After Zauner's mother died in 2014, she went on a culinary exploration of Korean food and learned how to make her favourite dishes as a way to connect with her Korean identity and her mother. In 2016, she wrote her essay "Real Life: Love, Loss, and Kimchi" (a winner of Glamour's essay contest) and talked about how one incredibly popular Korean Youtuber, Maangchi, helped her navigate grief as she explored Korean food. "For many, Julia Child is the hero who brought boeuf bourguignon into the era of the TV dinner," Zauner wrote. "She showed home cooks how to scale the culinary mountain. Maangchi did this for me after my mom died."
After her essay was published, the "Crying in H Mart" author met Maangchi in New York City at a talk and gave the renowned Youtube cook a copy of her Glamour essay. Maangchi read it and told Zauner in a phone call (via Vogue), "I just read your essay and I feel like your mom or something. I really appreciate it and I'm touched by it." The rest is history, and the two are friends today.