Transcprition of audio interview. Interviewed Hellen Lee, 1.5 generation Korean aout a recent New Years (sonal) celebration. Interview date was 01/20/2003 taken in the afternoon.

Transcription from Monday, January 20, 2003
Interview with Hellen Lee
Done by Jodi Kohlmeyer

Jodi Kohlmeyer: So which family celebration are you going to be telling me about?
Hellen Lee: Ummm, probably news years day. That’s usually associated with family.
J: is that the solar calendar’s new year, January first or the lunar new year.
H: uhh, no that’s January first. No our family gets together, you know when everyone else is partying the night before. Our family gets together.
J: On New Years Day?
H: Yeah, on news years day. Usually my family, well I live with my mom, but then I go to my dad, and my grandmother and my uncle live together, so usually early morning we get to my dad’s house to eat a meal with him and usually the meal is traditional, like ttôk kuk, yeah a lot of Korean food, and then after dinner we bow to, well me and my sister bow to our elders.
J: Not just your parents but your elders in general.
H: Yeah yeah everyone, so we bow to everyone. We start with the oldest. Like we would start with my grandmother and we would bow to her and say, saehae bo mônhibadûseyo, and that means have good luck in the New Year and she would say something to me like, “In the next year study hard and be a good daughter” or something like that. You know like blessing me and then she’d give me like money and that’s kinda a plus. And then I’d do that to my uncle, dad, and then the children go around and bow and bless their elders and they would start their new year off like that.
J: How do you feel about the bowing, about doing that, how does it feel to you?
H: Because I can’t speak Korean that well, I can’t say everything that I want to say to my grandma, I’ll be like saehae bo mônhibadûseyo and it kinda becomes this routine. Yeah so, I kinda think of it as a routine I don’t think about it as a significant event in my year more of part of my Korean tradition, also kind of to appease my grandma and my dad. Actually like I don’t know if I’ll do that with my own family, but maybe we’ll see. I want to do it, but not so much like my grandma will get offended if we come late to her house. You know we come early in the morning and bow and eat ttôk kuk. I don’t think that I will be as gung-ho about it like my parents. So yeah, that’s one celebration.
J: What else so you eat other than
H: Ttôk kuk? Uhh, let’s see. Usually just like rice, ttôk kuk. The ttôk kuk is really heavy. My grandmother puts in a lot of meat. Its like a whole meal in itself, but there are a little of ban ch’an, like side dishes
J: What is ttôk kuk?
H: Ttôk kuk is like basically, the base is like meat, and so its like broth, so like my grandma will cook the meat and make like a juice like a base and then you add like rice and dumplings and ttôk, which is like little rice cakes, and you ass meat and then you put like salt and pepper or green onions and stuff and that’s the soup. And then n top you add egg, seaweed and meat. And it’s its like this thick hearty soup and that’s ttôk kuk.
J: So your grandmother makes this?
H: Uh huh, my grandmother makes this.
J: By herself?
H: By herself? Well, ummm. Well I’ll be can I help? And I’ll be around the kitchen, but usually she’ll make the bulk of it. But like I can make it too it’s not too hard.
J: And this was at your father’s house?
H: Yeah. My dad’s house.
J: Why is it at your father’s house and not your mother’s house?
H: Well, because my mom is like, her family she’s the only one from her family over here, so we usually in the morning so the same thing to her, bow to my mom and then we’ll go over to my grandma’s house. Well my grandma’s the oldest, so I thin that we go over to the house which the most respect need to be given. I guess. So it’s over at my grandma’s.
J: Who’s over at your grandmother’s house?
H: Umm
J: You said it was your mother, you, and your sister.
H: Uh huh. I live at my mother’s house.
J: Your younger sister?
H: Yeah, my younger sister.
J: Your dad, uncle and your grandma all live at your grandma’s house. So this is all close family?
H: Yeah it’s immediate family. Actually in the past previous years, we used to do bigger family gathering. It would be my dad’s side and everybody it was like extended family, like that, but now its gotten more like intimate family, more nuclear family.
J: Why has that changed?
H: Well this is more like not so much cultural reasons but just because my parents got divorced and I think its just their choice to not associate with the extended family as much anymore. Kinda split off.
J: Is the house decorated at all?
H: You mean physically, like physically for new year? Haha no. I don’t know if you are supposed to. They don’t know
J: Are you supposed to wear anything in particular
Well I try to wear something more than what I roll out of bed in. well you know that you are going to pay respect almost to your grandma. Usually when I was younger I had a hanbuk which was the Korean traditional costume. I would wear that and I would get all dolled up and we would bow to our parents. But since I can’t fit into it anymore and they are kinda expensive to buy, I kinda wear something semi nice. I’ll wear slacks or something so I don’t look grungy or I just rolled out of bed.
J: How late does this celebration go till?
H: Well I think that our family events are low key kick back usually we’ll go there in the morning and leave later afternoon and go home it usually last the meal, we’ll eat together and then hang out, watch TV or the Rose Parade or something and somewhere in the late afternoon go home.
J: The money that you get, do you get money from your uncle?
H: Yeah.
J: How much do you get about? How much is typical to receive?
H: I guess, well this past I received money from three people, my grandma, my dad and my uncle. We got about $250
J: Not your mother?
H: No she did, she did. So I get 280 or 290. so I guess I would get more money if I had more family.
J: Is there anything that you are supposed to be spending the money on?
H: I think that its just for us. Well for me, I’m twenty years old, once I get a job, once I get a family, its my turn now to give money to my nephews and nieces and sons and daughters. I guess I only have a little time left. Once you get a job you are the one supposed to give and now you’re like older so now you get bowed to. Maybe in a couple years I’ll get bowed to. Kinda switches roles quickly.
J: How do you feel when you receive the money?
H: Its like tradition so we kinda expect it but at the same time I feel kinda bad that I have a job now I feel I should be one my own now. But its like a blessing to be receiving it, I know my parents work hard and they are giving us money. It’s a blessing. It’s a perk. I like it
J: Do you play any traditional Korean games?
H: No we don’t. like when we had our extended family get together back in the day, but now we just watch TV. I know of them. Because I’ve done them before. We’d have family get togethers and have teams and family teams and play yusnoli. That stick game. But now we just get together and eat. That’s our usual.
J: Anything else?
H: I guess I realize that my parents have instilled a lot of the traditions in me and like when I was a kid we used to see a lot more traditional like they were trying to pass it down, but now that we are older we are a lot more kick back a lot more Americanized. I think I realize the pattern of my parents not trying to instill Korean culture in me as I get older and it’s up to me whether I want to embrace it how much I want to embrace it and how much I don’t want to embrace it. It’s like American culture slash Korean culture now. So yeah I just se e my parents not being as stubborn or I guess or adamant about me being super Korean but I’m thankful that my parents trying, even when I was younger I remember wearing the Korean costume and I remember I still eat the food. I think now it’s up to me whether I want to spend New Year like my parents do.
J: A question about the bowing how is that done?
H: The bowing? Its different for girls and guys. Guys they get on both knees and bow, girls get on one knee and bow. They say saehae bo mônhibadûseyo as you bow. And then your head, I don’t know.
J: You bow your head?
H: Yeah you bow your head as you get on your knees or bow in one knee. Its kinda a fragile bow. It’s not quick and fast it’s slow and composed.
J: Are your relatives lined up or do you go and find them or do you do it all together.
H: Oh, its all together. Oh its time to saebae. It means oh! I don’t know what it mean. It means to bow. So my grandma goes first and then the kids go, either all together or one at a time. So yea everyone is together and they bow all at once.
J: So do you get money according to age?
H: Usually the older you get more. Like when I was a kid I’d get five buck, but now hundred. And soon I’m going to have to give it to my kids. I guess it kinda pays off, even out.

Transcription from Weds, January 22, 2003
Follow-up interview with Hellen Lee

J: So where do you live
H: Lomeda near Torrance
J: That’s your mothers house?
H: Yeah
J: And your father’s?
H: Gardina. Twenty minutes away.
J: Were you born in California
H: Uh huh. Montebello.
J: So its your parents who immigrated?
H: My parents. I was born here.
J: So when did they came here?
H: My dad came here first. I don’t know the date. Then my mom came. But I think it was about twenty five years ago.
J: So like in the mid 70’s?
H: Uh huh.
J: So when did your grandmother come?
H: Oh, she came about the same time as my father.
J: And where did they come from?
H: Well, my mom’s hometown is Pusan and my dad’s hometown is Seoul.
J: Seoul?
H: Uh huh.
J: That’s where your grandmother’s from also?
H: Yeah
J: And your uncle came here about the same time as your father?
H: Yeah yeah. To start work.
J: What did they do?
H: My grandma when she first came to California she came with my grandfather and my grandfather went to USB. He went to school. My grandmother. There was this hamburger shop that they invested in present day Compton and they had a hamburger shop. My dad started transmission, like a body shop. That’s how they started
J: How old are your parents?
H: My mom 1958, so 42 your dad 48 about the same age.