an unexpectedly cherished position in the collective memories of many second-generation korean americans. i am personally unfamiliar with the sizzler brand. oh, i know it by name, but never have i managed to actually cross its doors. david: after you. anthony: oh, thank you. wow. david: how are you doing today? cashier: i m doing good, thank you. how about yourself? david: i m doing fantastic. i got my sizzler outfit on. so, here s the thing. you can get, like, a steak and then add the salad bar with it. anthony: right. david: you get the best bang for your buck. or you can just get the salad bar. anthony: i m going to have a little bit of steak. david: i am going to go traditional and just get just the salad bar. cashier: and just the salad bar only. david: yeah, thank you. cashier: you can have a seat anywhere you like. anthony: terrific, thanks. excellent. oh, yeah. pouring for your elders. oh, now you re getting all korean on me. david: yeah. super embar
gone bad, but dave cho still tries, best he can, to be a good son. he bought them this house in los feliz and visits for family meals, often. in fact, when we first met, sensing it had been a long time without a true home-cooked meal, he invited me to dinner with them. so, guests are not unusual. jane cho is an amazing cook. jane: it s going to be very delicious. david: mom? dad? [ speaking korean ] david: look who s here. jim: hello. david: mom, anthony s here. jane: can you smell something? anthony: oh, yeah. jane: yeah. anthony: good stuff. jane: yeah, all the good stuff s coming. maybe somebody going to hire me later. [ laughter ] anthony: okay, which ones are you? are you the eldest? david: i m the middle. i m the suicidal pirate. anthony: oh, already signs of trouble appear. david: my older brother is the hip-hop santa, and my he was the oldest. anthony: right. david: he d beat me up. i d beat him up. and then he would just cry.
estevan oriol is a photographer. estevan: go on the other side of that pole. anthony: chronicler of everything iconic at the crossroads of hip-hop, design, tattooing, fashion, and low-riding. estevan: the old timers, they used to cut the coils or put bricks or sandbags in their trunk to make them lower. and then around the 70s is when it got popular. anthony: why these particular models of cars? estevan: it s pretty much always been, uh, late 50s, all the way through the 60s, and into the 70s. and then the 80s came up. they started bringing in the cadillacs and the regals. the most classic, well-known car for low-riding probably is the 64 impala. anthony: how many korean low-riders are there? estevan: there s a few asian ones sprinkled in the other clubs. anthony: more asians, more, more koreans than 15 years ago? we re seeing a crossover with the food. david: right. anthony: uh david: for the most part, things are starting to get a lot more open.
all the, all the top, uh, korean filmmakers are in hollywood. jim: oh, yeah. korean, uh, culture david: [ clears throat ] what about me? jim: yeah, you. anthony: artists, right. yeah, right. jim: except you. jane: sorry. sorry, david. it s incredible. [ laughter ] david: today, i went into all the ways different ways you guys used to beat us when we were kids. the stress positions, like, you know. anthony: yeah, but what david: all the korean punishments. anthony: what s remarkable to me is that every kid david: right. anthony: i mean, all korean kids. david: yeah, all korean kids. anthony: the same position. holding you either hold a book jane: oh, yeah. that s the way we learn from the generation to generation. we don t know why. anthony: to take a peek into the dark heart of the korean psyche, maybe it helps to get familiar with han. it s a concept that, for non-koreans, can be difficult to fully grasp. david: all right. you want it? her
joy roy choi: that s my life, man. anthony: totally joyless. roy choi: yeah. anthony: uh, what did your parents want you to be when you grew up? roy choi: for me, a doctor or lawyer. anthony: right. you re obviously not a doctor or a lawyer. did you finish college? roy choi: i finished college and i went to one year of law school and i walked out. anthony: right. so, you re a bad korean. roy choi: i m a bad korean. if i was a mediocre accountant, it d be better than being a top chef. anthony: according to who? roy choi: according to korean culture. anthony: right. roy choi: according to korean uncles and aunts. and it s just, it doesn t register that that is a profession. you know? i wouldn t have to explain myself if i just said i was a cpa. anthony: right. roy choi: never. you know, that s, that s, that s weird shit. anthony: i know. you still got some splaining to do. roy choi: still. to just get it across that i, that i cook, and that there