washington, an oral history" tonight at 8:00 eastern, just an hour away. 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 you asking me tore in a porno? >> thanks to some remarkably bad koreans, things are starting to change. >> i went to one years of law school and walked out. >> so you're a bad korean. >> any advice to someone about

to marry a korean woman? the answer -- don't do it. ♪ ♪ ♪ all i knew was that this town was going down, and no one was showing up. so we as koreans figured that out really quickly. there's a point where we look at each other and say -- >> they're not coming. >> they're not coming. >> the choppers will not be here anytime soon. >> that's when all the stuff started to go down. >> roy choi is a second-generation korean-american. he lives in los angeles.

he's the owner/operator of four groundbreaking and much-loved food trucks, among the first to harness the strange and terrible powers of social media to alert customers to where to find delicious food. >> this was the command post. from here, you know you could look and you could see if fires were going on. >> when the los angeles riots happened in 1992, roy was 22 years old. in this plaza's rooftop played a central role for koreans defending their town. let's back up a bit. after the immigration act of 1965, thousands of koreans began arriving in l.a. the first to arrive were mostly middle-class, college-educated, hoping to make a lateral move into american society. but unless you have a medical or engineering degree, that turned out to be tough. they found work as merchants, store owners, opened liquor stores, groceries, massage studios, dry cleaners. they did that in an area that

was, as it's called, underserved, where major chains feared to tread, where others preferred to abandon, koreans moved in. so 1992. four l.a. police officers are on trial for what sure as hell looked to me like a wildly excessive and prolonged beating of an unarmed rodney king. in april of that year, they were acquitted. for me, it was a holy -- i never saw that coming moment. for otr americans, to say people were angry would be an understatement. >> they don't represent the people anymore. >> so you could almost feel it like a tidal wave coming. >> the lapd were completely unprepared for what happened next. >> everything you see here, all this was being looted. chairs, rocks, everything being thrown through walls. if you go straight down western on venice, the whole plaza burned on fire.

we were calling 911, and there was no response. >> did the cops come at all? >> i was here all three days. i didn't see any cops. >> where did they set up their front line? >> rodeo drive. >> where did the forces of law and order set up their perimeter? not here. koreatown was left to its own devices. the official borders are third street on the north, olympic boulevard to the south, vermont avenue in the east, and western avenue to the west. that's three square miles left pretty much to burn or fend for itself. this rooftop quickly became the command post for rapidly improvised korean defense forces. they armed themselves, set up crude but effective command and control, communication and patrols. >> we weren't going around just slugging and capping people. all that was happening was just don't break down my store. making sure our parents, our uncles, our families, these

stores, this town, s a >> 58 people were killed. only a quarter of korean-owned 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 and better and forever changed by what happened in 1992. dong il jang, however is as ahn unwaiverly old school as you get. roy and i sit down with roy kim, whose grandfather opened the place in 1978. like most korean restaurants, you didn't mess with the original, ever. and like most korean father/son relationships, you obeyed dad's wishes, no matter what. >> my father opened put all this redwood and cherry, to this day i can't touch certain things here.

>> he doesn't let you change the uniforms, either. >> no. he still controls the restaurant. >> you just don't the work. >> i just do the work. as a korean, we know. we start with the pickles, preserves, kimchi, a spicy squid. no bonchon. no meal. >> you know what this restaurant has that a lot are getting away from? the chairless rooms. >> the feet under, knees forward? >> tea ceremonies. that was punishment for koreans. >> and with a book over your head. >> for hours. >> what would a crime -- what got you into that position? >> as minimal as a 94 on a test. >> korean parents? well, let's just say they veer towards the script. moms and dads were not, shall we say, conflicted about corporal punishment. i love that you both immediately recognize it.

>> this is what we're known it, thinly sliced ribeye marbled. >> it's beautiful. >> thin-sliced rib eye and thinly sliced fat, marbled beef, barbecued, tableside. >> for koreans, it's funny barbecue has become the gateway to our food. >> it could be worse. at least this is delicious. >> it's delicious and we're like, okay, this is the portal, and we're cool with that. >> and in this. basically kimchi fried rice, so it fries into the pan like paella. many layer of outer crispy stuff is just the best. >> a tableside cooking, i think people overlook that a lot. this is like crepes suzette, filleting a dover sole. >> ridiculously delicious. will you be doing this in 20 years? >> if we did change, tonight i would get a complaint. >> and you'd have to talk to your dad. >> oh, yeah.

>> that's the problem. >> what do you do if you're a locavore in l.a.? you look around. what's local and delicious? artisanal and authentic. if you're roy choi, you see tacos. with the kogi truck, he brought one of the first mutation mashups of korean and mexican to the people. what started as one truck became four trucks, and three brick-and-mortar restaurants to go with them. >> for me kogi was only one truck in my mind. but then the lines got big, you know, and involved. [ speaking foreign language ] roy trained at the culinary institute of america, and interned at la bernardin in new york city. he runs his trucks like you would expect of someone with that background.

>> within or feud media landscape we've romanticized certain compositions of what a great chef and great kitchen are supposed to look, smell and feel like. just because those are beautiful doesn't mean this is not beautiful. for me, i don't see mustard plants and sheep grazing. i see barbed wire and telephone poles. i see puddles, and, you know, all of that stuff contribute to the flavor of the food. so it's truly what i call a terroir, a regional food. and they're off. every lunch shift and every evening, the trucks' locations are sent out over twitter. the locations change every day. people flock quickly to find them, as the lines can get long. very long. i took a run with roy as he made his nightly rounds.

so how often do you make the full circuit between all of your various enterprises. >> twice a day, every day, unless i'm doing something crazy like this. it's kind of like i have a huge las vegas hotel, but the hallways are the streets. >> first stop, chego! a rice bowl place in the palms neighborhood. >> these are my guys right here. hola. [ speaking foreign language ] >> kimchi, spam, classic. >> this is the menu right here. >> a big bowl of rice with meat, vegetables and lots of flavor, for less than ten bucks. good deal. >> you're so sentimental about the business of feeding people. >> it's a trippi state of romanticism. i'm very hard-assed. you pack your own stuff. if you complain, i give you your money back, but within those rules, there's a lot of love.

there's a lot of care. >> across town in venice is a-frame, roy's first brick and mortar. >> this used to be an i-hop, so everything is really new. >> hence the shape. it's heavily influenced by local takes on hawaiian cooking, not that you would necessarily notice. every dish designed to be eaten with the hand. what's good? the baby back ribs are air dried, braised, then breaded and fried. ling cod tacos treated like shawarma, then meat dried like peking duck, then fried. meanwhile, a kogi truck pulls up, stops reverses back to the corner. before the awning is up, there's already a line. hungry people have been waiting in cars or around the corner ever since the twitter announcement 30 years ago.

>> i feel guilty, i'm jumping the line. wow, what's the longest line you ever had? >> 600. >> 600 people for one truck? >> yeah. >> the kogi taco, double caramelized korean short ribs on fresh corn tortilla, with salsa roja, cilantro, relish, and napa cabbage slaw, with a chili soy vinaigrette. oh, yeah. >> the rep for kogi is we go everywhere, to every single corner of the county and the city. we're not just going to the hip areas. >> what about bel air? can you pull up on a corner in a residential area in bel air? what happens there? do you get rousted? >> no, no, they come out in a versace robe. >> that i've got to see. >> it's crazy. >> why be excited about food trucks? they allow creative chefs like

roy without a lot of money to start creating and selling their stuff, introducing themselves to the world without having to gather up $1 million or credulous partners, and they're affordable, they're democratic, and they are faster, better and infinitely preferable to fast food like the king and the clown and the colonel. does your dog food have? 18 percent? 20? new purina one true instinct has 30. active dogs crave nutrient-dense food. so we made purina one true instinct. learn more at purinaone.com

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and you just didn't give a [ muted ] ? what if you said where do i fit in society? and were unsatisfied with the answers you were getting? what if you were an insanely talented artist in a small start-up company called facebook asked to you do murals in their offices and paid you with stock and you became ridiculously wealthy and you still didn't give a [ muted ]? well, then you might be david choe. >> hi, i'm david choe. ♪ you're like me. >> is that an ak pinata? >> that's an ak-47 pinata. this place is in downtown l.a., so i try to have as many weapons hidden throughout.

i've got ninja swords. >> you need a puppy, man. >> i do need a puppy. i'm going to paint you today. is that cool? >> yeah, sure. >> all right. so just sit right there, and -- sorry, i don't usually paint this early in the morning. okay. i'm going to go more expressionistic, if you don't mind. >> i want to know, you said young people are looking to follow your road to success, your advice is, whatever you do, don't date a korean girl? >> okay, i try to be open-minded about things, right? but i'm racist. for me, i've given it a shot and i end up with a situation where i feel like i'm dating my mom. >> what characteristics in common were you --

>> overbearing, jealous, unreasonable, like unrealistic about life, demanding. like, i mean, i could go on and on. also the men, too. if you're a woman, i would never recommend dating a korean guy. for the very few women out there into asian guys, if you are going to go that route, definitely go chinese. yeah. come check it out. >> oh, yeah. whoa! awesome. wow. >> i don't know. what do you think? >> dude! i'm honored. i've never had my portrayed done portrait done before. this's going to be worth money on ebay for sure. >> now i'm definitely ready for sizzler. nice.

>> standing tall and prominent amongst the many asian and central-american restaurants in the community, one place holds a cherished position in the collective memories of many second generation korean americans. i am personally unfamiliar with the sizzler brand. i know it by name, but never have i managed to actually cross its doors. >> after you. >> thank you. >> wow. >> how are you doing today? i'm doing fantastic. i have my sizzler outfit on. here's the thing. you can get a steak and add the salad bar with it, the best bang for your buck or just the salad bar. >> i have to have some steak. >> i'm going to go traditional and just get just the salad bar. >> thank you. >> sit wherever you like. ♪ >> oh, yeah.

>> now you're getting korean on me. >> super-embarrassed, because we're in korea town, and i'm taking you to sizzler. for a lot of koreans is the best food in koreatown. >> we never ate out ever, if we did, it was mcdonald's. if it was a birthday or special celebration and wanted to kick it up a notch, then it was sizzler. >> this is a judgment-free zone, where there are no mistakes. a world to explore in congruous combinations without shame or guilt. free of criticism from snarkologists, because there are no snarkologists at sizzler. >> here's the accoutrements for making a nice nacho salad, and pasta, spaghetti. the move is you get a taco shell and put meatballs in it. this is italian/mexican dining, you make a meatball taco. and there's nowhere else in the

world that you can have this. three meatballs in the taco, some guacamole, then you put all this nacho cheese, all this other stuff. >> i know what i'm going for the full south of the border experience here. >> there you go. >> i'm not kidding around here. oh, yeah, now we're talking, my friend. >> a little bit nicer than i remember. >> there it is. that's the best bread that you can get. you tell me if you like that. >> now, wait a minute. are you saying that the cheese toast is complementary? >> and once we found that out, we would order stacks of it. it was our favorite part. we needed to figure out how to manufacture it at home. >> so were you good sizzler customers? do you think they were happy to see you come? >> i love this dish, man. when i go back, i might have to have a meatball taco.

>> we did gooch the system a little bit, but not completely abused it. there would be the guilt associat with we never eat out, but now we are, so you better eat. you better put down at least three plates. what do you think of the bread? >> it's delicious. i get why it could be a wonderland. for you, sizzler a happy place? still. >> lots of memories. it's satisfying. i need more of this cheese bread. [ male announcer ] these heads belong to those who can't put life on hold because of a migraine. so they trust excedrin migraine to relieve pain fast. plus sensitivity to light, sound, even nausea. and it's #1 neurologist recommended. migraines are where excedrin excels. it's back to school time. and excedrin wants to make sure your child's school is equipped to help your child excel. purchase excedrin for a chance to win one of 5 $10,000 donations to your child's school. go to excedrin's facebook page to enter.

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something dave choe and roy choi have in common, they are korean american but also very much creatures of l.a. and what is l.a.? l.a. is mexican, central american, filipino, vietnamese, thai, so mowsomoan, bangladeshi. everyone has left their mark, continue toss shape the town. k-town exists upside its neighbors, and it's natural that both choe and choi identify very much with mexican street culture. few things embody that particularly southern california latino street culture more than low riding.

esteban is a chronicler of everything iconic at the crossroads of hip-hop, design, tattooing, fashion, and low riding. >> they used to put sandbags in their trunks to make them lower and around the '70s they got popular. >> why these particular models? >> pretty much always been the late '50 this is through the '60s, and any '80s they brought in the cadillacs and regals. the most classic well known car for low riding is probably the '64 impala. >> how many korean low riders are there? >> there's a few asian ones. >> more asians? more koreans than 15 years ago?

>> we're seeing a crossover with the food. >> right. for the most part things are starting to get more open. with the drafting, i think there will be more asian hispanic mixed babies in the future. >> amen to that. >> ideal low riding is about getting appreciated by the people who best appreciate the traditions and techniques, the getting it right. for that, you head to east l.a. >> the most famous notorious street in l.a. is wilshire boulevard, because of the history of it. and then the boulevard in south central. >> and most critical audience and most appreciative. >> the ones you want to see your car. >> it's a slow-moving piece of art. you treat the car like a piece of art, acutely aware of the dangers. cops, for whom you are a target. potholes. other cars.

in east l.a. you see people ooh and ah. you see expressions change from what is that to, nice ride. >> hopefully gang members gives us props, giving us respect, you know. first you build a car for yourself. at the same time you're building it for the streets, for the people. you want them to appreciate it. ♪ within the border of koreatown, it's not just koreans. there are new arrivals every day. there's an official little bangladesh right in the middle of k-town. you're not short of options around here. >> no, you can get tacos across the street. korean next door and goat stew. you can pray to muhammad or

buddha. >> the tiny mosque next door where services are held five times a day. >> i was talking to a gentleman who said this is the first little bangladesh in america and it happened just like two years ago. it was like we went to sleep and woke up and it was there. >> step in for curried goat, samosas, tandoori chicken, and fish curry with no small amount of chilis. >> just such aromatic, delicious food. what other food. >> el salvadorian, guatemalans, korean is all throughout. pakistani, bangladesh food. oaxaca takes over all of eighth street. >> is that just the way it worked out? >> yeah, you know how it goes. one guy showed up. filipino fast food just behind

us, and a bunch of riffraff. >> filipinos are very proud of their food. under represented. >> they're going through what we went through, where the glass hasn't been broken yet, to translate it, but keep the core and soul of it, but it tastes delicious. a few blocks over, the iconic filipino fast-food chain jollibee. laugh all you one, but ask any filipino, they love the drive-thru for this specialty spam thing, but it's the desserts where it gets really crazy. >> decisions, decisions. we'll take one aloha burger, and one spam little big bite. let's do a halo-halo. that's it. >> oh, look at that. what is that? >> that's halo-halo. >> oh, yeah. dig deep and you hit delicious stratas of red beans, white beans and chickpeas, cubes of

red and green jell-o, shaved ice, coconut, and is this flan? it makes no goddamned sense at all. and i love it. >> a part of every filipino's life. >> i've got to take a picture of that. it's oddly beautiful. i've got to have a little bit of that. what is that? >> it's a little big bite. favorite thing in the world. >> no, don't say that. >> i like that. >> it's good, right? >> aloha. it just sounds magical. is there like pineapple in there? >> yes. >> hence the aloha. that's a very tasty burger. nice char. >> it's fast food, but it's made like just a single family-owned restaurant. what family made this? maybe not your family. the jetsons. >> you like it?

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[ speaking foreign language ] that's true, dad. we all look the same. [ laughter ] >> i love it. >> he may be a korean gone bad, but dave choe still tries best he can to be a good son. he bought them this house and visits for family meals often. in fact, when we first met, sensing it had been a long time without a true home-cooked meal, he invited me to dinner with them. guests are not unusual. jane choe is an amazing cook. >> it's going to be very delicious. >> mom, dad, look who's here. >> hello. >> can you smell something? >> oh, yeah. good stuff. >> yeah, all the good stuff coming. maybe somebody going to hire me later.

>> okay. which ones are you? are you the oldest? >> i'm the middle. i'm the suicidal pirate. >> already signs of trouble here. >> my older brother is the hip-hop santa. he was the oldest. he beat me up, i beat him up, and then he would just cry. show you my dad's painting. hey, dad, come over here for a second. when did you paint this, dad, 30 years ago? >> 1973. >> every christmas he unrolls it and just scotch-tapes it to the wall. my mom's the artist in the family now. >> so this is a family of artists? the choes are devout christians, not unusual in the korean community, but they are unusual in that they're both artists of a sort. jane treats the house like an ongoing art project, drawing sun grasses on pictures, staples angels to paints that have hung in the white house.

getting crazy with the glue gun. adorns wreaths with happy meal toys, sticker bombing the kitchen with birds, cows spade ships piloted by her three boys. she is relentlessly energetically and inarguably creative. >> she brainwashed me. from the time we were kids. she was like you're the best artist in the world. >> you are. >> oh, thanks, but now she's telling me she's going to be the best in the world. she's very competitive. she says she's going to destroy me. >> awesome. >> food is ready. >> so you want to explain what everything is, mom? >> the food i prepared tonight is very common korean food. this is beef with stew. >> kimchi is looking fresh. >> it's fresh. >> today is chestnut rice. >> no one has this kind of rice. >> special rice. >> special rice for tony. >> and stuffed peppers.

>> oh, that's david's favorite. >> seaweed and jelly mung beans noodle with shiitake mushrooms. avocado egg rolls, fried squid and shrimp. potato pancake. often there's a few mexican dishes sprinkled in as well. it is always a great meal. i can tell you that. >> thanks, mom. this is delicious. >> this is awesome. >> thank you. >> i love it. during the riots of '92, jim and jane choe worked as real estate agents and property managers, so the destruction in koreatown had a direct impact on their lives. the choes watched from homes as the chaos unfolded on tv. after the riots, jim wrote a letter to the editor that was published in the "la times." >> i'm extremely angry with the lapd, for their traitorous action.

why the cops let looters run wide and rape our city? they somehow had time to bother korean chef/owners guarding their stores. how can the owner of a business just sit back and watch his life be burned to the ground? >> david would have a very different reaction. >> my brother stole a car, and we went into like all the neighborhoods, and then quickly realized it wasn't like about race, it was just about people stealing stuff. but we were out looting, causing chaos. i don't think we got anything good. i think i got a tv stand. >> was it life changing for you? >> it's like you grow up and things are explained. here's the police, they're not doing anything they're supposed to do, just normal men and women of society acting like animals, and i thought oh, everything i've been taught and learned my whole life is disintegrated

before my eyes, but in the end we're from great disasters come great things, right? koreatown burned down. it's like we own l.a. now. it's half the l.a. >> now korean culture, grow up in size, all the over the world influence, you know? >> filmmakers, all the top korean film makers. >> what about me? >> yeah. >> artists, right? >> sorry, david. he's incredible. >> today i went into all the different ways you guys used to beat us when we were kids, you know. the stress positions. all the korean punishments. >> what's remarkable to me, every kid, i mean, all korean kids, the same position, holding a book -- >> yeah, that's the way we learned from generation to generation. we don't know why. >> to take a peek into the dark

heart of the korean psyche, maybe it helps to get familiar with han, a concept for nonkoreans can be difficult to fully grasp. >> all right. you want it? here we go. han connotes a collective feeling of oppression and isolation in the face of overwhelming odds. connotes -- in some occasions anthropologists had recognized it. someone who dies of han is said to have died of papilon. >> it's heartburn. >> well, it's been described in a way that sounded benign. this is a burning sense of injustice, besiegement and desire for revenge. >> the han is the reason we are who we are, but also the same reason why i won't marry a korean woman. >> you never know -- >> i know, mom. >> he's cute. ♪

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>> myung in dumplings. they serve a mix between korean and chinese. each plate handmade to order by friends. opened in 2007 on olympic boulevard, it's run by yu jin, by way of a province in china. >> been coming here two years now. there's no one ever in here. every time i've ever come in. i don't understand how they're open. they're the best dumplings i ever had. maybe just people get them to go. >> right. >> they all look like butt holes, actually. >> kind of, yeah, pre-prolapse. >> king dumpling. thick dough, stuffed to the gills with pork, kimchi, vegetables, precisely made, weighed and crimped. steamed until soft. eat. >> wow, nearly the size of your head. >> yeah, it's like pizza.

i'll eat them cold, too. save two and have them for dinner. >> and mandu, smaller, served

>> this me uncle tony. this is harry kim, aka mom cruz. there's more koreans right here. >> some friends of cho seem to think of this place. they're a thirsty and diverse bunch. >> i'm asking everybody stress position? do you have to do the -- >> you know this. >> they went right into it. >> the speed with which they assumed the position. >> a bucket over your heated with water. >> water. what if your arms get tired? >> they make you do it again. >> the whole thing is doing it again. >> look, i'm not korean. i'm not asian. i'm a white boy from the suburbs, but i know -- >> they've done this quite a bit. >> i was very aware that all my korean friends, no matter how creative or successful seemed strangely haunted by south korea, but i never knew this.

>> it goes up like this and then -- it's like opening up an umbrella inside. >> it's hilarious, and adults this to each other. >> what the hell that's about i can only guess. >> cheers. >> you're korean now officially. diarrhea, gas, bloating? yes! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. live the regular life. phillips'. like carpools... polly wants to know if we can pick her up. yeah, we can make room. yeah. [ male announcer ] ...office space. yes, we're loving this communal seating. it's great. [ male announcer ] the best thing to share? a data plan. at&t mobile share for business. one bucket of data for everyone on the plan, unlimited talk and text on smart phones.

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>> pretty much any korean you meet anywhere you could take it for granted they like food, that they're passionate about food, particularly their food, which of all the immigrant cuisines has probably been messed with the least. unlike many other new arrivals, koreans seem to have been the most unwilling to accommodate western tastes. maybe that's why it took us so much time to love the stuff. beverly tofu house, like so many of k-town's finer establishments, is tucked away in the corner of a strip mall. >> this is one of my favorite spots where i've been coming for almost 20 years. this is a soup that's just, like -- it's kind of korean, but it's really more l.a.

>> it's not a direct transplant from korea. >> it became what we're about to have here in l.a. >> interesting. >> they're different because of the ingredients we couldn't find, but never thinking about pleasing the american palate. just to make ourselves happy. >> a fiery, tongue-searing, ass burning tofu soup that will make you forget every bad thing you ever thought about tofu. a spicy, spicy red broth and tofu as the base. we're talking soft tofu here. from there you got a handful of variations, but the most common is with a bit of everything. beef, oysters, mussels, clams. a table side they crack an egg in there. right in there. cool. that looks completely awesome. well, we better wait for this to cool, i'm guessing. how do we eat this? you spoon it over rice is this. >> you spoon it over rice.

just mix it in. >> tofu soup should be spicy by my way of thinking. so good. >> koreans can well remember when nobody was interested in their food. now it's confusingly -- must be strange for the owners who just have been doing what they've been doing for years. >> like, for example, like us sitting here like this, the questions a lot of people are asking me in koreans, like, i'm telling them we're filming and that we're trying to show a piece of korea town. the number one question is they're not mad or have v vindictive? why? why would you be interested in why would you waste your time? there's other things to do. >> it's extraordinarily beautiful and delicious thing. >> that's the thing is the beauty is just already a given. it's already part of the fabric, so it's like why congratulate you, you know? there's no reason to congratulate you because this is, like, what we do. >> that's awful, honestly.

>> what did your parents want you to be when you grew up? >> for me doctor, lawyer. >> you're obviously not a doctor or lawyer. did you finish college? >> i finished college, and i went to one year of law school, and i walked out. >> you're that korean. >> i'm that korean. if i was a mediocre accountant, it would be better than being a top chef. >> according to who? >> according to korean culture, according to korean uncles and aunts and it's just -- it doesn't register that that is a profession. you know, i wouldn't have to explain myself if i just said i was a cpa. never. you know, that's -- >> you still got some splaining to do. >> to just get it across that i cook and that there is this phenomenon that happened on the streets of l.a. that changed and opened up korean culture to the world. >> what does it mean to be korean-american? does one create one's own world? i don't know that i'm any smarter about that now than when

i first get to k-town in the middle of the night and discover the change and fabulous and delicious slice of america i never had known was there. but i'm trying to figure it out. the kennedys were almost morbidly afraid of this march. >> they closed the bars. they put the national guard on standby. >> i was terrified people weren't going to show up. >> it was like somebody threw something into a bed of ants. >> i dream a dream. >> it was a defining moment in history. >> it felt like such a victory.