for korean americans according to the stereo type use to be that you grew up to be a doctor, lawyer, an engineer. there were specific set of rules that expectations. >> are you asking me to be in a porno, is that what you're asking me? >> thanks to some remarkably bad koreans, though, things are beginning to change. >> i went to one year law school and walked away. >> any final advice who is 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. and so we, as koreans, figured that out really quickly. there's a point where you and i look at each other and say, they're not coming. >> the choppers will not be here any time 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 much loved food trucks. among the first, to harness this 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 can see if fires were going on. >> when the los angeles riots happened in 1992oy was 22 years old. this roof top played a central road for koreans defending their town. let's back up, after the immigration act, thousands of koreans began arriving in l.a. the first to arrive were mostly middle class, college educated hoping to make a lateral move. unless you had a medical or engineering degree that turned out to be tough. they found work as merchants, store owners, groceries, massage studios, dry cleaners. they did that in an area that

was, as it's called, under served, where major change where others preferred to abandon koreans moved in. so 1992, four l.a. police officers are on trial for what looked to me like a widely excessive and pro-longed beating of unarmed rodney king. in april of that year they were acquitted. for me it was holy, i never saw that coming moment. for after prican-americans it w somewhat ruder surprise. to say that would be under stating it. >> you could build it like a tidal wave come. >> the l.a.p.d. were completely unprepared for what happened next. >> everything you see right here, all of this was being looted. chairs and rocks and everything being thrownhrough walls. if you go straight through western, whole plaza caught on

fire. we were calling 911 and there was no response. >> did the cops come at all? >> i was here all three days and i didn't see any days. >> where did they set up rodeo drive. >> it was not here. they were left to its own advices. the official border, vermont and the east and western avenue to the west, that's three square miles left pretty much to burn or fend for itself. this roof top came the command post for rapidly improvised korean forces. they harmed themselves, set up effective command, communication and patrols. >> we weren't going around slugging and capping people. all that was happening just don't break down my store, making sure our parents, our

uncles, our families, these stores, this town stays alive 58 people were killed. only a quarter of korean-owned businesses survived either destroyed or abandoned who felt the entire under pinning with contract of america had shifted. yet today korea town is bigger and better and forever changed by what happened in 1992. he's as unwaivering old school as you get. roy and i sit down with roy kim who grandfather's opened the place in 1978. like most korean restaurants at the time you didn't mess with the original, ever. like most korean father son relationships, you obeyed dad's wishes so matter what. >> my father would put all this redwood end. 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 do the work. >> i just did the work. >> as korean, he knows. >> we start, all the delicious little freebie plates, spicy squid snack or two. no male. >> and you know what this restaurant has a lot of restaurants going away from is the chairless. the feet under, knees forward, feet under. >> he's on the receiving end. >> that was punishment for koreans. >> and with the bulk over your head for hours. >> what can he do in that position? >> it could be as minimal as a 94 on the test. >> korean parents, moms and dads were not, shall we say, about corporate punishment. >> i love that you bot immediate recognize it.

>> this is the -- this is what we're known thinly sliced mar bell. -- marble. >> thinly sliced rib eye and thinly sliced beef, barbecued, table size. >> it's funny that barbecue has been become the gateway to our food. >> at least it's delicious. >> okay. this is the portal and we're cool with that. >> basically, kim chi fried race, it goes into the pan with that outer layer of crispy stuff is just the best. >> and table side cooking. i think people overlook that a lot. >> oh, man, this is 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. >> that's a problem. >> what do you do if you're a local voir in l.a. you look around. what's local and delicious, authentic and iconically as it gets. if you're roy choi, you see tacos. he brought one of the first great mutation matchups to korean and one cup. what started as one truck became four trucks. >> for me it was one truck in my mind. then the lines got big, you know. and it evolved. ♪ >> roy trained at the culinary institute of america and interned in new york city. he runs his truck like you would expect with someone in that background. >> within our food media

landscape we've ro man-to-manized of what a great chef and what a kitchen are suppose to look and smell and feel like. just because those are beautiful doesn't mean that this is not beautiful. for me i don't see mustard pants and i see bashed wire and telephone poles, i see puddle and all of that stuff contribute to the flavor of the food. it's truly what i call a regional food. and they're off. >> everyone shift and every evening the truck's locations are sent out over twitter. the locations change every day and 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 a rice bowl place in the palms neighborhood. >> these are my guys right here. >> hola. >> kim chi classic. >> this is many right here. >> a big bowl of rice with meat, vegetables and lots of flavor, for less than ten bucks. good deal. >> about the business of feeding people. >> it's like a state of romancism. i'm very hard too. you pack your stuff, you get what you get. if you complain i take the food out of yaour hands i give you your money back.

within those rules, there's a lot of love. there's a lot of care. >> across town in ve nus, is a frame. roy's first brick and mortar. >> this use to be a i hop. >> everything is really new. >> it's the shape. >> it's heavily influenced by local takes on hawaii want cooking, not that you'll necessarily notice. every dish designed to be eaten with the hands. the babyback ribs are bred. and tacos treated, beer can crackling chicken, it's ro tier ri that air dried an thd then fried. meanwhile not too far away, a truck pulls up, stops, reverses back to the corner. before the awning is even up, there's already a line. hungry people have been waiting in cars around the corner ever since the twitter announcement

30 minutes ago. >> i feel guilty of jumping the line, right. >> wow. >> what's the longest line you've ever have. >> 600. >> 600 people for one truck? >> yeah. >> the taco, double crumblized with fresh tortilla. romaine slaw and chilly soy v n vineg vinegarette. >> we go everywhere. we go every single corner of the county and the city. we're not just going to the hip area. >> what about bell air, as you pull up that quickly. what happened there. >> no. no. they come out in the versace robe. >> beverly hills at lunch is crazy. >> they allow creative chefs without a lot of money to start

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. hi. i'm dave choi. ♪ ♪ >> you're like me.

>> is that an ak pinata. >> i like to have as many weapons hidden throughout. >> you need a puppy, man. you need a puppy. >> i do need a puppy. i'm going to paint you today, is that cool? >> yeah, sure. >> just sit right there and sorry, don't usually paint this early in the morning. ♪ ay. >> i'm going to go me expressionistic, if you don't mind. >> i want to know, you know, young people looking to follow your road to success, your advice, whatever you do don't date a career girl. >> i try to be open minded about

things. ty me. i end up in in a situation where i feel like i'm dating my mom. >> over bearing -- what characteristics. over bearing, demanding, unreasonable. i mean, i can go on and on and on. also the men, too, i would never recommend dating a korean guy. >> for those very few, if you're going to go na route, definitely go chinese. >> 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 portrait come before. >> oh, you want to. >> this is going to be worth

some moneyny on ev, for sure. >> now, i'm definitely ready for sizzler. "nice." standing tall and prominent amongst the many asian and american restaurants, one place holds it unexpectedly in the collective memory of many second generation americans. i am personal unfamiliar with the sizzler brand. i know it by name. never have i ever managed to actually cross its doors. >> thank you. thank you. >> wow! how are you doing today? >> here is the thing, you can get like a steak and then add the salad bar with it, and get the best bang for your buck. or you can just get the salad

bar. >> i'm going to go just traditional and get the saw lid bar. ♪ ♪ excellent. >> super embarrassed right now because we're in korea town and i'm taking you to eat at sizzler, which for a lot is the best food in korean town. we never ate out, ever. if we did it was mcdonald's. it was a special celebration you want to go a little bit more special, then it was similar . t >> this is a judgment free zone. a world to explore with combinations without shame or guilt. free of criticism from star colleges because there are n star colleges at sizzler. >> obviously, here is all the

making a nice nacho taco salad, here is the stuff from pa sta. >> the rool is get hard taco shells and you make a meat ball taco. there's nowhere else in the world you can have this. you put three meat balls in the taco, guacamole. you put all of this other stuff. >> i know what i'm going south ovt border. >> experience there. >> i'm looking around here. >> oh, yeah, now we're talking my friend. >> it's a little bit nicer than i remember. you tell me if you like that. >> are you telling me that the cheese test is complimentary, once we found that out. it was our favorite pft. you need to figure out how to

fix this at home. >> do you think they were happy to see you when you came in. >> i might go back. >> we did abused the system a little bit. we never eat out so we go out t. eat. so you better put down at least three plates. >> oh, yeah, what do you think of the braids. >> it's delicious. >> i totally get why this would be a wonder land. >> everything is really good. >> for you, thts a hapis is a h place. >> lots of memories and satisfying. >> i need more of this cheese bread. ♪ ♪ ♪ the nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release technology helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. it's the best thing that ever happened to me. every great why needs a great how.

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very much with mexican street culture. few things and body that particularly southern california let latino culture more than robe watering. e ve sanis arieels who said that was going to keep the cost down, tattooing, fashion and low ride gs. >> is that all smiemers that you use to be por and then is when it wot top lar and why do you think particularly mostly late 50s all the way through the 60s and the 70s and the '80s came up and they started bringing in the cadillacs an ree gals. the most classic first drop

phony i have to work at 19 # a. >> how many korean low riders are there? >> there's a few ankles one, is there more korean than the first time. >> with 15 years ago? >> with seeing the cross over with the food. for the most part things are starting to be more coming up in the future. >> ideal low rider is something her appreciated to the people that create the techniques that's getting it right. for that you head to east l.a. >> my most famous notorious street in l.a. because of the strij aj, we grew up here. that's where we grew up most

critical audience and at the same time most appreciative. >> it's a slow moving piece of art. you treat the car like a piece of art. dangerous, cops for whom you were a target. potholes, other cars. in east la you see people -- you see expressions change to who is that kw that. and they're giving us respect, you know, first you build a car for yourlf. you're building for the people. you want them to appreciate it. within the borders of korea down it's not just koreans. there are new arooils every day. there is, in fact -- arrivals

every day. there is, in fact, an official bangladesh in the middle of cape town. >> this is not going to work. >> you're not short of options around here. >> you can pray to muhammad or buddha. >> the tiny mosque next door. >> this is the first little bit that they did in america. >> that just happened like two years. we went to sleep and woke up and it was little bangladesh. >> here, step right in for some curry goat, mimosas. tender chicken. fish curry with no small amount of chillies. >> such fra grant, delicious food. >> what good food are you likely to find. >> we have el salvador in quad

ma laand all around. bangs ladesh fever. it's going to take over all of h street. >> you know hot dogs, probably one guy showed up. pill, a -- very proud of their food. under represented. they're going through what we went through. the glass hasn't been broken yet. it taste delicious. >> a few blocks over, the iconic philippino fast food chain, laugh all you want but ask any pill peen know. they love these specialties. it's the desserts where they get really crazy. >> dligss. dligss. >> we'll take burger and one spam big bite.

let's do a hallow, hallow. >> look at that. what is that. >> that is ha low, ha low. >> oh, yeah. it gees deep with red baens, white baens, chick peas. young white coconut, is that flawed. it makes no sense at all. i love it. >> every part of life. >> it's oddly, beautiful. >> you know i'm getting a bite of it. >> it's everything in the world. >> it's actually, i like that. >> it's good, right. >> you see like pineapple in there or something. >> hence the. nice char. >> but it's made by like it was

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>> how great power cd how time the shop owners guarding their stores. how can the owner just sit back

and watch it it be burned to the ground. >> david would have a var different reaction. >> my brother stole a car and we went into like all the neighborhoods and then quickly realized it wasn't like it wasn't about race. >> we were out looting and kwauz h causing chaos. >>as it life changing for you. grow up and things are explained to you. here is police, you're like normal men and women, like somebody -- everything i've been taught and learned my whole life is desen grate. in the end, we're great disastrous comes great things. korea town burn down. it's like we own l.a. it's half of la. >> now korean trump.

now, hope so, i expect it to be rain. >> film makers. all the top top -- >> what about me? >> yeah, right. >> do expect were you. >> so were you. >>. [ laughter ] >> today i went into all the ways -- different ways you guys use to beat us when we were kids. he had korean punishment. >> every kick, i mean all korean kicks, the same position holding -- you either hold a book. >> that's the way we learned from generation to generation. >> to take a peak into the dark heart of the korean psyche, maybe it helps to get familiar with high. it's a concept for nine koreans it will be difficult to fully grasp. >> all right. you want it. it selects an offensive field.

it can note highlights of it. >> wow! in some occasions anthropologyist have recognized the cultural specific medical decision. someone who dies said to her ab one. >> it's a hot one. >> wow! it's being described to me in a way that sounds it denying. >> this is a burning sense of adjustment and desire for the revenge. >> we're like who we are, who we are. it's also the same reason why i won't mary for now. >> no, i know. >> he's cute. sneet ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ so draw the line. give the stick one click, touch the leaves and the gel stays put killing garden weeds to the root. draw the line with roundup precision gel®.

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main drag of cape town, another mini mall among many karaoke, no. >> my mom would just order all of these dumplings and leave them on my door because she's not allowed in my house. i ask where are you getting these? i finally got it out of her. >> where they serve a mix between korean and chinese. each plate hand made to order by

friends. opened in 2007 on olympic boulevard, it's a korean by way in province. >> they come on here for about two years now. there's no one ever in here. i don't understand how they're open. they invest the dumb things i've ever had. they all look like butt holes, actually. >> kind of, yeah, preprolapse. >> king dumpling, stuff to the gills with pork, kim chi and vegetables. precisely made, weighed and primped. steved until soft east. >> that's nerarly the side of your head. >> and smaller with thinner

dumpling skins served with red chili. oh, these are delicious. these are just, like, so huge. >> david: go for it. >> anthony: so would this be classically post-drinking food or pre-drinking food? [ laughter ] lay down a base of absorbent material? >> david: yeah, i mean, there's a lot of bread here. but i don't really drink. i'm just, uh, falling under peer pressure right now. i'll be one of the cool guys, so -- >> anthony: i like this place already. good signage. it's important. >> david: yeah. the sign's awesome. >> anthony: if that sign does not sing to you, then we cannot be friends. >> david: mari, hi. >> woman: hi, david. how are you? >> david: this is my uncle anthony. this is mari. >> anthony: how you doing? >> david: this is, uh, harry kim, aka guam cruise. here's more koreans right here. >> man: here's more koreans.

>> anthony: some friends of cho seem to favor this place. they are a thirsty and diverse bunch. >> anthonyi'm asking everybody -- stress position as a child? did, did you have to do the, uh, knees forward? >> man: oh, you know about this. >> anthony: it went right in, right into it. stress positions? >> woman: oh, we did that. >> anthony: you did that? see? >> man: there's this, too. >> anthony: the speed with which they assume the position. [ laughter ] >> man: you had to hold a bucket over your head with water. >> anthony: water? wow. what if your arms get tired? >> man: they make you do it again another 45 minutes to an hour, you know? the whole thing is doing it again. >> anthony: look, i'm not korean. i'm not asian. i'm a white boy from the suburb. but i noticed something over time in my k-town adventure. similar anecdotes, you might say. >> man: you know, they've done this quite a bit. so they came up with a new one. >> anthony: i was very aware that all my korean friends, no matter how creative or successful, seem strangely haunted by something. but i never knew this. how do you do it? >> david: oh, the --. it goes, it goes up the ass like this, and then, it's like opening up a umbrella inside someone. >> anthony: you do this to your friends? >> man: or college. >> anthony: or college. >> man: they think it's

hilarious. and adults do that shit to each other. >> anthony: what the hell that's about, i can only guess. >> anthony: cheers -- >> david: koreans gone bad. [ laughter ] you're korean now, officially. [ laughter ] but at night, it's the last thing on my mind. for 10 years my tempur-pedic has adapted to my weight and shape, relieving pressure points from head to toe. so i sleep deeply and wake up ready to perform. ♪ now through june 11th, save $600 when you buy select tempur-pedic adjustable mattress sets. find your exclusive retailer at tempurpedic.com. we believe in food that's anaturally beautiful,, fresh and nutritious. so there are no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, no artificial preservatives in any of the food we sell.

we believe in real food. whole foods market. are you happy that you switched? yes - i switched to sprint and their unlimited plan is half what you pay with verizon for a family of four. you could save over $1000 in the first year! that works for me. (vo) unlimited! $22.50 per month per line. for people with hearing loss, don't let a 1% difference cost you twice as much. visit sprintrelay.com. but when we brought our daughter home, that was it. now i have nicoderm cq. the nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release technology helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. it's the best thing that ever happened to me. every great why needs a great how.

oscar mawe went back toig the drawing board... and the cutting board. we removed the added nitrates and nitrites, by-products, and artificial preservatives in all of our meat. every. single. one. why? for the love of hot dogs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ sfx: engine revving ♪ (silence) ♪ well it's a perfect nespresso hold on a second.orge. mmm. ♪ [mel torme sings "comin' home baby"] hey there. want a lift? ♪

where are we going? no don't tell me. let me guess. ♪ have a nice ride. ♪ how far would you go for coffee that's a cup above? i brought you nespresso. nespresso. what else? (vo) your love is purely thoughtful, purely natural, purely fancy feast. delicious entrées, crafted to the last detail. flaked tuna, white-meat chicken, never any by-products or fillers. purely natural tastes purely fancy feast.

>> anthony: pretty much any korean you meet anywhere, you can 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. >> roy choi: this is one of my favorite spots. this is 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., and so -- >> anthony: so this is not a direct transplant from korea? >> roy choi: it became what we're abouto have here in l.a. >> anthony: interesting. >> roy choi: they're different

because of the ingredients we couldn't find. >> anthony: right. >> roy choi: but never thinking about pleasing the american palate, just to make ourselves happy. >> anthony: soondubu is the thing to get. a fiery, tongue-searing, ass-burning tofu soup that'll make you forget every bad thing you ever thought about tofu. a spicy, spicy red broth and tofu are the base. we're, we're talking soft tofu here, with the texture of, like, burrata. from there, you got a handful of variations. but the most common is with kimchi and a bit of everything. beef, oysters, mussels, clams. oh, and tableside? they crack an egg in there. wow. right in there. cool. that looks completely awesome. well, we, we better wait for this to cool, i'm guessing? [ laughter ] >> roy choi: yeah. >> anthony: so, how do we eat this? we just spoon it over rice? >> roy choi: uh, yeah, yeah, spoon it over rice. mix it in. >> roy choi: mm, that's good. >> anthony: mm. yeah, all tofu should be spicy, by my way of thinking. it's so good.

>> roy choi: yeah, it's really good. >> anthony: koreans can well remember when nobody was interested in their food. now it's confusingly au courant. must be strange for the owners, who've just been doing what they've been doing for years. >> roy choi: like, for example, like, us sitting here like this, the questions a lot of people are asking me in korean, like, i'm telling them we're filming, you know, we're trying tshow piecof koreatown. the, the numr one question is, they're not mad or vindictive, is, "why?" it's still, "why?" it's like, why -- >> anthony: why would we be interested? >> roy choi: why would we be interested? why would you waste your time? there's other things to do. >> anthony: it's an extraordinarily beautiful and delicious thing. >> roy choi: but see, that's the thing, is the beauty is just already a given. it's already a 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. >> anthony: that sounds awful, honestly. that sounds, like -- totally joy -- >> roy choi: that's my -- life, man. >> anthony: totally joyless. >> roy choi: yeah. >> anthony: uh, what did your parents want you to be when you grew up?

>> roy choi: for me, a doctor or lawyer. >> anthony: right. you're obviously not a doctor or a lawyer. did you finish college? >> roy choi: i finished college and i went to one year of law school and i walked out. >> anthony: right. so, you're a bad korean. >> roy choi: i'm a bad korean. if i was a mediocre accountant, it'd be better than being a top chef. >> anthony: according to who? >> roy choi: according to korean culture. >> anthony: right. >> roy choi: 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. >> anthony: right. >> roy choi: never. you know, that's, that's, that's weird -- shit. >> anthony: i know. you still got some 'splaining to do. >> roy choi: still. to just get it across that i, that i cook, and that there was this phenomenon that happened on the streets of l.a. that changed and opened up korean culture to, to the world. >> anthony: what does it mean to be korean american? does one create ons own world? i don't know that i'm any smarter about that now than when i first came to k-town in the middle of the night and discovered a strange and fabulous and delicious slice of america i'd never known was

there. but i'm trying to figure it out. ♪ >> woman: [ speaking japanese ] ♪ ♪ i took a walk through this beautiful world ♪ ♪ felt the cool rain on my shou