Issue 04: For the love of SPAM® + Children's Book Author Susan Yoon
The most Komerican food to ever exist. Plus a lovely children's book on a Komerican childhood.
Hi KP!
This week, we welcome Susan Yoon, who writes. A lot. She writes government speeches - dry, clear, neutral. She writes essays - contemplative, moving, and emotive. She writes children’s books that are fun yet also pull at your heartstrings. What we most love about Susan’s writing is that it is unpredictable. It invites you to come in lightheartedly, then envelops you fully with story and emotion, and finally lets you leave with the feeling that something touched your heart. In our interview, you will get a taste of Susan’s writing - humorous but deep, dry yet moist, and most of all, loving and sincere. A taste you won't forget. Please enjoy!
Flavor of the Week: KP Q&A with Susan Yoon
Susan Yoon is an author of children’s books, mostly! Her debut picture book, Waiting for Tomorrow, illustrated by Julie Kwon, was published last year. Her forthcoming book Gwendolyn and the Light will be released in the fall later this year. During the day, Susan is a speechwriter for the Minister of Environment (Canada), but she has written all sorts of other things – short stories, screenplays, and essays for The New York Times (Jan 2024) and The Globe and Mail. Writing is a big part of her life! Learn more about Susan at susanyoon.com and follow her on IG @susansyoon. Also, check out Susan’s Substack - dress like a bird!
Introduce yourself more personally in 2-3 sentences.
Hi, I’m Susan! I don’t often go by nicknames but I have been called Zu, Zuzu, Suban, Gegi, and Suzie, which I don’t mind but if you call me Sue I’ll probably never talk to you again.
I am a middle child. I love bread and butter and rainy days. I have two grown up step-kids with whom I am very close, from when I was married a very long time ago, in a place that’s not here. In my spare time I love to fret or bake.
Where are you from?
My new cat Peppercorn and I live in a shoebox condo in a lively area of Toronto where I can walk everywhere, but I’m also close to a lake in case I don’t want to walk anywhere but to the water. In the summertime there is a fair nearby and sometimes I go to see the lights and watch people and experience what it’s like to pay $15 for a corndog.
I do love it here very much. It feels like home.
No, where are you REALLY from? (Haha!)
I kinda feel like I’m from everywhere I’ve been (and also everywhere my ancestors have been). It all makes me who I am. I started my life in Seoul, Korea. Then my parents, me, my sister and my brother moved to Toronto, Canada in 1984. I was 10 years old. Don’t do the math.
What’s your sign?
Libra, but Scorpio rising hahahaha.
How would you describe yourself in five words?
Resilient, curious, considerate, quirky, brunch-hater.
What do you love about being Komerican?
I lived in a city that didn’t have very many Korean people for more than 20 years. And I only ever saw my parents and siblings on holidays. But since moving back to Toronto six years ago, and also through connecting with people in the kids’ book world, I’m floored by the community I’ve found in those who are both cultures. I’m so grateful.
And of course, what are your favorite Korean foods?
OMG there are so many. Kongguksu, gimbap, sujebi, and soondae! Oh and all the banchans. Every single one of them.
What was your childhood like and what has it taught you?
I lived in Korea for the first ten years of my life, and I was a very good girl in the traditional sense. I was polite and quiet and got very good grades. I had lots of friends and teachers liked me. And in Korea my mom was a traditional stay-at-home mom, but that changed when we moved to Toronto. Both of my parents were busy trying to make ends meet, and my siblings and I learned to take care of each other. And that’s something from childhood that I still carry. My siblings and I are very close. We rely on each other and take care of each other.
Can you share something exciting that you’re working on now?
I’m taking a drawing class! I start this week! I’m curious about doodling and increasing practice in a more structured way.
What do people underestimate about you?
I think people underestimate how much time and effort it takes to write kids’ books. I think a lot of people think it’s a joke.
Share your proudest moment in the past year.
I took adult beginner swimming lessons this past summer, and each time I made some kind of progress, even tiny ones, I was so proud of myself for pushing through. Like, I cannonballed into the deep end of the pool (with a life jacket of course, lol). I can’t swim yet, but I’m starting lessons again. :)
What was your hardest moment in the past year?
I took three months off both of my jobs this past year and I worked really hard getting through some personal struggles. It was hard, but necessary!
We’ve all been hurt in some form or fashion. What are you healing from?
I’m healing from the last twenty years, LOL.
How do you love yourself?
Reminding myself to trust myself. A lesson I also learned in swimming.
How do you love others?
I’m really trying to listen better, rather than baking them cookies.
What five things can you not live without?
Tea/coffee, rainy days, cordless vacuum, butter, laptop.
What’s your favorite dance song?
My body is a turnip, so no it can’t dance.
What’s your favorite kind of pie?
Banoffee pie.
H Mart Happiness: What’s your favorite product and why?
“I love buying a big box of Asian pears from H Mart. They are delicious, boxed up like a present and so big you always want to find someone to share them with.” - Linda K.
What’s your favorite H Mart product? Leave a comment and share the love!
Crispy Crust: A Hint of Han - Subversive poetry that soothes
A Nonce Stanzaic Horatian Ode to SPAM®
Oh, savory SPAM® you are grand!
I love to eat you with my hands.
As musubi breakfast or lunch;
Or sandwich’d inside toast for brunch.
Fried rice is another good way,
To cook SPAM® – though not in souffle!
Try sliced and sauteed over rice.
With kimchi and seaweed is nice.
In ramen a meal can be made,
With ease from a quick pantry raid.
Fried eggs pair so well with its taste,
Like bacon it’s not for your waist.
Delightful canned meat – so unique.
In one special dish many seek.
A stew that defined a new age.
Budae jigae took center stage!
Umami and fatty and soft.
Amazing aroma to waft!
A mixture of pork, salt and ham,
Such joy from a good can of SPAM®.
***Love, Sarah
Korean School: Budae Jigae a.k.a. Army Stew
Fun facts, idioms, translations and history
One dish that rose to “comfort food” notoriety during after the Korean War abroad is now one of the most beloved dishes throughout South Korea and the United States - Budae Jjigae a.k.a. Army Stew. This dish is the perfect example of necessity giving birth to invention – how great things can come from using what you’ve got and making the best of it.
SPAM® is a uniquely Komerican treasure – an American food product introduced to a divided nation during the Korean War (1950-53). Food scarcity was a real challenge, and meats were particularly scarce. Koreans relied on purchasing and smuggling surplus meats from American army bases and making meals from whatever they found. And so the love affair of American processed meats like hot dogs and SPAM® began. Restaurant cooks and well-to-do households found myriad ways to cook and use these meats.
This can-do attitude behind the genius invention of budae jigae helps explain how South Korea has developed so rapidly into an economic and cultural powerhouse - with some challenges, let’s keep it real! South Korea is now a worldwide influencer in so many arenas but we’re most interested in the music, media, art and food. The questionable twists and turns of two countries meeting is what makes this quintessential Komerican dish so flavorful and interesting.
Sweet & Salty: A list of the tastiest treats satisfying all the senses
A couple of weeks ago, we attended the White House Initiative on Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Economic Summit in Atlanta, to hear the latest from leaders and community members on how unique and influential the immigrant hustle and native-born leadership is in the U.S. YES, we’re doing all the things. HWAITING!
Did you know that there is a SPAM® Museum? It is open every day of the week in Austin, Minnesota, the hometown of this porky product! Admission is free and they even offer free live virtual tours if you can’t get to Minnesota - just book one online! The question is, do they offer sample tastings? :P
Listen up! This podcast episode on Liberation Psychology by Thema Bryant is exactly the kind of real talk we need to decolonize our minds, bodies and spirits. Living in the wholeness of humanity is our birthright. Shout out to Monday Morning Lift for the introduction to this podcast a few years ago!