About Us
It All Started With a K-Drama
And we had no idea where it would take us.
Like so many meaningful stories, ours began with one person sharing something they loved with someone else.
While studying abroad in London, my daughter was introduced to Korean dramas by a friend from Dubai. She enjoyed them, tucked the experience away, and eventually returned home to the United States.
Then COVID happened.
Suddenly, the world stopped. There was nowhere to go, not much to do and, after what felt like endless searching for something—anything—worth watching, she remembered the Korean dramas she'd watched with her friend in London.
So she put one on.
And I watched with her.
That was the beginning.
One drama became another. And another.
But somewhere along the way, we weren't simply watching anymore. We were becoming curious.
We noticed the food on the tables. The language. The relationships between generations. The customs we didn't yet understand. The places in the background we'd never seen. Even the way people gathered, celebrated, ate and drank together made us want to know more.
So we started asking questions.
And every answer seemed to lead to another question.
What began with a Korean drama shared between two friends had traveled from Korea to Dubai to London to the United States, creating a connection across countries, cultures and people who otherwise may never have crossed paths.
Eventually, that curiosity would take us all the way to Korea.
Curiosity Became a Journey
We didn't set out to change our lives.
We simply kept following our curiosity.
Watching became learning. Learning became cooking. New ingredients began finding their way into our kitchen. Recipes were tried, changed, written down and tried again.
I began documenting that journey—a collection of recipes and experiences I've now been building for four years, fittingly titled It All Started With a K-Drama.
But food was only one part of what we were discovering.
My daughter would eventually study at Yonsei University in Seoul. I pursued opportunities to learn more deeply about Korean food and culture, including earning a kimchi certification and a cooking class in the Ottogi corporate kitchens — experiencing Korean cooking firsthand.
And then there were the things that no class, recipe or certificate could capture.
Meals shared with people. Conversations. Wandering neighborhoods. Discovering something unfamiliar. Getting something wrong. Learning why it mattered. Trying again.
The more we experienced, the more we realized how much there still was to learn.
And perhaps that became one of the most meaningful parts of the journey.
There was something remarkable about standing in Seoul and seeing centuries of history and modern life occupying the same view.
A palace or ancient city gate sat against a skyline of glass and steel. A quiet hanok neighborhood existed only minutes from some of the most technologically advanced and energetic parts of the city.
The old did not disappear for something new to exist.
Tradition was respected
while still making room for what comes next.
That stayed with me.
So did something else we experienced throughout our journey—the importance of community.
We loved the way food and drink brought people together, the sharing of a table and the traditions surrounding those moments.
And one of the traditions we had come to love was somaek.
Where Old Met New
Somaek brings together two familiar Korean drinks: soju and maekju—beer.
Traditionally, it is enjoyed from smaller glasses.
Back home in the United States, however, our everyday drinkware looked very different. Our glasses were bigger. Our portions were bigger.
And suddenly, those two worlds connected.
The same idea I had seen throughout Seoul—honoring something traditional while making room for something new—could exist in a glass.
Not to replace the traditional somaek glass.
Not to change the tradition.
But to create something inspired by it that fit naturally into the way we were living and entertaining at home.
Respect the tradition, but also make it something new.
12 ounces of beer.
One 16-ounce glass.
And that was the idea behind Large Somaek.
The Glass Holds the Drink.
The People Create the Experience.
What we loved about somaek had never been only what was poured into the glass.
We loved the community surrounding it.
And really, that's something almost everyone can understand, regardless of culture. Whatever is being poured into the glasses is only part of a great night around a table.
It's the people sitting around it.
The food being passed. The stories being told. The laughter. The celebration.
Sometimes it's an important occasion.
Sometimes it's simply an excuse to be together.
The glass holds the drink.
The people create the experience.
And as Large Somaek grew, that idea of connection grew with it.
Your Glass.
Your Style.
Your Somaek.
We soon realized that the glass could hold something else, too:
Personality.
A phrase that makes you laugh. A design that reminds you of someone. Something inspired by food, friendship, music, entertainment or simply the fun of being together. A Korean expression you've learned to love.
And then those designs moved beyond the glass.
Onto shirts. Sweatshirts. Hats. Phone accessories and other things you could coordinate, give as a gift, share with someone else—or simply choose because the message feels like you.
Choose your glass.
Wear the message.
Match it with someone you love.
Give one to the friend who introduced you to something you never expected to love yourself.
Because sometimes something seemingly small—a meal, a drink, even a television show shared between friends—can travel farther than anyone ever imagined.
A story traveled from Korea to Dubai to London to the United States...
and eventually brought us to Korea.
Where will it take you?
Where We Go From Here
Large Somaek is one chapter in a journey that is still being written.
We'll continue learning. Traveling. Cooking. Creating. Asking questions. Meeting people. And finding thoughtful ways to share the things that have brought so much curiosity, connection and joy into our own lives.
We don't know exactly where that journey will take us.
Then again, we didn't know where that first K-drama would take us either.
And maybe that's the best part.