♪ ♪ ♪ a and this lilife mighght eventualally ♪ ♪ just be t the end of f me ♪ ♪ wilill i still l be with yo♪ ♪ mm ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ thehen get in n next to me♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ j just keep d drivin' ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ b because of f you i beenen a♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ and t the buick's's a centur♪ ♪ a ' '73 like yoyou ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ somome strange e religion ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ and thehe buick's a a centur♪ ♪ a ' '73 like yoyou ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ some strarange religigion ♪ ♪ ♪

>> bourdain: for korean- americans, according to the stereotype anyway, it used to be that you grew up to be a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer. there were a specific set of rules and expectations. >> are youou asking meme to be in a poporno? is thahat what youou're asking? >> thanknks to some remarkablyly bad korereans, thougugh, things arere beginning to o cha. >> i wenent to one y year of law schohool and i w walked out. >> so yoyou're a badad korean. >> yeah, i i'm a bad k korean. > any finalal advice fofor sy who's s actually a about to mama korean womoman? >> t the answer:r: don't do o i. ♪ ♪

>> choi: allll i knew was ththat this totown was goining down, and no onene was showiwing up. and d so we as k koreans figured d that out r really qui. there's s a point whwhere you ai look a at each otherer and say.. >> bourdrdain: they'y're not co. >> they'rere not comining, tony. yoyou know? lilike, it's y you . >> right. . right. thehe choppes will n not be herere anytime s. >> [laughshs] you knowow? mean, , so that's s when all t e stuff stararted to go down.. >> roy y choi is aa sesecond-genereration korerean americanan. hehe lives in n los angeleles. he's t the owner/o/operator ofof fofour groundbdbreaking anand mh loveved food trurucks, amongng e

fifirst to hararness the s strae and teterrible powowers of socol medidia to alertrt customersrs o wherere to find d delicious s f. >> this s was the cocommand pos. from here,e, you know,w, you cd lookok, and you u could see e is werere going on.n. >> when the l los angeleses rios happeneded in 1992,, roy wawas 22 yearsrs old. and this p plaza's rooooftop pld a central l role for k koreans defefending theieir town. but t let's backck up a bit.t. begagan arrivingng in l.a. the firsrst to arrivive were mostly mididdle-class, collllege-educatated, hoping to o make a latateral moe into a american sosociety. but ununless you h had a medicil oror engineeriring degree,e, that t turned out t to be tougu. theyey found worork as merchcha, store owowners, opopened liquouor stores,, groceries,s, massage ststudios, dry clcleaners. they didid that in a an area tht was, as itit's called,d, underserved.d. where e major chaiains

feared to o tread, whehere others p preferred t to abandon, kokoreans moveved in. so, 199292. are on tririal for whahat sure s hell looked to me like a wildly excessive and prolonged beating of an ununarmed rodndney king. in april of that year, they were acquitted. for african americans, it was s a somewhatat ruder suru. to s say people e were angryrd bebe an undersrstatement.. >> manan: they donon't represese pepeople no more.. >> south c central is s that wa. so, you u could almomost feel it like a a tidal wavave coming.. >> ththe l.a.p.d.d. were compmpy unpreparared for whahat happened next. >> e everything g you see ririgt here, , all this, , was beingg looted. chairs a and rocks a and everytg being g thrown thrhrough wallsl. if youou go straigight down western,n, on venicece, ththe whole plplaza burneded on. we were e calling 91911 and there e was no resesponse. >> did c cops come a at all?

>> i was h here all ththree day. i didndn't see anyny cops. >> well,l, where didid they setp their fronont line? >> rodeo d drive. >> wherere did the e forces of w and d order set t up their perimeteter? not herere. koreatowown was leftft to its owown devices. the official bordeders are third street on the north end, olympic boulevard to the south, vermont avenue on the east, and western avenue to the west. that's three square miles left pretty much to burn or fend for itself. this rooooftop quickckly became t the commandnd post forr rapidly improvisised koreann defefense forceses. they armed themselves, set up crude but effective cocommand and d control commmmunication,n, and patrolols. >> w we weren't t going arouount slslugging andnd-and cappiping . all thatat was happepening was,, "just dodon't break k down my store.e." makiking sure ouour parents,s, our ununcles, our r families,, these e stores, ththis town, ststays alive.e.

>> 58 pepeople were e killed. onlyly a quarterer of koreanad businesses survived, either destroyed outright during the riots or abandoned afterwards by owners who felt the entire underpinning of their contract with america had shifted. yet today, koreatown is bigger anand better a and forerever changeged by whatt happenened in 199292. dodong il jangng, however,r, is as ununwaveringlyly old schol roy kim, whose grandfather openeded the placece in 1978.. like most t korean resestaurants atat the time,e, you u didn't mesess with thehe original, , ever. and likeke most korerean fathern rerelationshipips, you obeyeyed dad's w wishes no m matter whatat. > my fatherer put all t this, you knowow, redwood d in, and all l this cherrrry anand all thisis. but, to o this day,, i can't totouch certaiain ththings here.e. > choi: i c can see he e doet let t you changege the unifofors eithther. > uh, no. >> yeah.h. [laughter]

> kim: wellll, he stillll cos the e restaurantnt. >> choi:i: you just t do the wo. > i just dodo the work.k. [lauaughter] as s a korean,, he knows.. > we startrt with boncnchon, all ththose delicicious littlele a spspicy squid d snack or t tw. no bononchon? no m meal. > and you k know what t this rerestaurant h has that a a lotf restaurarants are gogoing away ? is the, , um-- isis the chairir-less roomoms. > you don't't do the-ththe ft ununder? knees s forward, f feet under?r? >> all thehe-the tea c ceremoni. > straight t ahead? oh, nono can do. >> thahat was puninishment for korereans. >> yeaeah. > that's a a punishmentnt. and d with the b book over y yor head. >> o oh, for houours. >> w what would d a crime bebe? whwhat got youou into thatat, u, positionon? >> yeah, i m mean, it cocould be asas-as minimamal as a 94 4 on e test.. >> koreanan parents?? well, lelet's just say they veerer towards t the strict.t. momsms and dads s were not,t, shall we e say, conflflid abouout corporalal punishmenent. >> b bourdain: i i love thatat u >> oh,h, this is t the roast g . thisis is what w we're knownwn-- it's thinlnly sliced r rib-eye, marbled d rib-eye.

>> bouourdain: oh,h, it's beaua. roast t gui. ththin-sliced d rib-eye. and d bulgogi. thinly-sliliced, fat-m-marbled bebeef, barbececued table-e-sid. >> f for us korereans, it's s kf funny y that barbebecue has bee the gagateway to o our food, t . > hey, it c could be woworse. >> at t least it's's deliciousu. >> i it's delicicious and wewe'e like, "okakay, this isis the- this is s the portalal." we're cocool with ththat. >> then therere's kimchi bubulgi bokkeueumbap. basisically kimcmchi fried r ri. but it fries intnto the pann like p paella. soso many greaeat rice disishes whwhere that o outer layerer of crispypy stuff is s just the . > the tableleside cookiking. i i think peopople overlook that a l lot. you knknow, this is s like crepepes suzette, fifilleting a a dover solele. >> b bourdain: o oh man, thahatt ridiculoususly delicioious. will youou be doing g this in 20 yeaears? >> it wowon't change. if we e did changege tonight,, i woululd get a cocomplaint. >> chohoi: and youou'd have to k to youour dad. >> oh, y yeah. [laughter]r] > kim: thatat's-that's s a p.

>> what t do you do o if you'rea locavorere in l.a.?? you u look arounund. whatat's local a and delicioiou, artisananal and auththentic, and as i iconically y l.a. asas it gets?? if y you're roy y choi, yoyou see tacocos. and with kogi truck, roy chchoi broughtht one of thte fifirst great mutation mash-h-us of k korean and d mexican toto the e people. whwhat starteded as one trtruck became fouour trucks a and three e brick-and-d-mortar restauaurants to g go with theh. >> choi: f for me, kogogi was as one trucuck in my mimind. but t then the l lines got b bi, you know?? and itit evolved.. >> hohola, herlrlindo. [ [ speaking s spanish ] >> roy y trained atat the cuculinary insnstitute of f amea and inteterned at lele bernardin in newew york cityty. hehe runs his s trucks likike yd expect o of someone e with thatt backgrouound. >> choi:i: within ouour food mea landscape,e, we've romomanticizd certrtain composositions off what a great chef f and a-and-d-and a greaeat kitchenn

arare supposeded to look a and smell and d feel like.e. but jujust because t those are bebeautiful dodoesn't meanan tht this is nonot beautifuful. for r me, i don'n't see muststad plants a and sheep g grazing. i see babarbed wire e and telephonone poles, and i i see puddleles. and, youou know, allll of that s stuff contrtribute to t e flflavor of ththe food. so, , it's trulyly what i cacall a teterroir, youou know, uh,h, a regiononal food. okayay, gracias.s. [spepeaking spananish] and they'r're off. >> everyry lunch shihift and d every evenening, ththe trucks' ' locationss are sesent out ovever twitter.r. the e locations s change evever. and pepeople flockck quickly to f find them,, as the linines can getet long. very l long. i took a r run with roroy as he mamade his nigightly roundnds. >> b bourdain: s so, how oftfteo you makeke the full l circuit between alall of your,r, uh, various s enterpriseses? >> choi:i: twice a d day, every,

unless i'm'm doing somomething y lilike this. so i it's kind o of like i h hae a-a hugege las vegasas hotel, but the hahallways arere the ststreets. [ chucklkles ] >> first stopop: chego, a a rice bowl l place in t the palms neighborhood. >> chohoi: these a are my guysys righght here. hohola! [whiststles] > hey, chefef. [ speakingng spanish ] ] >> bourdaiain: kimchi i spam, clclassic. >> chohoi: yeah, t this is thehu right hehere. >> a big g bowl of ririce with , vegegetables, anand lots of f f, for less t than 10 bucucks. good d deal. > bourdain:n: but it's s funy to hear yoyou're so sesentimentl abouout the busisiness of feeding g people. >> chohoi: it's a a trippy statf romanticicism, lilike i'm verery hard-assssed. like, yoyou pack youour own shi. yoyou get what y you get. if you comomplain, i t take the food out of yourur hands. i i give you y your money y bac. but wiwithin thosese rules, ththere's a lolot of love,e, and ththere's-therere's a lott of c care.

>> acacross town n in venice e s a-a-frame, roy'y's first brbrick-and-momor. >> choi: t this used t to be an ihop, , so everyththing's-- >> bouourdain: oh,h, yeah? > choi: yeaeah, everyththings really n narrow. >> bourdaiain: ah, henence the, uh, the shape. cookoking, not t that you'dd necessararily noticece. every y dish desigigned to b be eaten wiwith the hanand. whatat's good? the babyby back ribsbs are air-r-dried, braraised, then breadaded and friried. leanan cod tacosos treated l lie shawarma.. beer can crackckling chickcken: it's bririned, rotisisseried, then air-d-dried likee peking d duck, then n fried. memeanwhile, n not too farar aw, onon sawtelle,e, a a kogi truckck pulls up,p, stops, reveverses backck to the corner. before thehe awning isis even u, there's s already a a line. hungngry people e have been n wg in carars or arounund the cornrr ever sinince the twiwitter announuncement 30 0 minutes aga. >> choi: yeah,h, this is j just. > i feel guguilty. i'm jumpining the linene, right? wow. what't's the longngest line you'veve ever had d at one of fe

things?? > 600. >> 600 peoeople for onone truck? >> yeah. > the kogigi taco: corn tortitilla, salsasa roja, a chilili-soy vinanaigrette. >> o oh, yeah. >> c choi: the-t-the rep foror i is that t we go evererywhere. wewe go to evevery single e corr ofof the countnty and the e cit. wewe're not jujust going t to te hihip areas. > what abouout fantastitical- uhuh, what abobout bel airir? cacan you pullll up, like,e, on a a corner inin a residenentl area in bel aiair? > yeah, yeah. we e go. do you getet rousted?? or.....? >> no, n no, they cocome out ine versace e robe and, uh.. > that i gogotta see. >> yeah, y yeah. [laugughter] beverly hihills, bevererly hill, uh, luncnch is crazyzy. >> why shouldld you be exexcited ababout food t trucks? because ththey allow creativee chchefs like r roy, wiwithout a lolot of moneyey, to s start creatating and selllling their r stuff, introducining themselves to the worlrld, without hahaving to gather u up

a mimillion dollllars or credulous s partners.. and d they're afaffordable. they're e democraticic. and ththey are fasaster, bettet, anand infinitetely preferarableo fast f food like t the king anand the clown n and the coc.

>> bobourdain: ststereotypingng? cocoming-- look, hohow do i putut this? gogood korean n kids grow w up

to be doctors, lawyers, or engineers,s, goes thehe story. american and you j just didn't g give a---?? whatat if you lolooked arounund, askeked yourselflf, "whoho am i? whwho am i supposed d to be? where dodo i fit in n society?"" anand were unsnsatisfied w withe answerers you werere getting?? what if yoyou were an n insanely talented a artist and d a small ststartup compmpany calleded fak askeked you to d do some murun ththeir officeces, and ththey paid yoyou in stockc, and you u became rididiculouslyy wealthyy and yoyou still dididn't givee a ---? well, , then, you u might be dadavid choe.. >> h hi. i'm davave choe. be l like me. >> bourdaiain: is that an ak

> choe: thahat is an akak-47 pipiñata. > wow. >> so, i i mean, thihis place in downtown l.a.,., so i try y to e as manany weapons,s, like, hidin throughout.. i got ninjnja swords and ninjnja stars anand stuff. >> you n need.you neneed a pupp, man. [lauaughs] >> you neeeed a puppy.y. i do n need a puppppy. [laughsh] >> i'm g going to papaint you t. is that cocool? >> yeah, s sure. >> allll right, soso, just siti. >> sit? >> rigight there. . and. sorryr. dodon't usualllly paint ththisy in thehe morning. okayay. i'm going g to go morere expressisionistic, ifif you don't't mind. > bourdain:n: i want toto kn- you wewere on recocord, you sai, you know, , uh, young g people, uh, lookoking to folollow your road t to success,s, your advicice is, whatatever yo, don't dadate a koreaean girl. >> o oh, okay. i trtry to be opopen-mindedd about thinings, right?t? but, w well, i'm racisist. you know, uh, , for me, i'i've given i it a sh-shohot.

and thenen i end up p in a situatioion where i i feel likee i'i'm dating m my mom. > so, what t characteriristi, in comommon were-w-were-were-w-- >> chohoe: overbeaearing. >> bouourdain: oveverbearing.. >> uh,h, jealous. . unreasonabl. like, , [laughs] unrerealistic ababout life.. demandining. like, i it's-- i i mean, i cocould go on n and. but alsoso, the men,n, too. lilike, if youou're a womaman, i i wouldn't n never recomommend datingng a korean n guy. fofor the very fewew women outut ththere that a are into asasian, if you arere going to o go that roroute, defininitely go c chin. yeahah, come cheheck it out.t. >> oh, y yeah. whoa, awawesome. >> [laugughs] >> bouourdain: wowow. >> choe: i i don't know; what d do you thinink? >> bourdaiain: dude. i i'm hono. > i've nevever had my y portt done b before. >> b bourdain: t thank you, , m. >> choe: h hey, man. you'rere welcome.. >> and ththis shit gogoing to be wortrth some mononey on ebayay for susure.

> choe: nowow i'm defininitey ready y for sizzleler. >> bouourdain: nice.e. >> stananding tall l and promint amongst ththe many asisian and centntral americican restaururas in thehe communityty, one e place holdlds an unexpxpey cherished d position i in the cocollective m memories ofof may second-g-generation n korean americicans. i amam personalllly unfamililiar with t the sizzlerer brand. oh, i knowow it by namame, but never r have i mananaged to actually cross itsts doors. > choe: aftfter you. >> bourdaiain: oh, thahank you. wow. >> howow are you d doing todaya? >> i'm'm doing gooood, thank y . how about t yourself?? >> i'm d doing fantatastic. i got mymy sizzler o outfit on.. so, here's's the thingng. you cacan get, likike, a steakd ththen add thehe salad barar wi. >> r right. >> you getet the best t bang for your b buck. or y you can jusust get > i'm gonnana have a lilittlt ofof steak. >> i i am gonna a go tradititiod just get j just the sasalad bar. > and just the e salad bar r. >> yeah.h. thank youou.

>> you canan have a seseat ananywhere you like. >> tererrific. thanks. >> bourdain: excelellent. oh, yeah. poururing for yoyour elders.s. oh, , now you'rere getting a all kokorean on meme. >> yeah. s super embararrassed t nonow, becausese we're in n korn and i'm tataking you t to eat at sisizzler, whihich, for a lot of koreans, i is the bestst food in korereatown. um.m. >> so, if f you were e eating non-kokorean, thisis was it? > we never r ate out, e ever. and d if we did,d, it wasas mcdonald'd's. and if it was a a birthday and a a special cecelebration,n, you wantnted to kickck it up a notch h and go a l little bitt more s special, then it wawas sizzler.r. >> this i is a judgmement-free , where therere are no m mistakes, a world d to explorere incongs combinatations withohout shame or guilt,, free of f criticism m from snarkokologists, bebecause therere are no snarkolologists at s sizzler. ninice nacho, , taco saladad. h. > bourdain:n: right. >> allll the stuff for t the. >> b bourdain: p pasta. >> pastata, spaghetttti, whatev.

ththe move is s you get a hard o shell anand you put t meatballn it. thisis is italiaian/mexicann dining, anand you makeke a meatl tataco. and ththere's nowhwhere in the w world wherere you can e ththis. you puput three memeatbn the e taco, someme guacamolele,d then y you put allll this nachco cheese, alall this other stufff. >> bouourdain: oh,h, i-i knoww whatat i'm doingng. i'm m going for r the full s sof ththe border e experience e her. >> choe:e: all rightht. well, , there you u go. >> b bourdain: o oh, no, no.o. i'm not kikidding arouound here. oh, yeyeah, now wewe're talkini, my frienend. >> choe:e: it's a lilittle bit r than i rememember. there e it is. that's's the best t bread ththat you canan get, so youou tell me i if you likek. > oh, now, , wait a mininute. are you sasaying that the cheese t toast is complimement? >> it's complilimentary. and ononce we founund that outu, we would o order stackcks of it. so, it w was our favavorite part of sizzlerer. and we werere like, "w"we need o figure o out how to o manufactue ththis at homeme." >> so,o, were you u good sizzlzr customomers, your r family? do you thihink they wewere happy to see youou when you u come in? i meanan.

>> u um. > i love ththis dish, man. when i g go back, i i might have to have a a meatball t taco. > um, so, w we didn't w we, , gooched d the system a littltle, but not t like complpletely abd itit. there woululd be the g guilt asassociated w with we nevever t out, bubut now we'r're going ouout to eat, s so you betttter ... eata. yoyou got to p put down atat least ththree plateses. soso, what'd y you think o of ththe bread? >> it't's deliciouous. > choe: yeaeah. it's ththe b. >> o oh, i totalally get whyhy s would bebe a wonderlrland. >> yeah, e everything'g's really gogood. >> for youou, sizzler,r, a happy plplace, stillll. > choe: lotots of memorories. it's satatisfying. wewe need morere of this cheese breread. [laughghs]

> somethingng dave choeoe and roroy choi havave in commomon is that thehey may be koreaean americanan, but theyey are alsoo very much creatutures of l.a.a. and what i is l.a.? l.l.a. is mexixican, centraral americanan, filipipino, vietnanamese, thaia, samomoan, banglaladeshi. everybybody who's s left theirik continues s to shape t the town, determine e its characacter. k-town e exists righght upside its latinono neighborsrs, and i guguess it's n natural thahh choeoe and choii identifyfy very muchch with mexexican streeeet culture. few thinings embody y that partrticularly s southern californrnia latino o street photographpher.

>> oriol: : go on the e other se ofof that polele. chroninicler of eveverything iciconic at ththe crossroaoads f hip-hohop, design,n, tattooingn, fashion,n, and low-r-riding. > oriol: ththe old timemers, they usesed to cut t the coils r put t bricks or r sandbags i inr trununk to make e them lowerer. anand then aroround the '7'70s n it g got popularar. >> bourdrdain: why t these particularar models ofof cars? >> o oriol: it's's pretty mumuch alalways been,n, uh, late e '50, all the waway through h the '60, and d into the '70s. and ththen the '8080s came up.p. ththey starteded bringing g in e cadillacs s and the reregals. the most c classic, wewell-knowr for lolow-riding p probably isis the e '64 impalala. >> b bourdain: h how many kokorn low-ririders are t there? >> therere's a few a asian oness sprinknkled in thehe other clul. > more asiaians, more more k koreans than 15 5 years ago? wewe're seeingng a crossovover h the fofood. >> choi:i: right. >> uh-h-- >> f for the mosost part, thinings are statarting to g get

a a lot more o open. if youou're askingng, i thinkk ththere's goining to be a a loe asian/n/hispanic m mixed babieis comiming up in t the future.e. [laughter]r] >> i ain't't mad at that.. [lauaughter] >> ideal low-w-riding, is about g getting appppreciatey the peoplele who best t appree ththe traditioions and tecech, the getttting it rigight. for thatat, you headad to east . >> oriol: : the most f famous, nototorious strereet in l.a.a. , uhuh, whittierer boulevardrd, because ofof the histotory of i. and d then crensnshaw boulevevad soututh central.l. >> s so, that's s gonna be y yor most criritical audidience? anand, uh, mo-o- and at ththe sasame most apappreciativeve? >> y yeah, the o ones that y yot to seeee your car,r, you know?w? >> it's's a slow-movingng piecef arart. and youou treat thehe cae a a piece of a art, acutelely ae ofof the dangegers: cops,, for whom y you are a t target; potholes;; other carsrs. in east t l.a., you sesee people o ooh and ah.h. you see exexpressions chchange frfrom, "who t the ... is s tha"

toto, "nice ride." > oriol: ththat was, lilike, a a full-fledgdged gang memembe. > bourdain:n: yeah. >> youou know, giviving us, lil, prprops, givining us respepect, yoyou know? firsrst you builild a car fofor yourseself. but t at the samame time youou'e buildiding it for r the streete, yoyou know? you're buiuilding it f for the people.. you wawant them toto appreciata. > within t the bordersrs of koreatowown, itit's not jusust koreans.s. therere are new w arrivals e evy day. ththere is, inin fact, anan official l little bananglah righght in the m middle of k-. >> bourdain: oh, man, this is all so.. >> it t smells so o good in heh. > uh, yeah,h, this is g going to worork. so you'r're not shorort of opts arouound here. >> nah. . you can get tacoss acacross the s street, koreanan bibimbap p right nextx, and d then get goat stewew. yoyou can prayay to mohammmmed or buddha.a. >> a tinyny mosque nenext door e services a are held fifive tia daday.

>> bourdain: j just talkining ta "thihis is the f first little b bangladesh h in ameri" >> yeah. anand that jusust happeneded, l, two yeyears ago. lilike, we wenent to sleepep, we wokoke up, and it w was little e banglades. [laughter]r] >> here at sasawada, step rigigt in to o some curried goat,t, samomosas, tatandoori chihicken. ohoh, yeah, anand this: lahohori fish cucurry, with no smalall amount of chilieses. >> bourdrdain: it's s such frag, aromatic, delilicious foodod. >> choi: this s is really y goo. >> w what good f food are yoyouy to f find withinin the confifif koreatowown? >> w we have el l salvadoranan d guatatemalan allll around. korereans all ththroughout.. pakistanani and bangngladesh f. yeahah, oaxaca t takes over r al of eighth h street. >> why oaxaxaca? just t that's e waway it workeked out? > mm hmm. well, yoyou know howow it goes.. >> yeah.h. >> o one guy shohowed up. >> y yeah. >> filipinino fast fooood just behind us.s. >> m mm hmm. >> and t then a buncnch of riff-raffsfs in between. >> yeah. w well, filipipinos oua be very y proud of t their food. >> mm hmhmm. > underreprpresented.

>> i t think they'y're going t h kind of what w we went thrhroug, where e the glass s hasn't beeen broken yetet to-to traranslate t but still l keep the c core andl ofof it. but it tasastes delicicious. >> a a few blocksks over, the icononic filipinino fast fod chain jollibeeee's. lalaugh all yoyou want, but ask anany filipinono. they love e this driveve-through mumutation for specialalties lie this friried spam sandwichch th. bubut it's thehe desserts s whee it gets s really crarazy. > bourdain:n: decisionsns, dedecisions. >> c choi: [laugughs] here w we. uh, , we'll takeke one alohaha r and thenen one spamm littttle big bitite. > all rightht. anything elsl? >> uh, let's's do a halolo halod that's it.t. all rightht. >> o oh, look atat that. what i is what- whwhat is thata? >> that't's a halo h halo. >> oh, , yeah, halolo halo. didig deep andnd you hit d des stratatas of red beaeans, whitite beans, a and chickpepea, cucubes of red and grereen je, young g white cococonut, shaved i ice- and isis that fla? it makeses no goddamamn sense atat all. i lolove it.

> choi: part of evevery pinoy filipino's's life, halalo halo. >> bourdaiain: nutsy, , man. i t to t take a pictcture of thahat. itit's oddly b beautiful.. alall right. >> allll right. >> youou know i'm m getting a ae of thahat little w what is it?t? a little.. >> i it's a littttle big bite. > little bibig bite. > favorite e thing in t the . >> no, donon't say thahat. [laughter] ththat's actuaually-- i like t that. >> it's s good, righght? > aloha. i i mean, it j justs magigical. isis there, lilike, pineapple e in there o or somet? yes. henence the "alaloha." that's a a very taststy burger.. ninice char. >> asian f fast food.. it's fast t food, but t it's made e by like itit was just a a single family o owned restataurant. > what famimily made ththis? >> yeah, m maybe. [laughter] maybe-maybybe not yourur family. >> bouourdain: thehe jetsons.. you u know? > you like e it? >> i it's actualally very tatas. > [chuckles] evevery singlelg you likeke here. >> wow. . there's soso much i dt know. >> [chucuckles]

>> [ s speaking kokorean ] >> it's s true, dad.d. wewe all look k the same.. >> mom: [l[laughs] i l love it. [laughghs] > he may bebe a korean n gon,

but dave c choe still l tries, best he cacan, to be a a good. he bouought them t this house en los fefeliz and vivisits for f y meals s often. in fact,t, when we f first met,, mealal, he invitited me to dinner witith them. so, gueststs are not u unusual. jane choho is an amamazing cook. > it's goining to be vevery dedelicious. > choe: momom? dad? >> dad: [ [ speaking k korean ] >> look k who's herere. >> dad: [c[chuckles] h hello. > can you s smell sometethin? >> b bourdain: o oh, yeah. >> mom: yeyeah. >> bourdaiain: good ststuff. >> momom: yeah, alall the goodod stufuff's comingng. maybe somemebody goingng to hire lalater. [laugughs] >> bourdrdain: okay,y, which ons arare you? >> choe:e: [laughs] > bourdain:n: are you t the ? >> i'm t the middle.e. i'm the suicididal pirate.e. >> bouourdain: oh,h, already s s of troububle appear.r. > choe: [lalaughs] my o older brothther is the hip-p-hop santa,a, and my--- he was thehe oldest. >> bouourdain: rigight. >> chohoe: he'd bebeat me up.. i'd beatat him up. and then h he would jujust cry.

i'll show w you my dadad's pain. hey, d dad? >> dad: : yeah? >> choe:e: hey, comeme over herr a second.. when d did you paiaint this, d ? 30 years a ago? > dad: uh, , '73. 1973. >> evevery christmtmas, he unrolls it, um,m, and just,t, lilike, scotch tapapes it to t e wawall. >> dad: : [chuckles]s] >> a and my mom'm's the artitisn the fafamily now.. >> so, t this is a f family of artiststs. > [chuckleses] >> ththe choe's a are devoutt chriristians, whwhich is notot l inin the koreaean communitity. but they a are unusualal in that ththey're bothth artists o of a. jane treatats the housuse like n onongoing art t project, drdrawing sungnglasses on famamily picturures, ststapling angngels to davave's papaintings ththat have huhung in t the white h house, getting crcrazy with t the glue, adororning wreataths with hahapl totoys, stickeker-bombing g the kitchen n with birdsds, cows, spaceshihips piloteded byby her threeee boys. she is r relentlesslsly, enerergetically,y, and inargrguy creativeve. >> she brarainwashed m me. from thehe time we w were kids,, she'd-she e was like,, "you'r're the bestst artist inin the e world. you're t the best arartist in the woworld." >> momom: you are.e. >> o oh, thanks.s. [lauaughter]

but t now she's s telling meme she'e's going to b be the bestst arartist in ththe world. so, shshe's very c competitivev. she sasaid she's g gonna destrt. >> m mom: awesomome. [laughteter] >> foodod is ready.y. > choe: so,o, do you wawant o exexplain whatat everythining i? >> the f food i prepepared tonit is a a very commmmon korean n f. ....whicich is a beeeef ribs, uhuh, stew. > choe: thehe kimchi's s loog fresh.h. > mom: yeahah, the kimcmchi's fresh. >> dad: : today is, , uh, chestnut r rice. >> momom: no one h has this kikf rice. >> choe: i it's a spececial ric. >> mom: : special ririce for to, you know.. >> choe: a and then ststuffed peppers.s. > mom: oh, , that's davavid's favorite.. >> chunung po mook:k: seawaweed and jejellied mungn. japchae:e: vermicelli i noodles with shihitake mushrhrooms anand vegetablbles. avocadado egg rolllls, fried s , and shshrimps. a few w mexican didishes sprid in as wewell. it is alalways a grereat meal,

i i can tell y you that. >> thahanks, mom.. thisis is delicicious. >> mom: : this is awawesome. [l[laughter] >> it is i indeed. thahank you. >> i i love it. . [laughs] >> duduring the r riots of '9'9, jim and jajane choe woworked as real estatate agents and propertyty managers.s. soso the destrtruction in n korn had a didirect impacact on their liveves. the chos w watched frorom home as the c chaos unfololded on tv. after the riots, jim choe wrote a letter to the editor that published in the l.a. times. while the cops let looters run wild and rape our city, theyey somehow h had time toto bother k korean shopop owners guarding t their stores. how can the owner of a business just sit back and watch his life be burned to the ground? >> david d would haveve a

didifferent reactionon. >> c choe: my brbrother stolole, and we w went into, , like, all the e neighborhohoods and ththen quicklyly realized d it , likeke, about rarace. it was jusust about pepeople stealing s stuff. and-d-but we werere out loototi. wewe were caususing chaos.s. and,d, you know,w, i don't ththink we gotot anything g goo. i i think i gogot a tv statand. >> was i it life-chahanging for? >> it't's like youou grow up a d you thinings are expxplained to. like, herere's the pololice. theyey're not dodoing anythihing ththey're supppposed to dodo. there's jujust, like, , normaln anand women ofof society j just, acting l like animalals. anand i was lilike, "oh, e everything g i've, lilike, been t taught and-d-and learned mymy whole lifife is jut disintegegrating befefore my ey" but, in n the end, w we're-you knknow, from g great disasastere great t things, riright? i memean, koreatatown burneded. but it's's like we o own l.a. . it's, lilike, half o of l.a. >> now i it's koreanan culture.. k-pop and d psy all ovover the d influence,e, you know?w? >> bourdrdain: the f filmmakers. >> all thehe-all the t top, uh, korean f filmmakers s are in hollywooood.

>> yeah. oh, y yeah. korean, uhuh, culture.e. >> c choe: [cleaears throat]t] whatat about me?e? >> yeah,h, you. >> bourdrdain: artists, righght. yeah, , right. yeaeah. > except yoyou. >> mom: sosorry. [laugughs] sorry, davavid. [laughghs] it's inincredible.. [laughter]r] >> choe: t today, i wewent intol ththe ways-- difffferent waysys you guys s ud ththe stress p positions, , lik, yoyou know. > yeah, butut what. >> all t the korean n punishmen. > what's reremarkable to o ms thatat every kidid. >> right. >> i meaean, all kororean kids.. >> yeaeah, all kororean kids.. >> thehe same posisition. holdining-you eithther hold a a. > mom: oh, yeyeah. that's's y we leaearn from the geneneration to o generatio. we don't't know why.y. > to take e a peek intnto thk heart of t the korean n psyche, maybe it h helps to geget famr with hanan. itit's a concecept that, for non-n-koreans, cacan be diffificult to fufully grgrasp. >> chohoe: all rigight. you u want it? h here we go.o. han denotetes a collecective feeleling of oppppression anand isololation in t the face ofof overwhelelming odds.s. it connotetes aspects s of lamet and ununavenged ininjustice. >> w wow. >> i in some occccasions,

anthropopologists hahave recognd han as c cultural-spspecific mel condition.n. somemeone who didies of han n i- >> mom: : right. >> c choe: is sasaid to haveve f [ [ korean ] >> mom: [c[corrects chcho in ko] >> [ [ korean ]] >> it't's a heartbtburn. it's a heaeartburn. >> bouourdain: wowow. i mean, ,- uh, it's's been descscribed to me in a waway that made e it sosound benigngn. that-this s is a burnining, uh, sense of i injustice, , besiege, and-and dedesire for r revenge. > choe: thehe han is ththe rn why, l like, we arare who we a . but itit's also ththe same reaen why i won'n't marry a a korean woman. >> [lalaughs] no. . you never r. >> c choe: no, i i know, momom. >> he's cucute.

>> main drag of k-town. anotheher mini malall among mam. kakaraoke? no.o. >> choe:e: this is t the best dumplingng spot in t town. my momom would jusust order alal ththese dumplilings and jujust,, leleave 'em onon my door, , 'ca, uh, shshe's not alallowed in my hououse. and ththen-- > [chuckleses] >> i j just said, , uh, "wherere you getttting these?e?" you u know, my m mom likes to witithhold infoformation. so, i fifinally got t it out of. > myung inin dumplingsgs, wherere they sererve a mix between n korean andnd chinese.. each p plate handmdmade to ordr, my f friends. opopened in 202007 on ololympic boululevard, it's's run by yuyu jin, a kokorean by waway of shenyang p province inin china. > choe: beeeen coming h herer about two o years now.w.

> bourdain:n: uh huh? >> thehere's no one everer in h. every titime i've evever come in-and, uhuh, i don't t undersd how theyey're open.. theyey're the best dumplplings e everer had. maybe pepeople just t get 'em t. >> right.. >> thehey all lookok like buttt, acactually. [l[laughs] but-- >> k kind of. yeyeah, pre-prpro. [lauaughter] >> wang mandudu. kiking dumplining. thicick dough, ststuffed to the g gills with h, kimcmchi, anand vegetablbles. prprecisely mamade, weigighed, and crcrimped. steamed until l soft. eat.t. >> b bourdain: wow. that's neaearly the sisize ofof your headad. > choe: yeah, you k know, it's l like pizza.a. i'll eat tm cold, too.o. >> b bourdain: r right. >> save twtwo and haveve 'em for dinnnner. > and mandndu. smalaller, with t thinner dumumpling skini. > choe: thohose are thehe det oneses. those got t red bean i in it. >> bourdrdain: oh, g god. wow. ohoh, these arare deliciouous. ththese are jujust, like, , so. >> chohoe: go for r it.

>> s so, would t this be classiy post-drinknking food o or pre-drininking food?d? >> [ [laughs] >> lay dowown a base o of ababsorbent mamaterial? > yeah, i m mean, therere's t of b bread here.e. but i've alry drank. i'm just, , uh, fallining under peer p pressure riright now. i'll b be one of t the cool gug, so. >> i like e this placece alread. good s signage. itit's importat. > yeah. thehe sign's awaweso. >> if thahat sign doeoes not sising to you,u, then we e cannot be e friends. >> chohoe: mari, h hi. > hi, davidid. how are e you? > this is m my uncle totony. this is s mari. >> b bourdain: h how you doioin? >> t this is, uhuh, harry kikim, akaka guam cruruise. here's m more koreanans right h. >> herere's more k koreans. > some fririends of chcho seem to o favor thisis place. they arere a thirstyty and didiverse buncnch. >> i i'm asking g everybody:y: streress positioion as a chihil? did you u have to dodo the, uh,, knknees forwarard? >> oh, [ [laughs] yoyou know abt this. >> it wentnt right intnto it.

streress positioions? >> oh, w we did thatat. > you did t that? see?? >> thehere's this.s. there's t , too. > the speeded with whicich ty assume t the positioion. >> [laughshs] > you had t to hold a b buckr your heaead with watater. >> bourdrdain: waterer? wow. what i if your armrms get tirer? >> they y make you d do it again another r 45 minuteses to an h, yoyou know? >> t the whole t thing is dodoit again.n. >> look, i'm m not koreanan. i'm m not asian.n. i'm a white e boy from t the suburb.. but i notiticed someththing ovover time inin my k-townwn adventure.e. similar r anecdotes,s, you might say.y. >> you k know, they'y've done ts quite a bibit. >> i was veryry aware thahat aly koreanan friends- - no matter rw creaeative or susuccessful-s-sem strangngely haunteted by somete. bubut i never r knew this.s. >> how do o you do it?t? it goes upup the ass l like thi, anand then-it't's like opepeninp a umbrbrella insidide someone.e. >> youou do this t to your frir? >> or r college. >> or r college. >> they y think it's h hilariouh other. > what the hell ththat's abo, i i can only g guess. >> c cheers -- >> cheheers. >> koreansns gone bad.d. [l[laughter] you'u're korean n now, officic. [laughter]r]

i'm a little anxious, i'm a little excited. i'm gonna be emotional, she's gonna be emotional, but it's gonna be so worth it. i love that i can give back to one of our customers. i hope you enjoy these amazing gifts. oh my goodness. oh, you guys. i know you like wrestling, so we got you some vip tickets. you have made an impact.

so have you. for you guys to be out here doing something like this, it restores a lot of faith in humanity. >> pretty much any korean you meet anywhere, yoyou can takeke it for grgrantd ththey like fofood, that thehey're passisionate abot food, paparticularlyly their , whicich of all t the immigrarant

cucuisines hasas probably y been messeded with the e least. unlilike many otother new ararr, koreans seseem to haveve been te most unwililling to acaccommodae western tastes, maybe that's why it took us so much time e to love ththe stuff. beverly y tofu housese, like s so many of f k-town's finer estatablishmentsts, isis tucked awaway in the e corr ofof a strip m mall. >> c choi: this is one of my favorite spots. this is s where i'veve been comingng for almosost 20 yearsr. this is a sosoup that's s just, like- itit's kind ofof korean, but its rereally more e l.a., and so.. >> s so this is s not a direrect trtransplant f from korea?a? > it becameme what we'r're at to have hehere in l.a.a. >> i interestingng. >> thehey're different bececausf the e ingredientnts we couldldnt find. >> rightht. > but neverer thinking g abot plpleasing thehe american n pal, just t to make oururselves hapa. >> soonondubu is ththe thing to. a fiery,y, tongue-sesearing, ass-burnining tofu sououp that'l make you f forget every bad thtg you u ever thougught about t to. a spicy, s spicy red b broth and tofufu are the b base. we're e talking sosoft tofu heh,

with t the texturere of, like, , burrata. frfrom there, , you got a a hanl ofof variationons. but the e most commomon is withh kimcmchi and a b bit of everery. beef, oyststers, mussesels, c. oh, , and tableseside? theyey crack an n egg in theher. >> wow. right t in there. . cool. that looksks completelely awes. well, , we- we betetter wait for this t to cool, i'm guesessing? [laughs] >> choi:i: yeah. [lalaughs] >> so, h how do we e eat this? we jusust spoon itit over ricec? spoon n it over ririce. mix itit in. >> m mm. that's s good. >> mm. yeyeah, all totofu should d be , byby my way ofof thinking.g. it's so gogood. >> choi: yeaeah. it's rereally . when nobobody was ininterested n now itit's confusisingly au courant.. mumust be strarange for the owo, who'veve just beenen doing whaht they've bebeen doing f for year. >> l like, for e example, lilik, us sititting here e like this,s, the e questions s a lot of p pee are asasking me inin korean, l, i'i'm telling g them we'rere fi, yoyou know, wewe're tryingng tw

a a piece of k koreatown.. the-e- the numbeber one questits theyey're not mamad oror vindictivive is, "whyhy?" it's stillll, "why?" like, why.y. >> why wouould we be i interest? >> why w would we bebe interest? why y would you u waste yourur? ththere's otheher things t to d. > it's an e extraordinarily bebeautiful anand deliciouous . > but, see,e, that's ththe t, isis the beaututy is just t alry a giveven. it's's already a a part of the fabric.. so i it's like, , you know,, whwhy congratutulate you?? yoyou know? ththere's no r reason to congraratulate youou, becacause this i is like whahat. >> thahat sounds a awful, honen. thatat sounds, l like, --- totalllly joy. >> i it's, like,e, totally j jo. >> chohoi: yeah. >> bouourdain: uh,h, what do y r you grow u up? >> f for me, a d doctor or l la. >> right. . you're obvbviously a dodoctor or a a lawyer. did you fifinish collelege? >> i i finished d college anandt to one yeaear of law s school and i wawalked out.. >> rightht. so, you're a a bad korean. >> yeah, i i'm a bad korean. if i wasas a mediocrcre account, it'd b be better t than beingg a top chefef. >> uh, a according t to who? >> accordiding to korerean cult. >> rigight. >> accordiding to korerean ununcles and a aunts. eandnd its just-- it doesnsn't registeter that that is s a professision.

you know?? i wouldndn't have toto explain mymyself if i i just said d i ws a cpa. >> right.. >> neverer. you knowow, that's-thahat's ...thahat's wei- >> i know.w. you stillll got soe 'splainingng to do. that i c cook, phenomenonon that happppened one streetets of l.a. . that changnd and opopened up kokorean cultute toto-to the woworld. >> whahat does it t mean to bebe korean amemerican? does o one create e one's ownn i dodon't know t that i'm anany smararter about t that now t thn when i firirst came to k-town in thehe middle ofof the nightht anand discoverered a stranange and d fabulous a and delicioious slice ofof america i i'd never knknown was there. but i'i'm trying t to figure it outut. [soft t dramatic m music] ♪