{"id":4910,"date":"2026-07-19T21:38:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T21:38:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4910"},"modified":"2026-07-19T21:38:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T21:38:05","slug":"play-about-korean-immigrant-experience-finds-secret-recipe-for-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4910","title":{"rendered":"Play about Korean immigrant experience finds \u2018Secret Recipe\u2019 for success"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The promise of a shared kimchi recipe during the COVID-19 pandemic led a local Korean American theater company to stage what the director calls an \u201cimmigrant epic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Ryan Fox wins the British Open with a birdie on the final hole<\/a><\/p>\n

The Masil Theater Company performed \u201cSimcheonggil Secret Recipe: California\u201d\u00a0 on Thursday, July 2, at the Bascom Community Center in San Jose. The production, co-hosted by Korean American Community Services, wove together the real-life stories of nine people who immigrated from Jeonnam-Gwangju and other provinces in South Korea to Silicon Valley. Originally planned as a staged reading, the work developed into a minimally produced play.<\/p>\n

The project began when director Hyejung Son was distributing boxed meals during the pandemic and heard an elderly woman with dementia say, \u201cIf you give me one more lunchbox, I\u2019ll tell you my top-secret water kimchi recipe.\u201d The play uses food as a medium to reveal the loneliness, sacrifice and memories that sustained the lives behind stories of immigrant success.<\/p>\n

Professional actors from Masil Theater Company performed alongside local Silicon Valley \u201ccitizen actors.\u201d Among the actors in the latter group was Moon Hi Ree, who delivered a tearful scene based on her own story.<\/p>\n

\u201cMemorizing lines while preparing for the play made me reflect on my difficult past immigrant life,\u201d she said. \u201cIt feels like the world has re-evaluated my life and affirmed its meaning; my heart is full.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other citizen actors participated to support family members. \u201cMy mom (Koeun Jun) was a movie actress in Korea, but her career was cut short after immigrating,\u201d Dana Park said. \u201cShe devoted all her time to caring for us. While I\u2019m grateful for the mom who sacrificed for us, seeing her shine on stage doing what she truly loves makes me so happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Great US youth soccer debate heats up in pricey Bay Area<\/a><\/p>\n

The stories in the play were taken from interviews of cast members and their families, which performers say made them resonate more deeply.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned gratitude through our predecessors\u2019 lives, and realized that our lives today can become stories for the next generation,\u201d Mideum Lee said.<\/p>\n

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The play drew a standing-room-only crowd, inspiring the Masil Theater Company to explore staging a full-scale production next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis performance\u2014where immigrants tell their own stories and create it with their own community hands\u2014became a meaningful space of solidarity sharing the survival recipes of life for all of us,\u201d said director Son.<\/p>\n

Read more Ryan Fox wins the British Open with birdie on the final hole<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sold-out performance has Masil Theater Company exploring a full-scale production.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"\nPlay about Korean immigrant experience finds \u2018Secret Recipe\u2019 for success - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4910\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Play about Korean immigrant experience finds \u2018Secret Recipe\u2019 for success - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sold-out performance has Masil Theater Company exploring a full-scale production.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4910\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-19T21:38:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4910#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4910\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Play about Korean immigrant experience finds \u2018Secret Recipe\u2019 for success\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-19T21:38:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4910\"},\"wordCount\":435,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4910#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/a1368c8a07621bb121f5ef8e09f777de.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Things To Do\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4910#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4910\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4910\",\"name\":\"Play about Korean immigrant experience finds \u2018Secret Recipe\u2019 for success - 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