Jinah Ahn’s mother is stir-frying glass noodles, vegetables, and ground beef in soy sauce and sesame oil. She’s making japchae. She’s preparing it at Sunhee’s Farm and Kitchen, where she is one of the chefs prepping before the restaurant opens for the day.
Seated at a table in the dining room as the kitchen begins its preparations, Ahn, the owner, says Sunhee’s presents restaurant-goers a reflection of herself as a Korean-American immigrant.
“We see the food as a medium, as something that we can communicate our identities, our love for our food, and also who we are, and share that with our communities," she said. "But also, [we] segue into the fact that we're more than just the food that's being presented in front of you."
While constructing the restaurant, Ahn was obsessed with every detail – from the wooden tables to the decorative lanterns hanging from the ceiling above the bar, and even the perfect shade of sage green painted on the walls.
“I remember the number of fights that me and my dad got into, because he was the actual helping hand, he had some construction experience, and he was like, 'Oh, why does this matter? Why do we have to do this?" she recounted. "I'm like, 'No, it matters,' even all the little things that no one sees or pays attention to. I think, as a customer, when you walk in, you absorb all that, you don't even know what it is that you're feeling, but it's because someone poured time and energy.”
Ahn was 26 years old when she established Sunhee’s Farm and Kitchen. She had just returned to the Capital Region from New York City, where she worked at a refugee resettlement office. There, she became frustrated with how little financial independence immigrant advocacy organizations had from federal or state aid.
Her parents had also just bought a new farm in Cambridge, New York. Ahn wanted to build a place that could sustain itself.
“We have vegetables being grown that we can't consume all by ourselves, I have this experience working with folks, I felt like I could actually teach the classes myself," she said. "Then again, [I wanted] a bit more — both financial and organizational freedom — to create a space and a structure that doesn't follow the norm.”
Ahn is now at a different stage of her life: she is a mother of two children, and is also a barred attorney practicing immigration law. Sunhee’s has also evolved: in 2018, Ahn established an adjoining nonprofit, Sunhee’s Community Place, which provides English classes, legal assistance, and help with immigration applications.
In the 10 years Sunhee’s has been supporting immigrants in the Capital Region, immigration regulations have also drastically changed and it has required a shift in Sunhee’s services. Sunhee’s Community Place regularly hosts "Know Your Rights" trainings, and works to educate immigrants who are lacking legal representation on how to advocate for themselves.
“The administration now is much more heavy-handed with immigration enforcement," she explained. "That was all there - the infrastructure and the laws were all the policies were already in place to support that, but it came up a lot stronger this time around.”
Sunhee’s also had to respond quickly to the pandemic, shifting to providing services online and turning the restaurant into a food pantry. As a Korean-American restaurant owner, the rise in anti-Asian hate was particularly challenging for Ahn.
“Funny enough, I think one of the first things I remember is people stopped coming to the restaurant, but people also stopped coming into our English classes, and when asked why they wouldn't come, it's because they were afraid, because we're an Asian restaurant," she said. "So this was widespread, it wasn't even just amongst Americans, but it was worldwide.”
Sunhee’s is celebrating its 10-year mark during Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. This year, with educational and cultural events throughout the Capital Region, the heritage month – and the local AANHPI cultural scene – look very different than when Ahn was growing up. Sunhee’s Farm and Kitchen will also host the TroyAsia Night Market at the end of the month.
Sharing her pride in her culture and heritage is part of the reason Ahn established Sunhee’s Farm and Kitchen.
“Our parents' generation, they were survivors, they were just trying to make it, even if it meant assimilating and giving up your culture, giving up your identity. That's why a lot of my generation don't know how to speak Korean," she said. "Our parents didn't teach us because they said, "Oh, you got to learn and only focus on English. Our generation is so different, we're we're going out of our way so that our children can speak our language. We want to reclaim that.”
She hopes to leave a strong legacy of advocacy and pride for her children.
“My dad has said this to me before, is that he'll say to me, 'Your floor is my ceiling,'" she said. "Whatever he did to build up his life here, and wherever he ended, that's where we get to start, which is such a beautiful thing. I see that for my children, where they're starting, as toddlers, it's like far beyond what I could have ever dreamed of for myself.”
