korean adoptee

In this episode, Hana catches up with the “Aussie Dining Club”, a group of Korean Australians in Seoul. Adoptees Blossom Perriard and Meg O’Shea, and Korean Australian chef Peter Jo meet at Hana’s apartment to say farewell to Meg before she returns to Australia. This is a loose, intimate conversation among friends: one who just arrived in Korea, one who’s about to leave, one who has come and gone multiple times - who is more comfortable with disruption and change, and one who craves stability. The group compares life in Korea vs Australia, Korean Adoptee and Korean Australian experiences, and considers whether they would scatter their own ashes in Korea or Australia. You know, the usual stuff. Follow these Korean Australians on Instagram: Blossom Perriard @b_b__p_d (https://instagram.com/b\_b\_\_p\_d?igshid=4f7x1cvz5als) Meg O’Shea @even.little.meg (https://instagram.com/even.little.meg?igshid=1b4py07xd8omv) Peter Jo @kimchi_pete (https://instagram.com/kimchi\_pete?igshid=uj2a0aewce0f)

In this episode we speak with a very special guest: YoungChang Min (민영창), activist and co-director of the Domestic Korean Adoptee Association. It’s a perspective that a lot of overseas adoptees don’t often hear about - that’s been our experience, at least. YoungChang explains what it was like finding out, at the age of 13, that he was adopted - and to have his adoptive mother deny it when he asked her if it was true. He talks about his exposure to overseas Korean adoptees, adoptee activism, the importance of building a home and family, attitudes toward adoption in Korea, and his relief upon meeting a fellow domestic adoptee for the first time. This was a really special and eye-opening convo for us, and we’re very grateful to YoungChang for coming on the podcast. To learn more about the Domestic Korean Adoptee Association, check out his Kakao channel (in Korean): http://pf.kakao.com/_pkndT

“I tried so hard to fit into Korea, and I only realised - honestly like six months ago - that I shouldn’t have to try so hard [here] either. I spent so long trying to fit into America...here, I can just be myself...And if people don’t understand me, then so be it. I’m just gonna be who I want to be. I don’t think I could have had that [realisation] without coming to Korea.” January 13th was Korean American Day, which got us thinking about Korean Americans, Korean adoptees, and the ways in which our experiences resonate and intersect. It wasn't until Hana moved to Korea that she became friends with more Korean Americans, who often come here with the same questions, tensions, and yearnings as adoptees. One of these friends is Aaron Yunsuk (윤석) Choe (최): a Korean American filmmaker, musician, DJ, passionate home cook, and avid plant collector - to name but a few of his many hats. In this conversation with Hana, Aaron talks about his childhood in the US, moving to Korea in his mid-20s, and establishing a career in film and TV. Committed to amplifying adoptee voices through film, Aaron shares his experiences connecting with adopted Koreans, and his upcoming documentary project for Vice Asia!

What is han (한)? What is jeong (정)? How can we apply them in our lives in a practical way? In today’s episode we unpack these Korean concepts and discuss how they may offer different insights from conventional Western psychology. Our guide for this conversation is Kristine Chong, a Korean American spiritual care practitioner and activist. Warm, genuine, and down-to-earth, Kristine tells us about her non-linear pathway to chaplaincy work, her multi-passionate career (a combination of spiritual care, activism, and coffee!), and her approach to ongoing healing, which may be as simple—and as difficult—as small actions, often. We also touch on shared experiences between 2nd generation and adopted Koreans, and the perceived pressure to feel “authentic” in one’s cultural identity. At the very end, Kristine guides us through a beautiful self-jeong healing practice, which you can try with us as you listen—perfect for sitting with any feelings of 2020 grief, anger and loss, and for heading mindfully into the holiday season. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us, Kristine! We truly felt the jeong over Zoom! About Kristine: Kristine Chong (she/her/hers) is a 2nd generation Korean American chaplain, activist, and online editor for Inheritance magazine. A former organizer, service provider, and researcher, Kristine’s ethos of spiritual care is rooted in the interconnectedness of spiritual and social change. Her praxis of care integrates liberationist, postcolonial, anticapitalist, and ecofeminist ethics. To read some of Kristine’s work, and to check out her magazine, please head to: https://www.inheritancemag.com/contributor/kristine-chong

Hey everyone, we’ve missed you! In this episode, the two of us sit down for a long overdue transcontinental catch up—but first, Hana shares another extended Seoul life update (she likes to do that)—in which she realises, “Oh s#*^! I live here now”. She also delves into the process of cultural adaptation and the anxiety of not knowing what’s next, followed by a little heart-to-heart with Ryan about life plans versus, uh, less-linear trajectories and the value of following your curiosity. Along the way, we discuss theories from two of our favourite gurus, of course: Brené Brown and Elizabeth Gilbert. What was intended to be a shorter mini-sode got a little blown out, but we hope you can sit down—with your morning coffee, afternoon tea, or covid happy hour martini—and enjoy. Brené Brown on Day 2: https://brenebrown.com/podcast/brene-on-day-2/ Elizabeth Gilbert on Hummingbirds vs. Jackhammers: http://www.oprah.com/own-supersoulsessions/elizabeth-gilbert-the-curiosity-driven-life-video

Hana wanted to get this guest on the pod for ages but was too afraid to ask, but now - hooray! - here he is. Kee Byung-keun is a food writer, photographer, and editor based in Tokyo. Born in Seoul sometime in 1984 and sent away to the United States soon thereafter, Kee was raised in rural Louisiana—where, as he says, the food was good but life was hard. Many years and many wrong turns later, Kee made his way to Tokyo, where he built a life and a community around the city’s superlative food scene. Kee joins us to talk about home, belonging, connection, and mental health. We discuss how he chose to leave the US, a difficult first trip back to Korea, life in Tokyo, starting therapy for the first time, and of course, food. To further explore Kee’s world, follow him on Instagram at @abathingegg or check out his website at https://kbk.cargo.site/

In this episode, we share the 2nd part of our conversation with Boon Young, Jenny, and kimura, three heavyweights of the global Korean adoptee community, who have committed decades of their lives to advocating for adoptee rights and social change in Korea. We talk about coming 'out of the fog,' why they first became involved in adoptee activism, what activism means and looks like, and what they've learned over their many years of experience. Listen to our previous episode for our discussion of Adoption Truths Day and the first annual conference, which took place on September 9th. The online conference will soon be made available to watch on YouTube. We will post a link on our Instagram and Facebook (@adoptedfeelspodcast) once it is up!

As international adoptees, everyone knows someone whose adoption records were falsified, manipulated, switched, or never existed in the first place. In fact, accurate, complete records are practically the exception to the rule. We also know the impact of inaccurate, patchy information on an adoptee’s identity. Most people take their birthdate, age, place of birth, and parents’ names for granted, but some adoptees fight for this information for our whole lives. This year marks the first annual Adoption Truths Day, which seeks to raise awareness and advocate for Korean adoptee rights. The online conference, which will be held tomorrow, features speakers from around the world, who will discuss the unethical practices of the Korean adoption system, including the ways in which children are relinquished and adopted, how their records are created and stored by agencies, and subsequently, the accessibility of accurate information. This episode features the first half of our conversation with three amazing adoptees: Boon Young Han, Jenny Na, and Kimura Byol. Each of them is a leader and pioneer of the Korean adoptee community, who has tirelessly worked to raise awareness of adoption issues, advocate for and support fellow adoptees, and push for social change in Korea. Boon Young HAN is an assistant professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Her research interests include adoption, unwed mothers, family welfare and the welfare state. She was adopted from Korea to Denmark, and returned to Korea in the early 2000s. She has been actively involved with the adoptee community over the past 2 decades. Jenny Na is one of the six founding members of Adoptee Solidarity Korea. ASK was a grassroots organization that sought to raise awareness to the root causes of adoption, effect change in Korean adoption policy, strengthen the adoptee community, and create a space for critical dialogue. kimura byol-nathalie lemoine is a conceptual multimedia feminist artist who works on identities and expresses it with calligraphy, paintings, digital images, poems, videos and collaborations. kimura*lemoine’s work has been exhibited, screened, published and supported nationally and internationally. As curator, ze has developed projects that give voice and visibility to minorities. As an adoptee activist archivist, ze is working on A.C.A (adoptees cultural archives) to document the history of adoptee’s culture through media and arts.

Nikki Lee Bix Webster is the creator of nikkioften, a visual arts project “dedicated to punching you in the heart with comics”—and she's very good at it. In this episode, Nikki talks to us about living in and leaving Korea, moving back to the U.S., creating home, drawing, and nurturing one's inner child. She shares what she's learned about relationships and break-ups, adoptee tendencies to perfectionism, growth, and the importance of humor. Nikki is a Korean American who grew up in Towson, Maryland and is currently living in LA county in California. She used to consider herself a Korean adoptee, but was reunited with her Korean birth family in 2012 and built a meaningful relationship with her immediate and extended family members for 5 uninterrupted years in South Korea. She returned to the United States in 2018 and now considers herself to be an overseas Korean or second-generation Korean American. Follow @nikki_often on Instagram or visit: www.nikkioften.com

In recent months, the Black Lives Matter Movement and anti-Asian covid-19 pandemic racism have prompted renewed urgent conversations regarding race among Korean and other Asian adoptees. In this conversation with Adam Goodman of Plan A Magazine and the Escape from Plan A podcast, we talk about racial and adoptee identity, and finding your voice as an Asian person. This is neither a guide nor a resource - there are numerous excellent texts out there, which we will link to on our socials! - but rather an intimate convo among Korean adoptees, that touches on internalized racism, whiteness, responsibility, and how learning is both a shared and ongoing process. Adam Goodman is a Korean adoptee who grew up in Westchester, NY along side his younger brother (also adopted and biologically related). He's now living in North Jersey with his girlfriend. In addition to his day job as a business analyst, he and a group of like-minded friends run an online publication, Plan A Magazine. Follow Adam (@snbatman) and Plan A Magazine (@planamag) on Twitter!

We’ve mentioned star signs a few times before on the podcast, but today we take it one step further by talking to professional astrologer and shamanic healer Mallory Gill. In this episode Mallory gives us a primer on astrology, what perspectives it can offer - particularly for adoptees - and we learn that Hana is a very-virgo-virgo, and Ryan is a scratch-the-taurus-surface & look out! there's a gemini. Our meeting with Mallory takes us in all sorts of directions, so heads up, our post-interview convo is one of our looser, rawer, and wilder ones. About Mallory: Seven years ago, in the midst of a spiritual awakening, Mallory heard a voice that said, "Give yourself a key. Give yourself a way to understand." A week later, she discovered astrology. Now she uses the guidance she's gained from the stars to help people understand the cosmic forces working in their lives and unfold their unique destinies. Mallory is also a shamanic healer who offers a variety of energetic techniques to help people blossom into their true selves. She has studied at the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, the Toltec shamanism based Artist of the Spirit Coach training program, and the Center for Psychological Astrology. If you'd like to get in touch with Mallory to book a session, she can be contacted at mallorygill1@gmail.com. p.s. We apologize for the audio quality - Zoom and Australian internet isn't the best combo. We've minimized the patchiness as best we can, and promise to ensure cleaner audio in future episodes!

[CW: suicide] This is the final episode of our 3-part series on adoptee suicide awareness and prevention, dedicated to a special member of our community who died last year. We speak with Louise, a Korean adoptee in Australia whose sister, also a Korean adoptee, died by suicide. Louise tells us her very personal story and shares her unique perspective on the impacts of her sister’s death, her grief journey so far, and her reflections on the relationship between adoption and mental health. In this conversation, Louise mentions: David Kessler, a grief counsellor and author who has suffered grief first hand when he lost his son. Kessler offers a free online 'Suicide Loss Support Series.' You can find this series and numerous other workshops and resources at: www.davidkesslertraining.com Leigh Sales' book 'Any Ordinary Day: Blindsides, Resilience and What Happens After the Worst Day of Your Life.' In it, she interviews people after they have lost someone special and talks about their journey with grief. Australia's suicide call back service (www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au). See our website for more links to support services in Australia, Korea, and the U.S.

In the second episode of our Adoptee Suicide Awareness series, we talk to Nicole Sheppard, a Korean adoptee, long-time community advocate and leader, and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) from the Twin Cities, Minnesota. This is a long episode, but a super important one: we not only talk about suicide but about adoptee mental health in general. Our conversation covers things like: common risk factors for adoptee suicide, how we can look out for each other and talk about suicide in helpful ways, the importance of learning to identify our feelings, set boundaries, and advocate for ourselves, and how community spaces and vulnerability can be a crucial pathway to connection and to healing. About Nicole: Nicole was adopted to Minneapolis in 1978 at six months old and grew up with her older brother, also adopted from Korea. Korean culture camps played a formative role in Nicole's life, from kindergarten age through to high school, and during college when she returned as a camp counsellor. Nicole lived in Korea for 8 years in the 2000s, and during that time was actively involved in adoptee community development and advocacy, serving as Vice Secretary General of GOA'L for 6 years. Upon returning to the US, Nicole completed training to become a therapist. As a clinician, Nicole specializes in mindfulness and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for adolescents and adults. In addition to her clinical practice, Nicole is working on a Korean Adoptee Mental Health and Suicide Research Project, which was created in response to unaddressed suicide issues within the Korean adoptee community. Her wealth of experience engaging in, and supporting, the adoptee community in a variety of roles enriches and informs her current work.

[CW: this episode contains discussions of suicide, eating disorders, and self harm. Note: At around the 40min mark, our guest speaks in more detail about her suicide attempts. She treats this topic very carefully and we have edited this section - but listeners may wish to skip ahead at this point.] May is Mental Health Awareness Month and this is the first episode in a series on adoptee suicide awareness, dedicated to a special member of the community who died by suicide last year. We know this can be a tough subject to talk about it. But it’s important that we do talk about it openly. In this episode we meet Korean adoptee Pamela Kim Adams over Zoom. What follows is a searingly honest conversation that touches on trauma, mental health treatment, motherhood, community, self-care and more. We were absolutely blown away by Pamela’s openness and insight, and we think you will be too. *Together with this episode, we have put together a list of support services for Australia, South Korea, and the U.S. on our website here: http://tinyurl.com/afsupport* Pamela Kim Adams was born in Gwangju (Jeonnam province) in 1981. Adopted at the age of seven months, Pamela was placed with a white family in Rochester, NY. She grew up with two Korean-adopted sisters in a suburban town with good schools and went on many family vacations. In many ways life was idyllic, and yet she always struggled internally. Pamela's journey with mental health, identity and race - and exploring the ways in which those things intersect - has been long, complicated and at times excruciating. At the age of 30, Pamela attempted suicide twice, which was the catalyst for rebuilding her life and, most importantly, re-envisioning herself. These days, Pamela has found a sense of purpose and connection through her work with adult refugees and many other sub-communities in Rochester, NY. Building connection and community with other adoptees is one of her passions. She is a longtime member of Korean Adoptees of Western NY (KAWNY), co-facilitates regular virtual meetings with Unitarian Universalist Transracial-Transnational Adoptees and recently co-hosted a series of virtual long table discussions with Korean Adoptees living across the US. Pamela is a single mother to an 18-year-old daughter. Pamela could not be more proud of her daughter who continues to teach Pamela so much about life, love and simultaneously holding on and letting go.

In today's episode we're talking about what its been like living in Korea during covid-19 times, and some of our coping strategies which have seen mixed success. And in the interests of distraction and frivolity, we end the episode with a random questions segment! Which is something we've wanted to do regularly on the podcast, but Ryan is just really bad at springing questions on the unsuspecting Hana. And one last thing- just after recording this episode, Hana underwent a covid scare and got tested. This 48-hour period was not at all amusing at the time, though it occurred to us that it might make a good story later. We wanted to share her experience with you all, so Hana recorded a separate segment and we've edited it in.

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