My first weekend in Korea was a three-day weekend because of the holiday, Independence Movement Day. I went to Busan to visit my mother. I hadn’t seen her in a year. It was amusing to have her fret over me, watching her analyze my every move, continuously criticizing me and my life choices —but in a loving way that only a Korean mom can do.

My mom lured me across town with the expectation that we would eat live octopus. When we got there, she wanted to eat 죽 (juk) instead (i.e. pumpkin [호박죽] and red bean [팥죽]). Mom pulled a fast one and I got 죽’d!