Korean BBQ
The beautiful thing about culture is its divine uniqueness. The African, Hispanic, European, and Asian communities, have all created their own food patterns, customs, styles, and values, for ages based off their own heritage. Unlike the typical American diet, food that is rooted from a specific culture shows authenticity and in most cases, is refreshing unlike the craving for a burger and a ten piece from McDonalds. The beauty of culture is all around us, but it is up to us to indulge in its beauty.
This past weekend, a friend and I went to Gen Korean BBQ House, where guest are able to cook their own choice of meat. The average person would think there’s only so much meat that can be eaten, but when unlimited protein and white rice is in the equation for just twenty-four dollars; you can’t go wrong with endless meat. A few of my favorite meat options include, beef brisket, marinated beef, spicy chicken, and marinated bulgogi. Not only does the food taste delicious, but the fact that it is freshly prepared makes the experience unforgettable.
Exploring ethnic restaurants and markets allow you to appreciate culture regardless if it is other than your own. While being in the environment, I was drawn to learn more about the Asian culture. Being a journalist, I decided to take an extra step and spoke with Kevin Mai, a student from Cal State LA. After speaking with him for two minutes, I learned that he is not heavily involved with news coverage that focuses on the Asian diaspora. He said that the only mainstream media outlet he uses to receive most of his news, is from CNN. Other than mainstream, he turns to secondary news which is often just by the word of mouth from his family or the underrated outlet Vice. In his eyes, social media is biased, therefore he does not consider social media to be an efficient way to get the details on a subject he wants to know more about. Near the end of his interview, I found it interesting that he feels like the Asian culture is misrepresented. He believes ethnic media can tend to be one sided; this does not only go for the Asian community, but also other ethnic communities.
To truly grasp the hardships, everyday life, food, customs, and etc. it is important to retrieve news regarding different cultures from the authentic source itself. For one culture of people to cover news on a different part of the world, makes the news seem misrepresented and disingenuous. Living in a world that is predominantly ruled by the Eurocentric culture, it is important to understand that mainstream media in America will never cater to ethnic media in the way of which it should be covered. There is a disconnect when a group of people cannot express the adversities they face within their own community. Kevin Mai explained that to me firsthand. Conclusively, I enjoyed the experience of going to eat at Gen Korean BBQ and encourage myself and others to step out of their comfort zone.
