Acorn jelly holds a special place in my little heart. My favorite thing to do is grocery shop, early memories of roaming the Hyundai Department Store with their unlimited samples, my mom could always find me near the acorn jelly coated in heapings of “kim”, dried seaweed. In Julie Ae Kim’s “Uhl-Gool”, she describes the bribes of food her “umma” lays out on the table as a form of currency for her daughter (Kim)
Kim’s consistent use of parallelism allows her writing to be incredibly striking. She ties in the Asian American cultural differences and the traditional focus her mother has which is shown through the consistent up keep of facials alongside traditional Korean dishes. Acorn jelly is traditional meal that is slowly growing out of style, it’s variations of clear mung bean jelly and green bean jelly have steadily grown into fashion as they boast a more delicate texture in comparison to the acorn. That being said, Kim most likely has chosen dotorimuk for its historical significance as its creation is shown as a labor of love/respect. The jelly is made from modest ingredients (wild acorns) but the attainment of them is the difficult part. In a very mountainous country, people would have to travel across the forest to grab the needed across and then have to mill them finely into a powder to create a smooth result (Lee). Due to the simplicty of ingredients, dotorimuk is normally eaten with a topping of the traditional Korean soy sauce that peppers and green onions are added to. This presentation means that the forming of your muk has be spotless, smooth and poreless.
In Kim’s excerpt, she describes the almost grotesque process that is required in these facials. This kind of vanity is not simply for oneself but also for others as noted by her mother referencing that her daughter worked for the mayor’s office. Much like the muk, the blemishes of the face are evident from afar and the need to achieve that kind of perfection is an example of the immigrant struggle that her mother has endured. In order to prevent such struggles from occurring, the mother is trying to literally scrub away any disadvantages or physical mistakes that could occur. Kim has an internal struggle about this kind of acceptance alongside her mother’s wishes but ultimately she understands that it is often best to just grin and bear it.
Kim, Julie. “Uhl-Gool.” Asian American Feminist Collective: Solidarity, Politicizing, Talking Back, pp. 14–14.
Lee, Debbie. “What the Squirrels Know: Acorns for Dinner.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Oct. 2010, www.nytimes.com/2010/10/13/dining/13acorn.html.