adoptee stories

In this episode, we talk to another special friend—Lauren Jung, an accomplished ultra-marathon and trail runner, an active member of the adoptee community in Seoul, a soon-to-be law school student, and a passionate dog mum. Lauren reflects on the early days of moving to Korea almost 6 years ago, what running means to her, and preparing to close this chapter of her life to start law school in the US. Brilliant yet modest, passionate yet practical, generous, down-to-earth, and thoughtful—these are some of the words that we’d use to describe Lauren and it was such a pleasure to chat with her. Mentioned in this episode: If you’d like to learn more about Adam Crapser’s lawsuit: http://www.theinvestor.co.kr/view.php?ud=20190818000088 https://apnews.com/12472d8f87944f12ae63f74a2829a410 If you’d like to take the Grit questionnaire for yourself: https://angeladuckworth.com/grit-scale/

In this audio-log style episode, Hana shares a little 6-month update (or 7 months to be precise) on her life in Seoul. Hana gives us an honest and descriptive glimpse into her everyday life in Korea, complete with work-related stress, the rare home-cooked meal, baking when you don't have an oven, friendship, community, and the ability to make meaning in/out of the situations she finds herself in. Hope you enjoy it!

In this episode, Ryan talks to Dr. Jess Walton, a Melbourne-based senior researcher, an author, a new mother, and a dear friend of ours. Jess shares openly and generously about her research, her new book (Korean Adoptees and Transnational Adoption: Embodiment and Emotion, Routledge 2019) and her experience of becoming a parent for the first time. We also discuss Jess's research on 'acting white,' adoptee emotional labor, racism, the important and often overlooked role of foster mothers, attachment, pre-verbal loss, and finally, the immeasurable joys of having a child. To learn more about Jess's research, check out: https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/people/jessica-walton

In this short and sweet mini-pod, Hana and Ryan discuss their 2019s, hopes and goals for 2020, and the joys of running the podcast so far. Hana shares her NYE reflective prompts, her grand vision for 2020 (in the form of an animal, naturally!), and they both contemplate what 2020 might mean for their relationships with Korea. Also, stay tuned until the end for an exciting update from Ryan! Thanks so much to all our listeners for supporting us during our first year and we look forward to spending 2020 with you all! xx

Tune in to our conversation on self-care, burnout, stress, and the holidays - including references to (Hana’s wellness guru) Elizabeth Gilbert, the potential over-use of the metaphor of eggs in baskets and scared puppies, how self-care can also involve self-discipline, and the importance of identifying and legitimizing one's feelings. We also managed to sneak in unplanned discussions of Disney's Frozen 2 (spoiler alert!) and the K-drama thriller Tunnel (major spoiler alert!). Happy holidays everyone! References: Erynn Brook’s twitter thread on boundaries: bit.ly/erynnbrook Elizabeth Gilbert on Instagram: bit.ly/lizgilbertig Elizabeth Gilbert’s animal metaphor: bit.ly/careforyouranimal

Hana sat down with Hilbrand Westra in Seoul, after participating in one of his workshops for adoptees, for an extended convo that goes deep into feelings. They talk about the systemic approach, core issues that adoptees face, the path to healing, the limitations of conventional talking therapy for some adoptees, working specifically with men, and more. [CW: This episode discusses adoptee suicide] Hilbrand is a Korean adoptee from the Netherlands, well-known in the international adoptee community for his activism and leadership over the past 30 years. After working in human resources management for big corporate firms, he encountered Systemic Work and Constellations, a multi-dimensional form of somatic psychotherapy that originated in Europe, and ultimately became a therapeutic practitioner in this method. He now conducts workshops, trains facilitators, and provides personal coaching, specialising in adoption, foster care, and migration issues. For more information about Hilbrand and the systemic approach, you can visit his website: http://www.adoptionconstellations.com/

Although Hana and Ryan have discussed various topics so far on the podcast, they’ve shied away from talking about their adoptive families. In this episode they talk about the reasons why, about trying to protect their parents’ feelings, and what they do and don’t discuss with their parents. They also reflect on what it’s like talking on community education panels to adoptive parents, and give their two cents on what younger adoptees need from their parents. P.S. Stay tuned til the end to hear Ryan’s special request to Seoul-based listeners!

In this episode, Hana and Ryan sit down with JaeRan Kim, who we were very lucky to catch right after the IKAA Gathering. JaeRan is a social worker, writer, teacher and scholar. Her involvement in the adoptee activist community began with her well-known blog “Harlow’s Monkey”, an unapologetic look at transracial and transnational adoption, which has been running for 13 years strong. We talk about how JaeRan first got into social work, her current projects including research on adoptees as parents, research ethics, and blogging. She also shares how she talked to her kids about adoption as they were growing up - which may have involved some critical analyses of Disney film narratives. And the musical Annie. (Also, listen til the end to hear Hana's protip for a quick and foolproof way to learn to love kimchi).

In this episode, Hana and Ryan share 10 Things We Love About Seoul and touch base with their light, frivolous, talking sh*t roots. They catch up (in person, finally!) and chat about being part of the ethnic majority, noraebang go-to songs, and eating cake with chopsticks.