetables. I had a thing about that. And so it was just like literally like a mountain top of rice and just the galbi. I still can't find any— some places it's a little bit too sweet, some places a little bit too salty. And I feel like that balance is so key. So I feel like my uncle's restaurant does it best, and I'm willing to die on that hill, I think.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1192.03,1231.45"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/42","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e I was going to ask, what sets your family's restaurant's galbi different than other people's, but, yeah, you answered that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1231.45,1237.93"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/43","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. When you're Korean, you try a lot of different Korean places. Generally I like to see how restaurants do just one thing across different tastes. And I feel like, yeah, maybe it's just a nostalgia thing or something because I grew up with it, but I have yet to find it a galbi that I'm like, oh, you know, this is better.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1239.29,1264.25"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/44","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, yeah. I've always been also really curious about the origins of LA galbi. Like at what point did it became known as LA galbi? As opposed because the other type of—the non LA one, I guess. At what point did people just know what you meant when you said LA galbi? And I haven't been able to figure out that, but do you have any strong opinions about at what point LA galbi became LA galbi?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1264.29,1292.11"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/45","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e So I've also researched this as well myself, and I've read that that LA galbi is not named after the city of LA. But after, I think it was when they were buying the meat, they were like lateral cut.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1293.27,1312.75"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/46","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yes, I've heard that as well.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1313.55,1314.03"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/47","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, I've heard that. And so I don't know. Your guess is as good as mine. But I like to think that, you know, it has something to do with the largest Korean community outside of Korea. But that's just my assumption. I don't know how much of it is based in—but I want to say that term maybe originated somewhere in the '80s.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1314.03,1352.114"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/48","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. I mean, because it's such a specific style of cut versus the classic, traditional way of making galbi. Right?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1352.56,1360.76"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/49","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e A thicker bone.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1362.96,1363.6"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/50","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. The thicker bone, the unrolling it. Did your uncle ever offer that type of cut, too? Did you offer both cuts of galbi, do you remember?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1363.64,1375.56"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/51","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e No, it was always the sliced cut.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1376.2,1378.68"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/52","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Ah, interesting. That's interesting. It became so ubiquitous.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1378.72,1383.56"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/53","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e But yeah, I mean, and even now—I'm in Seoul right now, and I went to this Korean barbecue place that was very much inspired by LA Koreatown and the food scene here. So it's kind of like this weird—like they're taking stuff from the developments that the Korean community in LA made, which we had to take because from like the original Korean stuff but adapted to the American way of life. It's kind of crazy.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1383.92,1425.38"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/54","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. When I was in Saigon, I saw some places that also were kind of—they had taken things from Little Saigon and certain ideas or certain dishes or certain way of cooking something. I was like, oh, this is just I was just—that was really surprising.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1426.5,1440.22"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/55","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Over the years, there has been a lot of Korean tourists that will come. Korean tourists, they don't usually like to travel by themselves; they like to travel in big groups, right, in the tour buses. And so, our restaurant would get a lot of tour buses over the years.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1442.1,1464.12"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/56","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Oh, I see, wow.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1464.68,1465.68"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/57","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e And I'm sure, it's pretty crazy. Like, the restaurant is pretty well known amongst Korean tourists here in Korea. You know, meat in Korea is a lot more expensive.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1466.36,1480.96"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/58","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Mhm, yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1481.0,1482.4"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/59","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e So the kind of the concept of all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue is kind of—it was foreign to them, but now, like you said, it's ubiquitous. And so kind of interesting how things come full circle.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1482.84,1497.24"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/60","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. In the early days, who was the primary clientele, do you remember? Do you have like a memory of who the most the customers were?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1497.28,1506.64"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/61","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e A lot of them were like middle-aged Korean men who all were probably businessmen having dinner with clients, that sort of thing. And a lot of families. A lot of families would come by. It was always rare to have single individual customers. They were usually in big groups, but mostly, it was family and older men doing yasik, having meal with coworkers or clients. And I remember, yeah, especially like early 2000s, late '90s, a lot of—they like to drink soju while they do business. And so I remember it got rowdy here and there. I'm sure my uncle had to, you know, handle some very difficult customers at times.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1507.92,1588.75"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/62","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e He had to play security sometimes.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1588.79,1590.19"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/63","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, yeah. I also remember there being a few break-ins, that sort of thing as a result of it's just LA. LA in the '90s was not—it's not LA now. It's changed. Maybe for the better in some ways. You see people walking around with their dogs at night, women walking their dogs at night. And, you know, I think in the '90s, you would not see that. I remember one time I was going to the McDonald's just down the street on Western with my aunt. And she wanted to buy me some, you know, some ice cream. And I think we heard some gunshots at like a metro bus. And so, you know, that area was always a little bit, you know. I know that there used to be some sex shops up on like Western and Santa Monica, a little bit north of there. And so it was kind of like a little bit seedy at times.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1591.23,1658.09"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/64","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. Yeah. That is also a lot. I know you were a kid, but do you remember, like, for the customers, was it like a big deal that people were grilling their own meats and stuff? Or was that just something that people knew already, that was just part of a lot of Korean restaurant culture? Because some of the old menus I've looked at in terms of the library's menu collection, they do mention, \"grilled at your table,\" you know, so it feels like it was something that was pretty commonly done? So it wasn't so unfamiliar to most of the clients, or most of your customers? Yeah,","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1658.21,1704.51"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/65","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e I think that was just the Korean way of doing it. Just grill things yourself.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1705.19,1710.03"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/66","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Did the servers ever come and cook things for people?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1710.15,1713.67"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/67","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e They would, if they saw that the customers weren't, like, flipping their meats, it was getting burnt. If they had trouble cutting stuff, then they would come by. But there was a very much sense of do it yourself. And I think a lot of restaurants don't do that as much now just because, you know, clientele has changed to more Western or non-Korean audiences. But, I mean, even here, there's a lot of places where, yeah, you just cook it yourself. I think it's very much a Korean culture thing.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1714.75,1750.91"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/68","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. Did the clientele change over the years? Like even present day. Has it changed very much?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1750.95,1760.53"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/69","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e It kind of has. And I think part of that was because of the outreach that I kind of spearheaded. In general, I think clientele has dwindled. But lately, I've been trying to target more like people, foodies, people that are interested in food culture and history. I think lately we've been seeing a lot more, like, younger crowd coming in, more single customers or, you know, two people. There always—not always, maybe, but I would say recently also there's been a lot more Hispanic audiences and customers coming in. And I feel like, yeah, in LA, at least, the Hispanic community and the Korean community has been so intertwined. And I know that Korean food amongst Hispanics have been pretty popular. So, yeah, that probably is a large influx of non-Korean customers probably started like mid-2010s. And I think that happened a bit concurrent to like Korean barbecue becoming as big as it has.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1761.89,1862.62"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/70","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. Right. Right. Do you remember at what point the signage changed from buffet to AYC? And why the signage changed? I mean, it still says buffet, but I feel like when I looked at earlier photos of it, it didn't say all you can eat as part of the main sign.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1862.66,1885.28"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/71","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. That was, I want to say, that also changed in the mid-2010s as kind of the all you can eat. There was a lot of competition from the restaurants in Koreatown proper that kind of prompted my uncle to be like, we have to adapt with the times. I feel like buffets were very much like a late '90s, early 2000s thing. You don't really see a lot of buffets anymore.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1885.96,1911.88"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/72","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. You're right, you don't. Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1911.92,1913.36"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/73","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e I know everyone was really sad when Souplantation went under a few years ago and, you know, like, that's the culture of that kind of changed. And so, I want to say yeah, around mid-2010ss when they wanted to appeal to kind of that growing market of of people who knew what all you can eat was.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1914.8,1937.5"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/74","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. Right. Has the decor changed? I mean, I think your uncle mentioned, that hadn't changed very much, but I wanted to ask you as well if you have any memories of any differences in the interior aesthetic, the decor?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1940.86,1955.507"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/75","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e No. Everything was kept exactly the same. There used to be this kind of teal, bright blue couches.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1956.18,1966.62"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/76","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Couches?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1966.78,1967.46"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/77","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e I don't know if you see, kind of on the corner of the restaurant there—no, they might have actually taken all them out. Yeah, it used to be, like, couches. But over the years it got, you know, with wear and tear, they wanted to take them out and and kind of replace it with something a little bit more affordable. I think they did a good job of just keeping things the way they were. We've had a lot of, in the family at least discussion about, 'Oh, they should they should modernize the interior, right? Like, all these Korean barbecue places are coming up, and we have to compete with them.' And that conversation happened a lot in the 2010s. But I think now there's almost this return to nostalgia. Totally.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1968.14,2023.736"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/78","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e And","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2023.736,2023.982"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/79","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e I'm kind of glad that they kept things the way it was because it just was a different time.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2024.0,2034.6"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/80","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. Yeah. I mean, again, just going up and grabbing the food. I mean, it does feel like such a such a time trip in a way.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2034.64,2042.36"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/81","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. yeah. And so I really like that they kind of kept that. And it just reminds me of those days because, you know, I feel like as I've gotten older, I'm realizing, just, like, how fast things change. And I always thought I would be the one to like, oh, I'm always going to be the one that's with the trends. But sometimes I'm like, maybe the old ways are a little better. Comes","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2043.36,2068.014"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/82","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e with age. I think it just comes with age.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2068.659,2070.26"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/83","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, comes with age.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2073.58,2074.82"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/84","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Do you remember, what was among the most popular things that people always stacked up on? Like what they always filled up the plates with? What they always had to constantly refill at the bars?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2074.82,2085.934"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/85","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e It was probably—the galbi was pretty popular. I think the brisket and the pork bulgogi was also pretty popular. And maybe they have that honey sesame—","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2087.06,2112.051"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/86","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, I saw that on your menu. The chicken wings?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2112.63,2114.557"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/87","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. Those have always been pretty popular as well.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2114.75,2118.23"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/88","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Well, that sounds great. I mean, it's delicious.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2118.51,2121.333"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/89","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. And, you know, they're usually the things that you associate Korean barbecue with. Yeah, I think people's tastes are pretty constant in some ways.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2122.07,2136.87"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/90","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e I mean they're classics for a reason, right?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2136.91,2139.219"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/91","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. Yeah. People love what they love. I always thought that the soups were a bit underrated as well.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2140.55,2148.51"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/92","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e You know what I had that I ate so much of when I was there? Was the rice soup, the cold rice soup. It was kind of sweet.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2149.03,2159.11"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/93","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. The sikhye.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2159.95,2161.171"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/94","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, the sikhye! Yeah. That was so good.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2161.93,2164.49"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/95","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2165.17,2165.53"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/96","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e That was so good. The really nice server, she was like, 'You should eat this for digestion.' And so I had a bowl and I was in the middle of eating the galbi. But I ate this, and then I think I ate it so fast, she's like, 'Do you want to eat some more?' I'm like, 'Yes, please.'","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2165.85,2181.159"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/97","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e So they do have like, the sikhye and also like naengmyeon, the cold noodles. There's a way to clean your palate afterwards. You get the meat sweats after you eat all that meat, so it's like something to make you feel a little bit fresh. So it's like those two. And also the fruits. I would always get some pineapple or some oranges to just—yeah, something to make you feel a little bit lighter and unclog all those arteries.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2183.93,2216.29"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/98","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. Yeah, that was really good.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2218.65,2221.19"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/99","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e I'm glad you liked it. I was like, he's probably gonna make you try some food. I'm glad that—. He","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2222.23,2228.934"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/100","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e did. We finished, and he said, 'Well, you have to try it now.' And I wanted to come back. Because it was just me, so I wanted to come back with a couple people and like have—but I was like, 'Okay, if I have to eat, then I have to eat. Oh, well,' you know, and so yeah, it was delicious. I think I took too small—my bites were too small, though, because she made me a wrap that was like, this big, and I can't—it was just such a huge bite. Yeah, I was like, I got to make a smaller one. So I made a smaller package for myself, and she just laughed. She kind of laughed at me.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2228.934,2264.99"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/101","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e I don't think that's just you. I think I have a hard time fitting all that, too. Yeah, it's not easy. And they kind of pack it a lot.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2266.39,2275.67"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/102","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e They do pack a lot. I mean, it's great. It's almost art, the way you lay everything and wrap it. It looks so neat. Mine was an absolute mess, but it still worked. You know, but mine was not folded nice and pretty at all.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2275.71,2289.41"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/103","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Everyone I talked to, they love the food. I personally know some things that I think the restaurant could do better, but I thought, you know, like people who love food, especially Korean food, I feel like this is a restaurant that's not really well known. I think a few people that are, like, the real LA foodies and maybe more people in the Korean community who grew up in LA would know the restaurant, but I feel like it is kind of a bit slept on. And, you know, those hole in the wall places that you're like, 'Oh, wow. You know, I didn't know this existed.' And so, yeah, I always tried to get the name out as best as I can. I have some limitations that keep me from— I've always had these ideas and implementing them were always the difficult challenge for me.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2290.37,2354.06"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/104","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Sure. And I mean, to be honest, it is really hard. There are so many restaurants. There's so much noise on social media, especially now, you know, and yeah, it's such an accomplishment, it really is, that your family's restaurant has had such longevity. That alone is amazing. There just are not that many restaurants, any type of cuisine in Los Angeles, that have had the longevity that your restaurant has had. So, yeah, I mean, I hope you feel proud of that, because that's amazing. That is really quite an accomplishment.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2354.1,2387.66"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/105","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Hearing you say that, it is. And I guess over the years we've—sometimes I think about, like, you know how big BCD [Tofu] has gotten? Spread out all over the world. And I'm like, we could have done that for Korean barbecue. And so when I think about that, I forget how hard it is to just even run a restaurant. And you see the statistics, like it's crazy how longevity in food is is not an easy thing to pull off. And so, yeah, it is quite a feat. It is quite a feat. And I'm very, very proud of my family for just creating that space for Korean immigrants, you know, pioneering, I guess, something that is going global. We never would have thought that all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue would be this thing that everyone knows about. But, for me, it's like, that was just my my childhood. So like I said, I have had an idea for this documentary that I wanted to create about, I guess what it was like for me to grow up in that space and something that has become so big and I feel like maybe shifted and warped in some ways that feel a little bit impersonal when for me, it's like, oh, going to church and then meeting my family for lunch. I would want people to remember that's the core of all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue, and that's what people should take from that whole experience. But it's just an idea. I think implementation is another story.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2388.62,2510.7"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/106","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. implementation, money, all that stuff. But it's a good idea. I hope you're able to do it, because I think it is such a great idea and documentation is so important. I'm thinking a lot about that in relation with this project, is just there's so many things online, but there's never a guarantee that it's going to stay there. You know, like things disappear. I've written for publications that disappeared overnight. So all my articles are gone, you know? And so, I really think, especially for immigrant communities, there wasn't much opportunity back then, when many of these places were starting, to even think about documentation. People were just thinking about surviving, right? Yeah,","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2510.74,2552.859"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/107","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2552.859,2552.946"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/108","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e And so, yeah, I've been thinking a lot about that because a lot of the classic Little Saigon restaurants, the owners are also getting older and there isn't a second generation there to take it over or interested in taking it over. And often the parents don't want their kids to take it over. So when the restaurant closed or the business closed, it's going to close, you know? And you know, all these documents that we have, all these archival work, all these interviews, this is what gets left behind. And I think that's important.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2553.12,2582.65"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/109","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e I've thought a lot about that too, as, as especially as the food industry goes through its thing and watching my parents get old, and I would want people to remember that they were there. Especially after the passing of my of my aunt. Legacy is—this is her legacy. It's kind of the only real living connection we have with her and wanting to keep that alive. Yeah, when you reached out—of course we would want the restaurant to survive and we want the restaurant to be known. But I think most importantly is that just things are recorded and people knew that we were here and that we tried and we have our story. I just want that to be somewhere out there for our future's sake.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2582.97,2651.03"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/110","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e And the impact was huge. I mean, were you surprised when you saw the first all you can eat, other restaurants doing it? Were you surprised that they were also taking that idea as well?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2651.27,2661.31"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/111","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Kind of. A little bit. But it was so different from—I always associated it with a buffet style. So when those first started popping up, I thought, like, I didn't know if it would be as big. I didn't really associate it with what my uncle had started. At that time, the difference was kind of stark. But now that I look back on it, it was kind of like—when I was a kid in elementary school, or even like middle school, Korean culture was not very popular. I would tell people I'm from Korea and they would—obviously the jokes about North Korea would come out, but no one, you know, like Korea's standing on, especially Americans, weren't as big as it is now. And so I remember, I think around high school, I had this one friend who was Japanese American, and he would love kimchi. And I was like, how do you— just 5, 8 years ago when I would bring kimchi to school, it would not be well received, but now it's just shifted and just watching that, especially now. I think about how K-Pop Demon Hunters, that song has topped the Billboard charts. And I think this is crazy. I never would have thought the cultural impact that Koreans would ever have would be this massive. And so I guess that also kind of motivates me more to be like—I mean, that's what Korea is now, or Korean culture and the Korean American community is now. But before, things were very different. We were just too busy surviving, you know.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2667.59,2792.79"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/112","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, yeah, yeah. It is amazing that because really, it hasn't been that much time between now and the '80s, right, mid-'80s, when the really big waves of immigration happened and then the '90s rebuilding. It always really has astounded me just timeline wise, that not that much time has passed. Go ahead.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2793.59,2819.56"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/113","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e No, I was just gonna say it's literally like within my lifetime. Yeah,","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2820.12,2823.96"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/114","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e right.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2824.0,2824.52"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/115","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e And the second half of it, too. I think growing up in America, as an Asian American, you kind of feel like your immigrant side is not enough. And so it's only recently that I've kind of gotten in touch with my Korean side and really accepted it. Sorry, what were you going to say?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2825.16,2848.46"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/116","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Oh I was going to say—to be honest I don't remember.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2848.88,2852.96"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/117","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e I'm so sorry.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2854.48,2854.72"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/118","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e No, no it's okay.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2855.04,2855.88"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/119","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e But yeah it is, it is quite crazy to see, like, even amongst, you know, the Vietnamese community, I think it was it was massive when 'The Sympathizer' came out.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2857.44,2866.94"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/120","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2866.98,2867.38"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/121","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Just like a few years ago. And, you know, it's crazy having some Vietnamese diaspora friends who are finally, you know, getting the light they deserve on a lot of history that generation has lived through. And that's kind of like receiving some of the reverberations of that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2867.42,2891.7"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/122","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. I think so often, especially with immigrant stories, there is a tendency for only one type of narrative to dominate. That's definitely true of Vietnamese. Just one very specific type of narrative about it, it always goes back to the war. I feel like every single story about Vietnamese people goes back to the war. And that's why it's really exciting to see Vietnamese writers like like Viet, like Ocean Vuong. Being able to go outside that and finding success in talking outside those established, you know, two or three topics that for a while that seemed like the only thing anybody was ever interested in. So, when I think about Korean food and kimchi and, you know, even galbi and Korean barbecue, for a while, it just seemed that's what everybody knew in terms of the food, you know? Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2896.18,2948.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/123","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e But","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2948.0,2948.246"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/124","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e I don't know, I feel like your restaurant, a lot of the restaurants, there are so many other things on the menu and that those things are also starting to get a lot of attention too, which is really great.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2949.44,2960.36"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/125","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. I think the one that that really comes to mind when you when you said that was gopchang, like intestines, which I always found it a bit, you know, I never really liked it. But yeah, it's popular now.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2961.12,2974.66"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/126","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, that is funny. Also not my favorite, but I'm glad that it exists and that people are trying it and being open to it.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2979.66,2989.46"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/127","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. I think growing up in that environment. And I don't know about your background, but I feel like for me at least, you know, growing up in a restaurant, yeah, it has made me kind of a like a lifelong foodie. I see that in my family as well. All the cousins, we all love food and trying different places and seeing the concepts and the execution of it. I'm very thankful for that experience, and, yeah, food is such a big part of—at least Korean culture, food is such a big part of family, and showing love to family members is all related to food.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2992.54,3043.23"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/128","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, yeah. Do you think that your growing up in the restaurant really has affected the way you think about just restaurant culture generally? I mean, of course, I'm sure it has, but just in terms of the different trends, like things going in and out of fashion, do you have any sense of, like, 'Oh, this is definitely gonna be trendy?' Like when you see something, when you see people eating something, do you feel like you kind of have a sense of that, or do you feel like it's just, oh, sometimes a little hard to predict?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3044.07,3086.31"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/129","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e I think in general I have a sense of like, oh, I can see this catching on for sure. You know, I remember, back in high school, my friends and I went to—I grew up in South Pasadena.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3087.63,3109.01"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/130","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Okay.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3109.05,3109.49"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/131","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e And so, you know, we would go to this place, Doghaus.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3110.09,3117.405"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/132","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Oh, yeah. Doghaus. Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3118.05,3119.25"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/133","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Doghaus, massive. I remember when I first had, like, Blaze'd Pizza, I was like, oh, this is gonna be, you know, this is gonna be a massive chain. And so, yeah, it's kind of giving me that sense of like, oh, you know, this is really good. And the execution of it is good. I can see this growing. I think a trend that kind of caught on, I don't know if you brought this up to my uncle, but he does not like Dave's Hot Chicken. I","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3119.29,3150.49"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/134","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e know. Because it used to be in that plaza, right?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3151.45,3154.67"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/135","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, yeah. That one in the plaza was the first brick and mortar location, I believe. And so when Dave's first opened in like 2014, 2015, they would always get into fights, because they would cannibalize all the parking spaces. Everyone wanted to go to Dave's. And that left, you know, for other businesses in that plaza, for their customers to not be able to find parking. I know they just got like acquired by a private equity firm for like—","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3155.23,3184.544"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/136","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, a ridiculous amount of money. Yeah. I was going to ask you how that plaza has changed over time. When the restaurant first opened, do you remember your neighbors or what other stores were in the plaza?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3185.19,3201.99"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/137","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Oh, right where they have the Vim Thai right next door, there used to be two businesses. One was this Korean bakery where they had rice cakes.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3202.87,3215.33"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/138","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Okay.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3215.37,3215.77"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/139","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e And then the one next to that, kind of a little bit closer to the middle, it was this, like VCR shop or VHS shop. And what they would do was that they would—I don't know how they did this—but they would record all the Korean TV shows and dramas.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3216.53,3240.05"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/140","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e [laughing] I think every community has a VHS store where somehow someone's recording all the dramas, all the soap operas.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3240.37,3249.57"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/141","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e They would distribute it like, literally, that whole store was a wall of VHSes. Whenever every episode for a show dropped—our family, that's how we kept in touch with Korean culture. And our family used to love watching Korean shows, because we would go there, rent the VHS tape and watch it while we had that tape. I know that before this interview I wanted to mention that was kind of the vibe back then. Technology has changed so much and how we relate to media. But I wanted to mention, yeah, there was that bakery closer to the street side, that's been there since I think mid-2010s.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3250.29,3306.203"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/142","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Okay.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3306.7,3307.14"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/143","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e I want to say it's a Mexican bakery or, I don't know exactly if it's Central American. And then right between that bakery and my aunt's restaurant, there was—around that time when marijuana started to be legalized, there was a dispensary there. And so I remember telling my uncle, like, you should partner up with them, you know, get the munchies people to come into your restaurant. It's a great way to increase business. But Koreans have very strong views on marijuana, and so they were a bit skeptical about that. But yeah, that plaza has kind of changed, but it also hasn't.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3308.22,3353.2"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/144","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. It does sound as though that bakery has been there for a bit. How long was Dave's there? I don't remember.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3353.32,3362.04"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/145","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Dave's, I want to say it's been there now around like 10, 12 years. At the other end of that plaza where Dave's used to be, there used to be this water dispensing store run by also Korean immigrants.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3363.96,3382.64"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/146","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Okay.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3382.68,3383.16"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/147","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e So, you know, back then we would have those water towers or coolers, whatever you call it.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3383.48,3390.5"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/148","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3390.54,3390.9"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/149","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e And then you would have to bring that bottle. And so they would refill the water bottles there. I can't really remember any other businesses in that plaza that have stood out to me over the years. I know that dentist place and that tax place, or notary, has been there for a minute. And I know that there was like a smoke shop at the other corner that's been there probably a few years as well.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3391.1,3423.98"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/150","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, you're definitely the longest running business in that plaza. Or almost certainly?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3427.98,3433.323"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/151","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, I'm pretty certain. Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3434.86,3436.18"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/152","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Wow.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3436.62,3437.02"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/153","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e And yeah, even that area has changed a lot, too.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3438.7,3441.7"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/154","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, I was gonna ask about that, too. I know you mentioned, it was little seedy, a lot seedy perhap, when you were growing up there. How do you think it's changed since then?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3441.86,3450.76"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/155","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e I see a lot more like residential construction on Western now, it's kind of down the street from all the furniture stores?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3454.64,3465.461"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/156","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yes. Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3465.56,3466.56"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/157","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. That hasn't changed. I remember that plaza on Western and Santa Monica, there used to be this Hollywood Video store back when that was a thing. And then the Yoshinoya, which I would go to sometimes with my family. But I think that Burger King and that McDonald's place on Western is still standing. Maybe the Burger King might not be. But I know that McDonald's has been there since like, yeah, it's been like 30, 40 years almost.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3466.96,3505.745"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/158","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Wow.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3508.21,3508.61"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/159","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e I feel like there's been a lot more development around, like, Hollywood. And so that's kind of starting to move south. And then obviously, the development in Koreatown is starting to move a bit north. And so I feel like, it's kind of meeting in that area where my uncle's restaurant is. I think before, it was just a little bit more—it's not a part of town that people, a lot of people, would stop by. Maybe to drive through. Yeah,","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3510.29,3544.432"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/160","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e because Western is so busy. Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3544.432,3544.595"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/161","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e But I think slowly, yeah, a lot more people are—I mean, not enough places to live in LA. So they're always building new housing.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3544.595,3558.21"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/162","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. I guess my last question is—you sort of answered this before, but I guess I'll ask you more directly. What you hope the legacy of your family's restaurant will be?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3561.05,3582.236"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/163","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e I think it would be nice if the restaurant is—if it just survives, I think. I think that would be ideal. But I know the reality of it is a lot more complicated. Yeah, I just would want people to remember that story when they think of all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue. I would like my aunt to be associated with all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue. Because I think the reason, a major reason that restaurant survived this long was her. I'm sure my uncle went into what she was like, but yeah, she was just very, very warm, had this charisma around her, very, like, gentleness to her. She could be a bit, like, scary at times when, you know, we would misbehave.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3587.11,3653.33"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/164","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Sure.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3653.37,3653.85"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/165","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, she really was the heart of of that restaurant. And I think I would just want people to remember that was their legacy, both my aunt and my uncle. And how much they struggled to to just make it in America, and kind of a bit representative of the struggles of a lot of immigrants have had when moving to the US especially. I feel like now the immigrant experience can be a little bit different because, you know, with the internet, it's changed a lot of things of how, in some ways, how much easier, but how harder it is. But I think back then, they really had to rely on their network, rely on each other, communities from churches. Places like the restaurant was really how the immigrant community kind of retained their sense of identity in America. And so I would just want to kind of, you know, my uncle's restaurant to encapsulate that. Like, this is what what people had to do to survive and restaurants were a big part of it. And it wasn't easy, and sometimes they hated it. They regretted it at times. But, you know, it was one of those, you know, it was those shared spaces where people really, really connected and felt like home. So I want people to just remember those stories. That's the core of it.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3655.81,3757.32"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/166","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e That's lovely. I know I said that's my last question. Now I have a follow up question.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3757.72,3760.96"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/167","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e No, please feel free. I can talk about this as much as you want.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3762.0,3766.32"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/168","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e I just wanted to ask about your aunt, because I realized we didn't really talk too much about her. And I wanted to paint a picture, as you described her, and her personality. Do you know what she loved about the restaurant? Was there anything specific about it that she really connected with? Like, your uncle mentioned, she was really great with customers, and she was really such a great host and very hospitable.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3766.52,3791.32"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/169","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. I just think she really enjoyed people. She was just naturally curious about people and their lives and how they're doing. Can you repeat the question again?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3792.52,3807.42"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/170","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Oh, yeah. I was going to ask you if you know what she loves so much about the restaurant. Is there anything particularly specific?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3807.46,3815.86"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/171","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e I think it was just the customers. I think the customers and seeing familiar faces and catching up with them. When she passed, a lot of Korean Americans from the community showed up. And I think it kind of spoke to just how many immigrant lives that she touched and related to. So, yeah, it's probably just deep empathy for people and curiosity in their lives.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3816.78,3853.22"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/172","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Did she have any strong, particularly strong, opinions about food or about the way you eat barbecue? Do you remember any particular favorite ways of eating barbecue or any of her favorite dishes there?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3853.5,3866.8"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/173","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e I think I think she wanted to respect how people—and so she just wanted to be, like, however you want to eat. 'You do you' kind of thing.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3874.36,3889.16"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/174","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Nice. If she made you a plate, what would she put on it?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3890.84,3892.806"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/175","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. She never really did that. She was more just like, just take whatever you want and and eat as much, you know? That was kind of the way she showed her love, was just allowing you the freedom to choose. And I think that kind of reflects in how that restaurant has been run for such a long time, of just like, whatever you want, cook it however. Like, some people like their meat a little bit burnt. Some people like it a little bit more rare. And so it's just however you want to do it, just just leave full and leave happy.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3898.72,3942.82"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/176","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e That's sweet for sure.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3943.86,3946.9"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/177","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. Yeah. That was that was just her way of doing things. I guess your question made me think about, or has made me try to think about, ways that she would try to prepare me stuff. But yeah, it wasn't really like that. It was very much like, 'I know what you like,' which, you know, I like the galbi a lot, so she would just get me a plate of galbi, and just like, you know, 'have at it' kind of thing.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3947.46,3975.47"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/178","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e That's nice though. I like that. Because sometimes you do have relatives who, you know, they will insist that you eat a certain thing and that's how they show their love.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3975.83,3986.07"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/179","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Or a certain way. Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3986.07,3986.584"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/180","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. So, that's sweet. Do you know what she liked to eat on her day off? Or what she liked to do on her day off when she wasn't at the restaurant?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3986.584,3998.31"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/181","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e I mean, there were never days off at the restaurant.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3999.95,4002.99"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/182","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, I asked that question, and I realized, does she even have a day off?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=4003.11,4005.45"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/183","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. Which is a shame. I've always wanted her to have more vacation time. And I think, you know, that's kind of the regret, was that I couldn't have helped the restaurant in a way that would have allowed her to, you know, retire or just have some time like that. I know that on days when she didn't feel like eating Korean barbecue or any of the food there, I remember her ordering a lot of Pizza Hut. Yeah, I mean, I love Pizza Hut. And back when Pizza Hut was like a sit-down restaurant, with those, like, stained glass.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=4006.03,4048.89"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/184","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, with a little Pac-Man in the dining room. You can sit down and play.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=4049.85,4053.17"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/185","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAlex Park:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, she liked Pizza Hut. I'm trying to think of Korean foods that she enjoyed. Maybe the cold noodles.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=4054.97,4073.49"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/transcript/89728/annotation/186","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eTien Nguyen:\u003c/strong\u003e Th","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=4074.25,4074.73"}]},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Auto-generated Index (2025-11-07 19:11:39) [Index]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/187","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Family Background and Immigration Story","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=0.0,48.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/188","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The speaker introduces themselves and shares the story of their family's immigration from Seoul, Korea to Los Angeles in 1986. They describe their mother's interrupted college education, the family's initial struggles, and their move to Glendale. The narrative includes details about the family's early businesses in Koreatown, the importance of family gatherings, and the close-knit nature of their extended family.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=0.0,48.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/189","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The Plaza and Neighborhood Changes","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=48.0,180.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/190","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The conversation shifts to the businesses in the plaza where the restaurant is located, including past and present neighbors such as bakeries, a VHS rental shop, a water dispenser store, and Dave's Hot Chicken. The speaker describes changes in the neighborhood, increased residential development, and the evolving character of the area. They note that their family's restaurant is likely the longest-running business in the plaza, highlighting its resilience amid ongoing change.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=48.0,180.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/191","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Early Family Businesses and the LA Riots","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=180.0,413.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/192","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The speaker recounts the family's ventures into small businesses, including swap meets and restaurants in Koreatown. They discuss the impact of the LA riots, including the destruction of their restaurant and the family's experience as 'rooftop Koreans' defending their property. The story also touches on family relationships, such as how the speaker's parents met, and the birth of many cousins during this tumultuous period.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=180.0,413.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/193","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Restaurant Origins and All-You-Can-Eat Korean Barbecue","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=413.0,495.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/194","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"After the riots, the family used FEMA funds to acquire a restaurant, which they transformed from a traditional Korean eatery into an all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue. The speaker explains that the concept was inspired by their family's style of communal eating and suggests that their uncle's restaurant may have pioneered the all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue model in LA. The chapter highlights the lack of authoritative sources on the origins of this dining style and the family's pride in their possible role as innovators.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=413.0,495.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/195","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Restaurant’s Heyday, Community, and Changing Business Landscape","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=495.0,633.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/196","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The speaker describes the restaurant's peak in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when it was a bustling hub for Korean families and businessmen. The restaurant served as a community gathering place, especially for those coming into Koreatown for church and groceries. Over time, competition increased as more all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue restaurants opened, leading to a decline in business and reflections on missed opportunities and the challenges of running a family business.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=495.0,633.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/197","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Personal Involvement, Loss, and Reflections on Legacy","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=633.0,1153.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/198","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The speaker shares their personal journey, including taking time off from college and becoming involved in the family restaurant by modernizing its online presence. The passing of their aunt in 2019 deeply affected them, leading to feelings of regret and a desire to honor her legacy. The restaurant holds significant emotional value, serving as a symbol of family, memory, and the struggles of immigrant life.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=633.0,1153.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/199","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Menu, Food Memories, and LA Galbi","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1153.0,1704.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/200","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The discussion turns to the restaurant's menu, with the speaker recalling that the offerings have remained largely unchanged since the 1990s. They share personal favorites, such as galbi, and discuss the unique flavor balance of their family's recipe. The conversation also delves into the origins of LA galbi, the differences in meat cuts, and the influence of LA's Korean community on food trends both locally and internationally.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1153.0,1704.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/201","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Clientele and Restaurant Culture Over Time","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1704.0,1761.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/202","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The speaker describes the restaurant's clientele over the years, noting that it was initially frequented by Korean families and businessmen, often in large groups. They discuss the do-it-yourself culture of Korean barbecue, the occasional involvement of servers, and how the clientele has diversified in recent years to include more non-Korean and younger customers, particularly from the Hispanic community. The chapter highlights the evolving demographics and cultural practices surrounding Korean barbecue dining.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1704.0,1761.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/203","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Changes in Branding, Decor, and Nostalgia","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1761.0,2073.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/204","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The speaker discusses changes in the restaurant's branding, such as the shift from 'buffet' to 'all you can eat' signage in response to market trends and competition. They reflect on debates within the family about modernizing the decor versus preserving its nostalgic atmosphere. Ultimately, the decision to maintain the original look is seen as a way to honor the restaurant's history and appeal to customers' sense of nostalgia.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=1761.0,2073.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/205","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Popular Dishes and Underrated Menu Items","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2073.0,2290.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/206","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The speaker identifies the most popular dishes at the restaurant, including galbi, brisket, pork bulgogi, and honey sesame chicken wings. They note that these classics are consistently favored by customers, while also mentioning that soups and cold rice soup are underrated but delicious options. The chapter includes anecdotes about personal and customer experiences with the food, emphasizing the enduring appeal of traditional Korean barbecue dishes.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2073.0,2290.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/207","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Restaurant’s Place in LA Food Scene and Longevity","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2290.0,2651.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/208","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The speaker reflects on the challenges of promoting the restaurant in a crowded food scene and expresses pride in its longevity. They acknowledge the difficulty of running a restaurant for decades and the significance of their family's establishment as a longstanding part of LA's culinary landscape. The conversation touches on aspirations for greater recognition and the importance of documenting the restaurant's story for future generations.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2290.0,2651.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/209","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Reflections on Cultural Impact and Changing Perceptions","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2651.0,3572.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/210","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The speaker discusses the broader cultural impact of Korean food and the changing perceptions of Korean and Vietnamese culture in America. They recall how Korean cuisine and identity were once marginalized but have since gained mainstream popularity. The importance of documenting immigrant stories and preserving cultural legacies is emphasized, especially as older generations retire and businesses close.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=2651.0,3572.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/211","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Hopes for Legacy and Remembering the Aunt","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3572.0,4088.42667"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536/index/90799/annotation/212","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The speaker expresses hopes that the restaurant will be remembered for its role in the immigrant experience and as a community hub. They emphasize the importance of their aunt's legacy, describing her as the heart of the restaurant, known for her warmth, empathy, and hospitality. The chapter includes reflections on her approach to customer service, her favorite foods, and the sacrifices she made, underscoring the personal and cultural significance of the restaurant to the family and community.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2367/collection_resources/166236/file/302536#t=3572.0,4088.42667"}]}]}]}