Episode 12: Julianna Gonska

Julianna Gonska, 24, returned to South Korea a few months ago to take part in a Korean government scholarship program for foreign students. For Gonska, a Korean-American adoptee who hasn’t lived in Korea since she was five months old, the tuition-free program represented a great opportunity to get in touch with her Korean heritage and engage in intensive language study. But as you’ll hear, Gonska faced problems proving her U.S. citizenship to Korean officials even before she got on the plane. Her struggle has highlighted a loophole that Korean-born adoptees can face upon their return, even people whose U.S. citizenship was conferred automatically by law.