[Intro soundbite/music]

Hosts: This is Rachel Fang, Phoebe Pan, and Lu Zucker. 

 

Phoebe: And we’re here to talk about Asian restaurants in Oberlin and what they mean to townspeople and students.

 

[Transition music] 

Lu: Six percent of college students in the U.S. are international students … according to a 2019 study by the Institute of International Education. And here in Oberlin, statistics from the Admissions Office show us that in 2019 thirteen percent of our college students came from outside the US. And about eighty percent of those Obies came from East Asia or Southeast Asia. …. So the college is admitting more Asian international students. And sometimes the needs of these students go beyond what a small Midwestern institution can offer. Especially when it comes to food. Rachel, as an international student, what’s your perspective on this?

 

Rachel: Well, I remember that the first semester I came to Oberlin, I was really excited to try out all the American dishes at first. But not even a month later, my taste buds started to tell me that it was time to have my Chinese dishes again. But at that time, like, all of those dishes suddenly felt so far away from me. Like the bone soup my mom used to make for me every week. The dumpling stores that were just downstairs from my apartment. And like, all those different restaurants that were available at the shopping malls, which were just a short subway ride away. And I guess this homesickness is especially strong being in a town like Oberlin because we need to carpool for 40 mins to go to downtown Cleveland to check out some authentic Chinese food. So I’m really happy to see that in the past half year that Bingo and Thi Ni Thai just opened, so when we miss traditional dishes we have more options to choose from without having to go all the way to Cleveland.

 

Phoebe: As Rachel mentioned, the two new Asian restaurants, Bingo and Thi Ni Thai, have generated a lot of excitement lately, and looking back at the past few decades, the town has seen an increasing number of Asian restaurants. We talked to a resident of Oberlin, Mari Kuroda, who immigrated from Japan in the mid-80s to go to college in the U.S. She ended up in Oberlin in the early 90s to raise a family here.

 

• Mari: It was uh ‘91, summer of ‘91, and there were two Chinese restaurants back then. Uh, Mandarin. It was owned by a different owner and, uh, there was a Chinese restaurant where Too Chinoise used to be, was called Hunan. They were both, uh, sort of similar American style Chinese restaurant. And then, you know, we had for a short while we had [an] Indian restaurant, which unfortunately came and went. Yeah. But then, um, since Kim, well Micha is her name, since she came and opened up a Korean grocery store and a restaurant... that's been really a heaven sent for me because now I can get, um, Asian groceries, which I, you know, I had to go to Cleveland to do that before. So yeah. It's been wonderful.

 

Phoebe: So now we have four Asian restaurants in Oberlin. We can’t claim that the opening of Asian restaurants is directly related to the growing number of Asian international students. But we have noticed the relationships that both students and townspeople have formed with these restaurants. So we decided to check out Kim’s to get a closer look. 

 

[Soundbite: ambient noise at Kim’s]

Rachel:  Kim’s is a grocery store and restaurant located on the east side of downtown Oberlin. Customers can either order food to go or eat in at one of the small tables. This space is tightly packed during both lunch and dinner. 

 

Phoebe: The menu includes a range of mainly Korean dishes from bibimbap to kimchee stew. The most popular order among students is the $5 bowl, which comes with a choice of toppings like tofu and veggies or bulgogi, a Korean-style barbecued beef. Many students come here for a change of pace from campus dining and co-ops. 

 

• Micha: “I've been working half of my life. I had used to have two, three jobs, you know, so actually this is my toy. My store is my toy. I’m enjoying to cook, I’m enjoying customers, my students. Yeah. So I'm really happy. I'm really happy I'm here with, uh, everybody.”

 

Lu: That was Micha McCall, the owner of Kim’s. Micha grew up in South Korea and immigrated to the U.S. with the dream of teaching Korean folk dance. That plan didn’t quite work out, so she decided to open a grocery store. She started serving Korean side dishes like gimpap at the store, taking inspiration from her mother’s famous bulgogi restaurant in their hometown in South Korea. That first grocery store was located in North Olmsted, which is a 25-minute drive from Oberlin. For years, Oberlin students would carpool there because Micha’s shop was the only nearby place to get traditional Asian groceries. After enough encouragement from Obies, Micha opened up shop here in Oberlin. Once this location was established, she closed the North Olmsted storefront.

 

Rachel: We talked to some students who go to Kim’s regularly. Ramie Puangkam, a second-year Oberlin student from Thailand said…  

 

• Ramie: Um, Last year Kim’s helped me in order to, like, survive [laugh] in Oberlin College. I went to Kim’s multiple time[s] per week in order to get food when there’s no food available. Um, I like dumplings and the pork bowl, because it’s very tasty. It’s also, like, cheap. And also, um, since my schedule is very busy, and the take-out is pretty fast, so Kim’s is, like, one of the best. 

 

Rachel: However, students’ experiences with the food are wide-ranging. Here’s Lucy Baek, a second-year Oberlin student who grew up in a Korean family while living in Taiwan:

 

• Lucy: Well, I mean, I kind of wished that they have traditional food that's kind of like, doesn't necessarily change the taste for American people’s taste buds and obviously like people in America has different preferences. So like, because of that I understand that, why it does, why Oberlin might not have it, especially in such a small town and small community. But I kind of wished that we did have one that kind of like, only had like, authentic cooking of Korean food.

 

Rachel: By contrast, Olive Hwang, a Korean-American third-year student, sees it in a different light.

 

• Olive: Around fifth grade I got diagnosed with fish and shellfish allergies, which wipes a whole lot of my options out in terms of Korean food, just cause that's such an important ingredient in so many basic things like kimchi. And that’s something that I’ve found very accessible about Kim’s, is that, you know, because the fish sauce is something that turns people off, um, and there’s such a large number of like vegetarians and vegans in Oberlin, um, in addition to having it be a little less spicy… I personally can’t handle much spice. Um, having that option has really given me the chance to try a lot of things that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to have. 

 

Lu: We interviewed Micha after a lunch hour rush. She talked us through her thought process in making certain adjustments to the dishes that she serves.

 

• Micha: Cause I had a little hard time when I first started, because the American people, Chinese people, you know, Japanese people, you know, their taste[s are] different, you know. So I had a little hard time. So then I started, I said “oh, okay, this is the United States.” So I had to [cook a] little bit different than Korean food. So that’s why I had to change a little sauce, ingredients, you know, so everybody can eat. Korean food is a little strong. It’s very strong, like a kimchee very spicy, you know those kind of stuff, you know, some people not used to eat[ing] that. So that’s why I tried making mild, little bit mild so everybody can taste, and try. 

 

Lu: Micha’s choices provide an important perspective on the complex topic of authenticity. Oberlin student Olive notes:

 

• Olive: Going off the idea of authenticity, a lot of people would frame Korean foods becoming less traditional in the U.S. as like a bastardization of culture. Um, and I definitely understand that desire to cling to tradition. Um, but I would rather frame that as a product of resilience, um, people finding a way to make a life for themselves. Um, in spite of all the difficulties that come with immigrating.

 

[sound transition]

Phoebe: For Oberlin student Lucy, even if the dishes at Kim’s aren’t the same as what she was used to at home, the grocery section still brings back memories. 

• Lucy: When I go into Kim’s it’s kind of … it kind of reminds me of this Korean shop back in Taiwan, like they only sell like Korean instant noodles, Korean snacks, Korean like popsicles stuff like that. Like when I go into Kim’s that gives me this flashback of going to that place because it’s pretty much like they sell a lot of the same things. And I guess it makes me a little bit nostalgic because like it obviously reminds me of home, but at the same time I guess it makes me happy that like there is a place that I can kind of go sometimes if I ever like want more Korean food.

 

Phoebe: But it’s not just the food or the atmosphere that draw people back to Kim’s. Over the years, Micha herself has gone beyond the role of just a business owner.

 

• Micha: I have a relationship with the customer ... I don't, I don't just buy, you know, sell things and buy, you know, nothing like that. So that's why, you know, even my workers they know that too, you know. … Relationship is very important. … Even like a Korean student that, you know, they were homesick—she was, she cried all the time and uh, I had to make her ... I sit down with her, I talked to her, talked to her and .... I don't know how many times. Now I talk to her. I say, this school is [a] very expensive school. Your parents are sending you [to] this good school. But you have to do your part of the job. … You have to get yourself together, study very hard, do your job, making proud of yourself, show your parents. That’s your job.”

 

Phoebe: As a member of the small Asian community in Oberlin, Mari has also connected with Micha on a personal level.

 

• Mari: “The best part for me, going to her store is she lived in Japan for nine years, so she speaks perfect Japanese. So whenever I go, I just chat with her. Otherwise, no, I hardly have a chance to talk to my language. So it's been really fantastic.”

 

Lu: We’ve also heard of several Obie alums who make a point to reconnect with Micha whenever they visit Oberlin. She’s well-loved by many.

 

[audio transition]

Rachel: Yet even with the comfort that Kim’s provides, no single restaurant is able to encompass the entirety of what it means to be Asian or Asian American. The two Chinese restaurants in town, The Mandarin and Bingo, cater to different preferences, and there’s room for even more choices. Oberlin’s newest restaurant, Thi Ni Thai opened up on January 3rd of this year. Ramie, as the only Thai student currently enrolled in the college, seemed especially excited to find a sense of familiarity there.

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• Ramie: “The restaurant itself is pretty nice because they import almost everything from Thailand, and [the] chef himself came from the north part of Thailand, where I grew up. And, like for example the decorations is import[ed] from like the walking street, like the market in Chiang Mai area. Even the drinks they also import from Thailand. And, also like everything that [is] cook[ed] in the kitchen is also imported from Thailand. So when I walk in I already feel like home, so I think it’s pretty like authentic to me.”

 

Phoebe: While Ramie’s reaction is common among many Asian international students and Asian Americans, we want to acknowledge that there’s no universal experience that comes with these restaurants... Still, a good meal can serve as an entry point into discussing the complexities of tradition, heritage, and identity. And even when personal tastes aren’t able to be met, food is undeniably important in fostering emotional connections. 

 

[fade in ambient sounds]

Phoebe: This is Phoebe again. There was something that Olive mentioned in our interview with them that really resonated with me, as an Asian-American student—this feeling of how sometimes, you’re expected to like or appreciate certain things of the cultures you straddle, but that might not always be possible given your own preferences or how you’ve grown up.

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• Olive: “So I don't even like Korean pears. I personally am just, I'm not big on fruit in general. Um, but sometimes my halmoni, um, the Korean word for grandma, will cut up a Korean pear and put it on a plate and bring it to me. Like wherever I am in the house and even though I'm really not gonna eat it, that's just a sign of love. And I really appreciate that.”

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Outro soundbite/music/credits

 

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