June Jo Lee

Nourishing Modern Hungers

I’m a food ethnographer and cultural strategist.

I study what people really hunger for beneath the bite, so that visionary leaders can design products, services, and systems that feed the future. Food is my portal into life. I conduct fieldwork in ordinary and extraordinary kitchens to decode our shifting appetites, emotional cravings, and cultural patterns – long before they show up in the data.

I track what people say, what they don’t say, and what they actually do, so that your organization can act with clarity, creativity and care. I work three ways.

Food Ethnographer

Ethnographic Consulting for food + culture leaders

I help brands, teams, and organizations uncover emergent and deeper desires, so that you can lead with better stories, faster.

Together, we translate early signals into meaningful strategy. We Illuminate emerging desires before they go mainstream. And we build cultural fluency across your teams and offerings, not through one-off insights, but through immersive engagements: retainers, deep dives, and learning cohorts that grow your internal capacity to sense and respond.

WUNDERLAND

Ethnographic Pop-ups for cultural transformation

WUNDERLAND is a traveling tasting trunk of identity, memory, and change. It's where people come together to make meaning edible and culture visible.

Each experience is rooted in sensory storytelling and ethnographic insight. We explore the emotional and cultural tensions of our time through curated themes like Taste of Space, Hot Mess Kimchi, or Post-Appetites. Around the table, participants reflect, connect, and imagine new futures, one bite at a time.

Readers to Eaters

Food Culture Stories that nourish kids

By publishing picture books and organizing author visits, we nurture curiosity and grow food literacy. Our programs are designed for schools and libraries that want to bring flavors to life, through curriculum that invites tasting, storytelling, and joyful learning. We believe food stories cultivate belonging and help young readers see themselves, and each other, more fully.