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Our Ocean Table - Season 1 Episode 3 - Charting a New Way Hom
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00:07This is our food table.
00:09Seafood is the foundation of so many of our favorite dishes.
00:14And we love eating.
00:17Oh my god!
00:18Fortress.
00:20I'm Sonya. I'm a filmmaker and ocean nerd.
00:24I live on Vancouver Island and my favorite place is underwater.
00:29I'm Hannah. I'm a journalist and producer in Toronto.
00:33And I was a reporter on MuchMusic in the 2000s.
00:36Have you ever had anything fly from the ocean like this before?
00:40Oh, they're from material.
00:43Koreans around the world are tied to the ocean through food.
00:48But overfishing and climate change threaten our oceans.
00:51What does it mean for our culture if our favorite foods disappear?
00:56Together, we're traveling across Western Canada to meet the harvesters and chefs behind some of the most iconic Korean dishes.
01:04Dive in as we learn more about the science, sustainability, and culture behind our favorite foods.
01:10Welcome to our ocean table.
01:19When I think of Korean food, I think seafood.
01:23Bubbling soups and stews with shrimp and seaweed and oysters.
01:27Many Koreans use oysters in savory pancakes and soups and also eat them raw.
01:33I've eaten a lot of oysters in Korea.
01:36They're as Korean as...
01:38Fried chicken?
01:39Cheers!
01:40Cheers!
01:41Okay.
01:42I guess when I think about Korean food, I also think chicken.
01:45But if fried chicken is Korean food the same way oysters are Korean food, what is Korean?
01:53Koreans love fried chicken.
01:55But is it Korean food?
01:57What is considered Korean food?
02:00What is authentic?
02:01What is traditional?
02:02And not only for food, but also am I Korean?
02:06Am I Canadian?
02:07I don't feel Korean enough, but I'm also like, eh.
02:11So I was born in Korea.
02:12My family immigrated to Canada when I was six.
02:14The only way I knew how to survive was really downplay my Korean-ness.
02:21All I wanted to do was fit in.
02:24I was born in Canada, in Toronto.
02:28I was able to integrate into Canadian society in a way that my mom really wanted for me to do.
02:34I think there's a classic story about Asian kids not wanting to take their food to school
02:40because people would say their lunch is stinky.
02:43My mother did not want me to take some food to school that would be deemed stinky.
02:48My mom also stopped putting garlic in our kimchi.
02:52She did not want us to go to school with garlic breath.
02:55I think that adapting your foods is about survival.
03:00Moving to Canada means adapting Korean food to Western palates.
03:03But also adapting Western food to Korean palates.
03:09Korean fried chicken is my favorite example of this.
03:12And oysters are an example too.
03:14When my mom immigrated from Korea, she would use local oysters to make our dishes taste more like home.
03:21Oysters are a shellfish that start their lives as tiny swimming creatures.
03:26Then they settle on the ocean floor where they filter water for food and live for the rest of their
03:32lives.
03:33Aquaculture in BC gets a bad reputation from open net salmon farming that has impacted our wild salmon stocks.
03:41But can oyster farms change the narrative of aquaculture on the West Coast?
03:45Have you ever been on an oyster farm?
03:48I don't know what that means, an oyster farm. I just know that I like to eat them.
03:52I'm excited to find out. Let's go to the island.
03:56I am an Ontario gal, but I spent a lot of time on the West Coast because it's where my
04:00husband's family is.
04:02I'm actually very familiar with Fanny Bay oysters as oysters that I eat, but that was all I knew about
04:08them.
04:14If you want to lead the way.
04:16All right.
04:18This is just a little access path to one of our farms.
04:21I like your commute.
04:23It's very West Coast.
04:26So what you're looking at is a freshly laid bed of oyster seed.
04:33So what we think is a beach is actually a farm field.
04:38We treat it like a farm field. Absolutely.
04:42What kind of oysters are these?
04:44That's a Pacific oyster, Chrysostria gigus.
04:47How long did it take for it to get to this size?
04:50That's about a one year old oyster at this point.
04:54How old does it have to be by the time you harvest it?
04:57That's going to be another nine months from now.
04:59I'll let this one grow.
05:00Have fun.
05:01Grow nice and pretty.
05:03Can we see an oyster ready for market?
05:05Sure. We can take a look at some.
05:07And how many of your oysters are on this beach?
05:11On the three tenures and ships point, it's well over a hundred thousand dust.
05:15I can't do that math.
05:171.2 million.
05:18Wow.
05:191.2 million oysters here.
05:21$5 a dozen.
05:23Still can't do that math.
05:26So you were wondering about market size oysters.
05:28So that patch of seed in six to nine months is going to look something like those.
05:33Whoa.
05:34Wait.
05:35This gets to be this in only nine months.
05:39Wow.
05:40This is considered aquaculture.
05:42Yes.
05:43Aquaculture on this coast gets a bad reputation.
05:45And I feel like not all aquaculture is made the same.
05:49I'd have to agree with you with that.
05:51There are big differences between, say, salmon pens and broadcast oysters on the beach.
05:56There's not a lot of detritus coming out of this.
05:59There's few inputs.
06:00There's no antibiotics.
06:02We do do a fairly intensive monoculture.
06:06Somewhat contained.
06:07And we're using beaches that are underutilized by other species.
06:12Winter storms will move them around.
06:14We'll pick them up, get them back to where we want them.
06:15And other than that, you're collecting the essence of the ocean.
06:19You're really kind of eating the ocean when you're eating an oyster.
06:22The ocean's health truly is about our health.
06:25And our health is about the ocean's health, too.
06:27The oyster is such a perfect microcosmic item, food, animal to let us know that.
06:33So the species of oysters is not actually native to this coast?
06:37That's correct.
06:38One might think that it's a problem to have a, you know, introduced species all along the beach.
06:43Can you tell me if there is an impact?
06:46My understanding of the potential impacts of Pacific oysters in B.C. are minimal.
06:51They were introduced to B.C. waters from Japan in the 1920s and 30s.
06:58And they spawn naturally in B.C. waters now.
07:01The Pacific oyster is the largest percentage of cultured oysters in the world.
07:08Would you say that this location is one of the locations where it's been bred the longest?
07:12Places like Korea and Japan, they've been culturing oysters for centuries now.
07:18Our people.
07:20That's why we think it's so delicious.
07:22And yet we're learning from you. I love it.
07:24I think it's pretty incredible to learn that these oysters originally came from my people.
07:29They're immigrant oysters.
07:30I love that.
07:32Can we taste one right off the beach?
07:34We'll pick an easy one here for you.
07:37Okay.
07:39Oh, I messed up.
07:41Slice it.
07:42Yep.
07:43Ta-da!
07:44You got it!
07:45Would you hire me?
07:46Pretty good.
07:55Briny.
07:58That's delicious.
07:59Thank you, oyster.
08:02How do you feel about us stepping on your oysters?
08:06Once they get to this size, they're fairly robust.
08:09They can take a little bit of foot traffic.
08:11They are surprisingly resilient animals.
08:15There's something comforting to learn that the oysters my mom used to make our meals feel more Korean are the
08:21same species we ate in Korea.
08:24These oysters also had to adapt and survive from the other side of the Pacific.
08:29With the resilient outer shell and an oceany inside, these oysters are a perfect metaphor for the immigrant experience.
08:40The more I look to the ocean, the more I learn what it means to be Korean.
08:49When I first immigrated, you know, like...
08:53Get it! Get it!
08:56It's such a juicy mosquito!
08:59Oh, you got it!
09:00Yay!
09:03Growing up with my Korean family friends, I was always told, like,
09:06Why are you studying marine biology?
09:09It's not a very Korean thing to do.
09:11When did you first learn about the haenyeol?
09:13Haenyeol are ocean-harvesting women, primarily on Jeju Island.
09:17These women are freedivers who can hold their breath for many minutes to harvest for seafood,
09:22like abalone, sea snails, octopus, and other shellfish.
09:26This harvesting tradition is decreasing in Korea, because most of the haenyeol are seniors.
09:32But all of them are badass Korean women.
09:35It was so exciting to learn that there are other Korean women free diving in the ocean.
09:39What they do is so connected to the earth and an ancient way of doing things that is just naturally
09:49sustainable,
09:50because it doesn't come from a capitalist industrial way of feeding ourselves.
09:55They just have this extreme, like, confident ajumma energy.
10:00That's what I want. I want confident ocean ajumma energy.
10:04Oh my gosh, yeah. That's all I want.
10:08We're back in Vancouver to try our local oysters at a Korean restaurant.
10:15At Jinni, Chef Jay is balancing tradition and adaptation with a menu that mixes imported Korean seafood with some that
10:23is Canadian, harvested locally.
10:25First of all, Fanny Bay oyster is famous, but it's very good.
10:30It's very good. It's very good.
10:31So I wanted to add some food ingredients to fusion.
10:35What do you want to do with this?
10:37First of all, we made a local uni.
10:41We made a local uni.
10:42We made a local uni.
10:43We made a lot of butter.
10:45We made a lot of butter.
10:49We made a pan-searing.
10:52We prepared it with hot sauce and200 partout.
10:56We made a lot of butter.
10:56Second of all,вин
10:57we made aожно- reflect on Korean food.
11:00We made great is ohmini- weigh this noisy cooking soup.
11:07Then we made the soup souprozées,
11:11and we made a 성공 뜨거WTON, we made Find multi-build pot.
11:13We made a mówang,
11:14It's delicious.
11:14Happy om Yes.
11:14Have a good day.
11:24I want this whole row.
11:26We just get another whole row.
11:28It's very interesting to take on traditional Korean flavors.
11:31Like the idea of a Korean pesto on top is very cool.
11:47A fusion dish like this is a way for Chef Jay to introduce Korean seafood flavors to Canadian palates using
11:54Canadian ingredients.
11:57But the real star of this restaurant is a Korean dish I've never tried before.
12:03which is a raw crab marinated for 48 hours in a house-made soy sauce.
12:09This wasn't a part of my own family's food growing up.
12:12So the first time I ever saw it was when Sonia sent it to me on social media.
12:18We've come a long way from when my mom had to make our food publicly acceptable.
12:25Now, restaurants like Jinmi can serve food that is Korean, unapologetically.
12:32So when I lived in Korea, my very vivid memories is just like eating seafood and one of them is
12:37this.
12:38My grandma used to make this at home.
12:40This version and like a spicy sauce version.
12:43I haven't had it since I was six.
13:05You do the Instagram squeeze thing.
13:08Me?
13:10I'm nervous.
13:11I'm nervous.
13:12Okay.
13:13Okay.
13:13Yeah.
13:14All right.
13:14Are you ready?
13:15Yes.
13:16Cheers.
13:17When I thought the flower seeds were the most useful for the flower seeds.
13:24I thought it was hard to buy in Korea and I thought it was hard to buy in Korea to
13:28have that.
13:29I think it's been in Korea.
13:34What do you think of Korean food?
13:59The traditional food from Hanseek is from our ancestors.
14:04It doesn't disappear in the middle.
14:07It's a lot of Korean culture.
14:10The Korean people can't leave it.
14:15It's something that we've tried to keep going.
14:20We've tried to keep going.
14:25At Chef Jay's restaurant, we could taste the ancestral connection.
14:30For the first time since my childhood, I could taste my 할머니's crab.
14:37I was told my ocean career made me not Korean.
14:41But the ocean runs deeply through our bodies, through our ancestral history and food.
14:46Even though I'm learning that caring about the ocean is actually a very Korean thing to do,
14:52I still have never been in the water with another Korean woman.
14:55So I actually love being in the water.
14:58I love swimming.
14:59But I have never done any diving.
15:02When she started to bring up, would you like to dive?
15:05I thought, is this required?
15:07What does it mean to dive?
15:09Am I capable?
15:10Welcome aboard!
15:12It's like getting into your worst formal palm dress, but even worse.
15:19Oh no.
15:20Oh yeah, this smells.
15:21Oh my god!
15:22It's extremely cozy, like oppressively cozy.
15:28You look like a henna.
15:30That's cute.
15:32See what happens when I get in the water.
15:34Can I tell you my nightmare?
15:35Yeah.
15:36It's that, um, a little piece of seaweed wraps around my ankle.
15:40Just pretend it's like a little nice hug from my toes.
15:43Not scary.
15:44Nice hug.
15:46But I think it's okay.
15:47You're allowed to be nervous.
15:48Okay.
15:49Let's get in.
15:50Okay.
15:51Yeah.
15:52Oh my god.
15:53It's all right.
15:54I need to take a breath before I can go in.
15:59Mommy's stressing me.
16:03Ready?
16:03Still getting ready?
16:04One, two, three.
16:13You okay?
16:14Woo!
16:17It's cold!
16:19Confirming!
16:21She was so nervous about going in the water.
16:24I think she was lying because she got in the water and she was so comfortable.
16:31And it made me feel so good that she was such a natural at it.
16:37Being underwater felt so freeing.
16:41The kelp was so beautiful.
16:45It felt like, why have I not explored this realm?
16:51If only everybody could do that.
16:55Being underwater like this was the highlight of the entire journey.
16:59I felt so free and connected to the ocean and curious about the kelp and creatures around me.
17:09And how cool to see Sonia gathering urchins and harvesting.
17:15Maybe Sonia wouldn't agree with me, but in my eyes, she's already a henyo.
17:22The notion of being Korean enough, it didn't really feel like I didn't fit the box.
17:28I felt like I didn't know what that box was.
17:32And then a few years ago, I got into BTS, I met Hannah.
17:37And around that time, I learned about Henyeol.
17:40I've been finally learning what being Korean means to me.
17:44But through that journey, I still wanted to be in the water, free diving with other Korean women.
17:50Getting to experience that with Hannah was so special.
17:55For most of my life, I felt like I was abandoning who I was as a Korean to connect to
18:00the ocean.
18:00But it turns out, connecting to the ocean connects me to being Korean.
18:43Can't eat anything soon.
18:45I'm walking about it.
18:46This is something else.
18:48The traditional plates with the stone bowl.
18:53with a nice view oysters from fanny bay spa prawns in our sundubu this is my mom's miyokuk you know
19:03with so much korean food becoming popular on social media like what is authentic what is
19:08traditional i think anything that korean people make and eat and enjoy is authentic
19:13whether it's like a new food trend that's you know sweeping the nation of korea over the last
19:19year or something that represents countless generations as a korean person or a person of
19:26korean descent but truly i'm a canadian person i like to just call it food if i love it and
19:33i
19:33make it then it's authentically korean food too you know i think that's such a good way to put it
19:39because sometimes i don't feel like an authentic korean but you said it's a reminder to myself that
19:45i can be korean however i want to be korean i can be canadian i can be korean i can
19:50be whatever an
19:51ocean person yeah i mean like growing up in the 80s in canada i was made to feel many times
19:58like i
19:59wasn't a true canadian but then there are koreans who make you feel like you're not actually korean
20:04enough i don't really think it's up to other people to tell us and if you feel korean then you
20:09are i love
20:10that to me it seems like hannah has it all figured out and through this journey i learned so much
20:17from
20:17her and it gives me the confidence to exist as a korean person in whatever way makes sense to me
20:24i'm so grateful to hannah for that korea is a peninsula it's surrounded by the ocean the culture and food
20:32and history you can see seafood everywhere in korea oh my god that's gorgeous korean people we are so
20:40lucky because we are really close to the ocean so we can have the fresh fish shellfish and be creative
20:46at the using seaweed rather than changing my ideas on sustainability everything i've learned on this trip
20:54has been reinforcing of some bigger ideas being in the ocean seeing its abundance but how
21:02delicate the balance is i just want to keep eating as sustainably as possible and just learning more
21:10especially in conservation spaces harvesters don't necessarily have the best reputation because
21:15they're taking fish out of the ocean but they are the best ambassadors for what is actually happening
21:22on the ocean they don't want these things to go away this is their life
21:33i want to eat my favorite foods forever and i want you to eat my favorite foods forever
21:38and in order to do that we need to do a little bit better for the ocean as a whole
21:43i want to take a nibble
21:57i've never eaten bulk help
22:37this is
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