As part of Bridge Project 3, We were assigned as a group of 4 in Integrated Studio, to explore any neighborhood in New York City. Our group decided on Koreatown and documented the importance of that area to make a stop-motion movie featuring a miniature street of Koreatown. The story for our miniature street is made of cardboard, and the characters are made of clay. Some of the characters in the story is a Bacon, Bibimbap, and Egg. Therefore, I decided to use that characters in this writing. This is a story of a day in Koreantown in the eyes of Bacon, in other words, in the eyes of an American.
Dear Diary,
It was Friday, October 19th, and as I woke up, I thought maybe I should check out Koreatown. Many of my friends have been saying that Koreatown has so many good Asian food. Hamburger once told me that Koreatown’s barbecue is the best in the world, so I wanted to try it because I have always thought that American barbecue is the best in the world. I waited till around 12 pm for all the shops in Koreatown to open and took the N express train from 14th St Union Square to 34th St Herald Square. As I walked out of the train station, I saw a crowd of people trying to cross the streets. I stood in awe for a second because I did not know where exactly am I. Then, I looked at the street sign, which says “Koreaway” and assumed that I am in Koreatown. I did not know that Koreatown has their subway station, which I thought was very convenient. I strolled down the main street and noticed the buildings were in regular New York style architecture: corince facade, lintel over windows, and Italianate designs. The grayish tone facade and the feeling of the building were just like any other buildings you would see in other parts of New York City. I imagined the buildings in Koreatown would possess traditional Korean elements. I once visited Chinatown in Boston, and they have a large Chinese style entrance that when you look at it, you would realize right away that this place in Chinatown. Although Koreatown does not have a specific architecture look, the shop names are in Korean. I took about an hour to explore the location, and during that hour, I have noticed the changes in the crowd. I realized the later the day, the more crowded the street is. While I walked down the main road, I heard a lot of cars honked at each other and trucks that deliver food for the restaurants. I stopped at a cosmetic shop. The shop contains numerous Asian products like face masks, makeup, and body products. However, the shop also sells Korean books, music CDs, and jewelry. After that, I stopped at a bakery shop. The bakery shop sells Korean style bakeries like stuffed bread, green tea rolls, and pastries. I heard a lot of background music playing in each shop. They are mostly in Korean and is known as KPOP. I bumped into a Bibimbap, which is a Korean mixed rice dish. I thought it was a good chance to ask Bibimbap which Korean barbecue restaurant is the best in Koreatown. Bibimbap told me that “Jongro BBQ” is probably the most famous one here since not only Americans eat there, but most Koreans also eat there as well. I thanked Bibimbap and headed towards “Jongro BBQ” Even though it is a bit early for a heavy dinner; I decided to order a lot of their signature dishes. The barbecue tasted so different from American barbecue. It has a salty yet sweet taste in the meat. The Egg waiter told me that when Koreans eat barbecue, they wrap it with Korean cabbage and rice, then dip the meat into a spicy sauce. I thought it was such a good idea to use other side dishes in barbecue. After dinner, I walked around to digest, and I felt that there were EVEN more people in Koreatown. The shop signs were lit up since the sun is had just set. The sign illuminated the street, and for a second, I felt so warm while I looked at it. On the way home, I thought I had to come back here again.
– Bacon
