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Korean BBQ, Kimchi, Bibimbap, Kimbap, Seafood Pancake, Soondu Jigae, Seolleongtang, Naengmyun, Kalbi Jjim - is your mouth watering yet?

Riding the broader wave of "Hallyu" (or Korean pop culture) in America, Korean food and ingredients are showing up in more places as well. Kimchi at your local Krogers, gochujang on your pork ribs? And it's not only traditional Korean food that's having a significant influence - what's the story with Paris Baguette in Pittsburgh or (gasp)... Paris? (yes the one in France).

In true MMM fashion, we walk through the wonder world that is Korean food and its rising influence in the West. We make your mouth savor with our loving descriptions of how Korean flavors and textures hit our taste buds (we told you - don't listen hungry!), give you a 101 on the traditional Korean table to help deepen your understanding and give you the socio-political-economic take on why Korean food is the way it is and how it's been exported, re-imported and re-exported to be the delightfully delicious array it is today.

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Talking about Korean culture in America right now, we couldn't walk past Kpop Demon Hunters. As of now, it is THE MOST WATCHED ORIGINAL NETFLIX TITLE OF ALL TIME, its film soundtrack has 4 songs in the top 10 of the Billboard 100 and was double-platinum certified and it received five Grammy nominations. We see IG reels of Mormon dads dancing with their daughters to Golden. 8-year-old girls with no Korean heritage belting out Take Down at birthday parties. All this delivered by a anime-style cartoon about a modern-day shamanistic Kpop girl group who defeats demons on the side - pretty crazy right?

As Asian American women (including one resident Korean-American), we have all the feels about Kpop Demon Hunters and clue you into what we felt were all the secret winks.

Snail mucin, "glass" or "mochi" skin, BB creams, face masks galore... if you are even remotely interested in makeup and skincare, you've probably noticed the rising influence (bordering on takeover) of Korean beauty in America. Emphasizing skin care and a more "demure" look, Korean beauty products have gone mainstream in the US and are everywhere now from Sephora to Walmart.

What's behind the rise of K-beauty products in the US? Do these products even work? What are the beauty standards that underpin them? What about the more invasive beauty procedures (like plastic surgery) that Korea has also become known for?

As Asian-Americans (including one resident Korean-American, one makeup and skincare connoisseur, and one professed "cavewoman" skincare adherent :) we've got the exclusive cross-cultural breakdown for you in this fun and honest look at the K-beauty phenomenon in America.

We speak with Peggy, who received devastating news six months ago that her baby had a rare genetic mutation that meant she may not survive childhood. She and her partner are on a journey to try to beat the odds by developing a gene-editing treatment for her daughter's condition that would require them to raise millions of dollars in charitable giving and convince leading scientists to work on this with them. What would parents do to try to save their kid?

If you are at all moved by Peggy's story, please consider donating to keep hopes for a cure alive. We will match all donations that are made through our MMM fundraising page for Peggy's daughter by the end of 2025, up to $5000. Anything you can afford to give, any connections you can make, anyway you can share Peggy's family's story, helps. Here is the link for the MMM fundraising page for Jojo: https://give.rarevillage.org/fundraiser/6839575

For those of you who were looking for more k-culture episodes, we'll resume those in two weeks.

As Thanksgiving approaches, we are thankful for listeners like you and our MMM community!

**Special note to our listeners**

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Have you noticed that Korean stuff is REALLY popular these days? BTS, Black Pink, Kpop Demon Hunters, K-beauty, Korean food, Netflix's Extraordinary Attorney Woo are but a few of the Korean cultural exports that have had immense cultural success in Western markets in recent years.

As Asian-Americans (and one resident Korean-American :) we grew up consuming content in the 80's, 90s and the aughts from the largely separate worlds of Asian and American entertainment. So it's kind of a head rush to see how the two worlds are colliding now. We give our unique and under-the-hood perspective on Korean content being embraced in America and beyond - in true MMM fashion, we dive into everything from the geopolitical factors surrounding cultural exports, the unique socio-cultural role that Korean-Americans have played in the global rise of Korean media, to the gossipy bits about Korean celebs.

**Special note to our listeners**

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We've said it before and yes, we WILL say it again. It's tiring, exhausting, wearying and grueling to be a parent of young children. Yes, we love our children dearly but the truth is that being the cook, cleaner, playmate, emotional hanky, leader, planner, discipliner, driver, butt-wiper and countless other roles every day to mentally-not-all-there little persons is an immense grind - harder than any other job we've had.

Maybe we say "I'm tired" once and we feel "bad" about saying it again but guess what... we are still tired and what's more, we're tired of being tired. In this episode, we break down the many sources of our tiredness (it's physical, yes but also mental, emotional, existential) and the strategies we are using to try to replenish our energies (with no judgment :p)

**Special note to our listeners**

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In this episode, we take a beat to reflect on the idiocies, prejudices, uninformed judgmentalism that plagued our pre-kid lives. As pre-kid women, we scoffed at separate meals for kids. We raised our eyebrows at lengthy bedtime routines. We asked a honestly-confused-but-also-slightly-judgmental "why?" when mom friends and acquaintances appeared to dial down their careers. Well folks, after 22 collective parenting years across the three of us, we REPENT! We are sorry, we apologize, we beg for forgiveness.

If you have kids, you may be able to sympathize. If you don't, please listen now so we can save you from the ignorant shame we happily pranced in.

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**********************In this episode, we welcome author Yiming Ma whose debut novel These Memories Do Not Belong To Us was just released this past August. Set in a dystopian future where memories are traded like commodities and the world's political order looks very different, Yiming's novel explores the idea of collective memory, when to choose survival over resistance and what happens when a marginalized experience becomes central. It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to speak to the author himself and in true MMM fashion, ask him all the questions about what makes him tick.

Check out YiMing's debut novel and website below:

These Memories Do Not Belong To US

https://www.yiming-ma.com/

**Special note to our listeners**

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On this episode, we get down to the nuts and bolts of what happens to your stuff and kids after you die. Yes, we are getting into that thing that's on every parent's to-do list but somehow keeps on slipping down to the bottom: Estate Planning. :)

We brought on Jenny Ling, who is founder and head of The Law Offices of Jenny Ling which has won a number of awards for their work in estate planning in the Pacific Northwest. We asked her all the questions you may be thinking but were afraid to ask: Is a will enough? Are trusts only for the uber wealthy? How will someone actually find all my accounts after I die? How do I convince my parents to do their estate planning? ... And we hear of some horror cases that she's seen to help motivate you to finally take action on this :)

Important notes:

- Since this episode was recorded, the Washington State Estate Tax laws have changed. The new law went into effect this month. Instead of the estate tax exemption being 2.193 million, it is now 3 million with a tax rate of 10-35%

- As always, when we bring legal, medical or other experts on the show, everything we say on the episode is entirely informational and should not be construed as advice for your specific situation. Always seek out a qualified professional for your specific context and goals.

**Special note to our listeners**

Love the show? Help us keep the conversation going! Become a paid subscriber through our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Your contributions help us continue to make content on issues related to the Asian-American, immigrant, modern parent experience.

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The final final episode of our Going on 40 series... we promise! Some of the TLDRs are below but you'll have to listen to the episode to get the commentary on Havenese farms, how Susan will become a media mogul-politician-cult-leader-pleasure seeker by 50 and whether we will be wearing Skechers or Hokas by then.

- How we viewed and experienced our parents set the default for our other relationships with adults and authority figures.

- How living a life true to yourself is easier said than done but will ultimately lead to more gratification and less regret later.

- In life and work, realizing what "game" you're playing is important and also recognizing that there are many different kinds of games in life and you have some choice in the matter.

- Your body and emotions send you important messages. If you spend your life suppressing them, they will catch up with you sooner or later.

- Sometimes, letting go of an issue you're struggling with is the only way out! See: Susan's thoughts on body image.