Question

in the h mart food court, i find myself again, searching for the first chapter of the story that i want to tell about my mother. i am sitting next to a korean mother and her son, who have unknowingly taken the table next to of waterworks over here. the kid dutifully gets their silverware from the counter and places it on paper napkins for the both of them. he’s eating fried rice and his mom has seolleongtang, ox bone soup. he must be in his early twenties, but his mother is still instructing him on how to eat, just like my mom used to. “dip the onion in the paste.” “don’t add too much gochujang or it’ll be too salty.” “why aren’t you eating the mung beans?” some days, the constant nagging would annoy me. woman, let me eat in peace! but, most days, i knew it was the ultimate display of a korean woman’s tenderness, and i cherished that love. the boy’s mom places pieces of beef from her spoon onto his spoon. he is quiet and looks tired and doesn’t talk to her much. i want to tell him how much i miss my mother. how he should be kind to his mom, remember that life is fragile and she could be gone at any moment. tell her to go to the doctor and make sure there isn’t a small tumor growing inside her. within the past five years, i lost both my aunt and mother to cancer. so, when i go to h mart, i’m not just on the hunt for cuttlefish and three bunches of scallions for a buck; i’m searching for their memory. i’m collecting the evidence that the korean half of my identity didn’t die when they died. in moments like this, h mart is the bridge that guides me away from the memories that haunt me, of chemo head and skeletal bodies and logging milligrams of hydrocodone. it reminds me of who they were before: beautiful and full of life, wiggling choco pie honey - cracker rings on all ten of their fingers, showing me how to suck a korean grape from its skin and spit out the seeds. michelle zauner, the new yorker © condé nast, august 20, 2018. 5 paragraphs 17 - 18: why does zauner call h mart a “beautiful, holy place”?

Explanation:

H Mart is a "beautiful, holy place" for Zauner because it connects her to her Korean heritage and the memories of her mother and aunt. The scenes of Korean mothers and sons (like the one she observes) and the Korean food (seolleongtang, gochujang - related dishes) at H Mart evoke her mother's care and cultural traditions. After losing her mother and aunt to cancer, H Mart becomes a bridge to their pre - illness, vibrant selves (e.g., memories of them with Choco Gu honey - cracker rings, teaching her about Korean grapes). It's a space where she collects evidence that her Korean identity (tied to them) persists, and it helps her move past haunting memories of their illnesses, reminding her of their beauty and life.

Answer:

H Mart is a "beautiful, holy place" for Zauner as it connects her to her Korean heritage and the memories of her mother and aunt. The Korean - themed scenes (mother - son interactions, traditional food) at H Mart evoke her mother's care and cultural traditions. After losing her mother and aunt to cancer, H Mart becomes a bridge to their pre - illness, vibrant selves, helping her preserve her Korean identity and move past haunting illness - related memories, reminding her of their beauty and life.