About Me

Hello! My name is Hannah Cho and I am a first-year student at Claremont McKenna College.

Growing up, I connected with my father through photography, learning about various cameras, photographic techniques, and styles, while I bonded with my mother through a shared appreciation for Korean cuisine. These experiences with my parents inspired me to explore my Korean identity through cuisine, using photography to convey an immersive story of perseverance and authenticity to a broader audience. 

When Koreans began immigrating to the United States after 1903, they were frequently mistaken for other Asian communities. Thus, when Koreans first opened restaurants, they had to find ways to preserve authenticity in their dishes without straying too far from what American diners were already familiar with. Comparing and contrasting the choices these restaurants made shows varying approaches to navigate this reality. Some have preserved their authenticity, featuring Korean-style 수저 (silverware) and 반찬 (side dishes), while others have modified these aspects to cater to American customers.

Through this project, I look closely at the ambiance and story that the curated spaces of the Korean restaurants share with their customers. My website features photographs of signs, menus, promotional flyers, cards, and interior design. For these photographs, I used intentional lighting, compositional, and editing choices to capture the distinct characters of each restaurant. I visited these restaurants cognizant of the roles that historical context, location, and social media play in determining the extent of continuity and change. Doing so made it possible for me to trace which aspects of Korean cuisine and design have been preserved, reduced, modified, and/or amplified.