Get Down with K-Town

Pop Star Life to Chef Life with Jiyeon Lee

Before BTS or Gangnam Style, there was Lee Ji Yeon, the original K-pop icon. Esther talks to <a href="https://www.instagram.com/chefjiyeonlee/">Jiyeon Lee</a>, who, at the age of 17, rocketed to pop stardom in Korea, only to give it all up a few years later due to the pressures of the lifestyle: physical exhaustion, anxiety and trolling by "anti-fans". Jiyeon left Korea to find greater anonymity and freedom in the United States, only to go to culinary school and open <a href="https://heirloommarketbbq.com/">Heirloom Market BBQ</a>, one of the most popular and unique fusion barbecue restaurants in the country, with her husband Cody Taylor. Esther and Jiyeon talk about societal expectations around famous people, being an immigrant in America, and how magic happens again and again during one eventful career. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Through cooking and conversation, chef Esther Choi dives deep into the rich world of Korean-American culture. Esther invites guests to open up as she cooks their favorite Korean dishes, drawing on traditional family recipes she’s refined at her restaurants Mŏkbar and Ms. Yoo. Esther and her guest dive into topics ranging from food to family, from K-pop to K-dramas, and from fashion to sexuality, plastic surgery, adoption and more – all to explore what being Korean in America means today.