By Honorary Reporter Myrtle Iris Villaraza from Philippines

Lunar New Year festivities from Jan. 17 to Feb. 16 at the theme park Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, California, featured Korean food among other Asian cuisines. 

For the first time, the characters Mickey and Minnie Mouse donned Hanbok (traditional clothing), greeting guests at Paradise Gardens throughout the month-long event. The outfits were crafted using authentic fabrics from Korea after research into their history and design.

An Instagram post shows two siblings wearing matching Hanbok outfits with Mickey and Minnie Mouse at Paradise Gardens of Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, California. (Catherine Eum)

The park's Lunar New Year food offerings included Korean, Chinese and Vietnamese dishes including new Korean-inspired items like Korean chicken tacos with gochujang (fermented spicy chili paste), peach makgeolli (rice wine) cocktails and bulgogi (stir-fried meat) pizza. The menu was supervised by Daniel "Duke" Brown, a Korean American chef who works at the facility.

On the left is a scallion pancake tostada at Disney California Adventure and on the right is one of the park's chefs Daniel "Duke" Brown. (D*Kababayan and Daniel “Duke” Brown)

In a Feb. 1-2 email interview, Brown said that with the spotlight on Korean culture this year, he sought to honor tradition while reflecting on lessons from his Korean mother, an immigrant from Seoul. 

"She shared our heritage through food, adapting it with local ingredients to make it more approachable," he said. "She was the first to make okra kimchi, bulgogi tacos and kimchi meatloaf. I wanted to represent what she taught me about food."

One of the new Korean dishes on the Lunar New Year menu is the scallion pancake tostada, inspired by Brown's story and love for popular Asian dishes. 

"Scallion pancakes are widely loved and I enjoy kimchi jeon (pancakes)," the chef said. "So the team and I created a Korean scallion pancake." 

Reimagining jeon as a tostada, he topped his dish with bulgogi made from his mother’s recipe, kimchi aioli and scallion salad to create "a hit."

These are screenshots from an Instagramer about Brown's scallion pancake tostada. (Eat with Adrian)

For Brown, sharing his Korean heritage through his food offerings was a life-changing experience. 

"In my decades of culinary experience, I've never had a platform to express myself authentically," he said. "I welcome everyone to experience what chefs like me with similar stories want to share about our cultures."

msjeon22@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.