Joanne Lee Molinaro, also known as the Korean Vegan, is a runner, an attorney, a blogger, a podcast host, and the author of the James Beard-award-winning Korean Vegan Cookbook named one of the best cookbooks of 2021.
But you may know her best as the chef and storyteller behind her wildly popular Instagram and TikTok accounts, where in just sixty seconds or so, she makes a delicious plant-based Korean dish, and at the end, when she’s done, you and millions of others are laughing, or crying or both.
Joanne infuses her food with stories about her life, and her family’s journey from what is now North Korea. Her stories are heartbreaking and compassionate, at the same time vulnerable and empowering as hell.
In this episode we talk about the early days of the Korean Vegan and the difficulties Joanne has faced.
Show notes:
0:00 About the podcast
0:40 Why is she vital to the survival of the species?
03:08 Compassion and empathy in today’s world
06:09 Why there’s so much negativity in the world
09:47 The beginning of Joanne’s Internet career
13:47 The conflict of turning plant-based as a Korean
21:08 The unexpected bi-product of going plant-based
24:19 Joanne on finding who she is
32:20 Making herself vulnerable on social media
38:02 How to make people more intentional
42:33 The importance of marketing
47:20 How you can use the instinct of wanting to make a change
49:32 How is Joanne managing time as a business owner
56:20 How can you support Joanne’s mission
01:00:19 First time in Joanne’s life, when she realized she has a power of change
01:01:17 Who has positively impacted Joanne’s life in the last 6 months
01:03:14 What book has changed her thinking
01:05: 39 Where you can find Joanne
01:06:08 Outro
*CORRECTION* The Indigenous author referenced at approximately 31:30 is Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer. I am a moron. You can and should buy Dr. Kimmerer's books here https://bookshop.org/books?keywords=robin+wall+kimmerer
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