Korean-American TikTokers living in Portland have become emerging stars.
On May 8, the local internet media outlet ‘Here is Oregon’ introduced Ed Kim and his mother, Jane Kim, from the account “The Korean Mama,” which has 700,000 followers on TikTok. They are growing into influential figures in the Portland foodie community.
The Kim duo posted their first video in May 2022.
The son posted a video of him and his mom eating at a Korean BBQ restaurant to celebrate Parents’ Day.
Jane Kim’s comment, “I am so hungry,” in her Korean accent in that video, quickly became a trend among her fans. Since then, she has frequently posted videos of herself visiting and reviewing local restaurants, and her videos of herself cooking Korean food, such as kimchi stew, kimchi, and kimbap, have garnered a large fan base.
In one video, Jane responded to her son’s question, “What would it be like if I married a man?” by saying, “It doesn’t matter. We can live together as partners, not as husband and wife in the traditional sense.” But when her son asked, “Can I get a tattoo?” she said, “No, absolutely not,” which made viewers laugh.
Some of their videos are deeply touching, especially the video of Jane reuniting with her first son for the first time in 40 years, which has been viewed more than 7.3 million times.
In the video, Ed said that after his mother divorced his father, the eldest son lived apart with his father. His mother tried to contact him several times, but his father’s side of the family refused to allow her to do so, even forbidding her to send him gifts for his birthday.
After 40 years, Jane, who hadn’t been in touch with her son until after his father’s death, became emotional when they met at LAX.
In addition, the video of Ed surprising his mother with a house that he bought without her knowledge was heartwarming. As she became overwhelmed, Jane cried and said, “This day is finally coming for me too.”
Recently, the Kim duo has become so popular that they appeared on a local show on KRCW-TV. In November 2023, they held their first fan meeting at Soban, a Korean restaurant in LA Koreatown.
In February 2024, they held a fan meeting at the Korean restaurant ‘Jeju’ in Portland, which was sold out as fans flocked to see them.
“Everyone felt like they knew the family well,” said Sunyoung Park, the owner of restaurant Jeju. “Jane hugged everyone and took pictures with them. It was like she was genuinely communicating with the people she met on social media.”
BY SUAH JANG, JUNHAN PARK [jang.suah@koreadaily.com]
