Hosoonyi
From The Extended Group
Hosoonyi is a Korean restaurant located on the Snohomish County border in Edmonds, Washington. It has been a fixture in fine dining for some time for several of the group members (this can be attributed to the inordinate amount of asian restaurants present in the city of Shoreline and adjacent communities).
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History
It is generally accepted that Jeremy passed down the tradition of the Hosoonyi group meal to his peers, a custom he inherited from frequently dining out with his parents over the course of his adolescence. The exact date that this practice began to branch out to other group members is uknown (although it is likely that Terry was the first to be introduced), but records of historical memory date at least as far back as the age of the Nerdpack, circa 2001. During this period of time, Terry, Jeremy, Kevin and occasionally Rama would dine at the restaurant as a comfortable background for discussing their budding intellectual ideas. Cheap prices and delicious food, as well as plentiful qualities of "side dishes" (such as the now obsolete Little Fishies) were other desirable qualities that kept them coming back. It was this same appeal that began bringing in group members from all across the spectrum. By 2004, Hosoonyi was a common eating suggestion from some of the more "experienced" diners, but was typically overlooked in favor of more conventional dining experiences.
Incidents associated with the restaurant
- The little girl in the elevated seating (sitting) area stealing Jeremy's keys
- Gavin becoming "incapacitated" by his soup and pouring his glass of water into the bowl
- Lukas getting upset with having to sit in the elevated seating area
Good Cop/Bad Cop Service and Reverse Racism
It is often pointed out that the waitresses working for Hosoonyi carry forth an indifferent, if not intentionally cold demeanor when serving patrons at the restaurant, at least for group members. Their seemingly impolite manor of service is often juxtaposed with the one male server, who is characterized by a wide-smiled grin and cheery communicatory tendencies. For example, while one of the female waitresses may refuse to check back up on a party of customers, the guy will go so far as to ask if extra sides or more water were needed. For obvious reasons, this dichotomous relationship is compared to the "Good Cop/Bad Cop" portrayals of police interrogations present in pop cultural outlets. As a result, some of the White Group Members often jokingly point to the prevalence of "reverse racism" in Hosoonyi. Examples cited include said cold service, foregoing regular seating when it's available to present groups (that include white members) to the elevated seating area, and a general aversion to the use of the english language. What is the more likely cause for this perceived disparity involves a number of different reasons. For one, the restaurant is nearly always requiring full service for walk-in customers as well as those who had previously made reservations, resulting in many cases in a "first come" basis for preferred seating. Secondly, it is to be expected that the first language of the vast majority of the serving staff is Korean, since they are indeed first generation Korean-American immigrants. Because of this fact, it is understandable that they gravitate toward Korean patrons who ease their pace of service and likely have frequented the establishment for years. Further differences are probably due to customary expectations, and the expected American serving etiquette that the group members have become accustomed to.
The Dead Soup Controversy
Although "Dead Soup", or Doenjang Chigae (a soup carrying a fermented soybean paste base) has been a popular and celebrated fixture among Hosoonyi elites for as long as group members have frequented the restaurant, it emerged as the focus of debate in the Fall of 2005. During a dining session between Nathan, Kevin and Lukas, Nathan began to make a commentary on Jeremy's love of Korean food after Kevin ordered his regular dish, the aforementioned soup. Eventually, Nathan made the claim of creating the term "Dead Soup", to deter Jeremy's sense of joy in eating the visually unappealing dish. Kevin immediately took issue with this claim, calling Nathan's position inaccurate. Nathan shot back, accusing Kevin of claiming the term for himself. Kevin refused to take credit for it, saying that he couldn't remember who coined the term (even if it was in fact himself), but claimed to remember the basis for its origin. According to him, the term was actually a misnomer for a tofu-based soup that Gavin ordered, which included whole shrimp and clams floating in it--that is, "dead" marine life. What still wasn't certain to Kevin was who exactly coined this term. Lukas was then consulted as a neutral outside source, but could not come to a definitive conclusion himself. Nathan, unsatisfied with the outcome, took it upon himself to call Jeremy as a way of quickly resolving the conflict. After a short discussion, Jeremy intimated that it was in fact Kevin who crafted the term. The issue remains unsolved today, with Nathan still claiming credit, and the others unable to come to a conclusive answer due to hazy memories.
