Remember the days when you were 21 and trying to figure out life? Add being a Korean transracial adoptee in Copenhagen dealing with racism towards Asian people in a global pandemic, meeting your biological family on your first trip back to Korea and trying decode the emojis sent from your Korean aunt? Meet Rasmus, and his thoughts about it all at time in his life when the future seems full of possibilities.

Korean-American adoptee Tara Footner, 44, survived rehoming and abusive adoptive and foster homes as a child. Those early experiences led her to turn inward to write and reflect. Today, Footner has most recently channeled her creative energy into a new online platform called The Universal Asian. 

*Child abuse including sexual abuse, rehoming; explicit language

Leah Nichols, 34, is a Korean-American woman who has been reclaiming her Asian identity after its erasure because of her intercountry adoption from Korea by white Americans, and subsequent environment growing up. She cares deeply about racial and reproductive justice and works to advance resources for other Asian adoptees. Nichols is also reunited with her biological family in Korea. Listen as she talks about some of the surprising aspects of reunion, including realizations about the affect on her American family. 

An excerpt from “Nice” by Naomi Ko appears courtesy of creator.

An excerpt of “Better Luck Tomorrow” by Justin Lin appears courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

James Straker, 51, was adopted to the US from Korea at age five. He doesn’t remember much during the time of his adoption. It’s taken him decades to unpack all the trauma from his adoption and dysfunctional adoptive family upbringing, including a suicide attempt, monastery training, moving back to Korea and marrying a Korean woman and having a family of his own. Today, he’s done a lot of healing, but knows there is much more ahead. 

“Heart and Soul” by Joy Division appears courtesy of London (UK) and Rhino Records (USA).

Jenny Dargren, 46, is a Korean adoptee in Sweden. She opens up about her struggles with bulimia and how she finally understood the disorder to be linked to low self-esteem from her abandonment and adoption. She hid from her Korean roots for many years until traveling back to Korea for the first time in her 40s. 

“I Don’t Know How to Live Without You” and “It’s True” by Jenda, aka Jenny Dargren.

Heather Schultz, 36, was adopted from Korea at four months old by a couple in Long Island, New York. At a young age, Heather lost her mother to a terminal disease and had to survive the rest of her childhood adjusting to a stepmother and stepsisters, who moved into the home she shared with her father. Seeking refuge for her grief, she found support and love from her paternal grandmother. After learning to love and accept herself, she began facing her deep grief and loss and past troubled family relationships. Today, she is an educator, public speaker and healer, who helps others to survive and move past pain and trauma. Heather has written about her life here and here. She has held leadership positions within the adoptee community, including as a board member of Also Known As NYC. 

“One Sweet Day” by Mariah Carey featuring Boyz II Men appears courtesy of Columbia Records.

Thomas Juncker, 21, was adopted to Denmark from Korea as an infant and grew up always having a keen interest in his birth country. In 2019, he decided to move to Korea during a gap year in his education. There he was able to explore his Korean roots, make new friends and ponder his life and how adoption shaped it. This interview took place earlier this year, just days after his return to Denmark after nine months working in Seoul.

First Lieutenant Benjamin White, 26, is a Korean adoptee commissioned in the US Army and stationed back in his birth country of Korea. He’s also gay. Listen to his story as he talks about navigating all of these identities as a military officer and as en ethnic Korean, trying to build ties with other Koreans in a country where society does not easily embrace everything about him. 

Chinese adoptee Grace Newton, 26, shares her story of coming of age and learning about international adoption as a social, political and industrial practice. An only child, Newton shared a close relationship with her parents, but delving into the history of transnational and transracial adoption created some challenging discussions. Her curiosity and desire to uncover truths have taken her back to China several times, each time imparting new perspectives. Newton has regularly shared her sharp and critical commentary and as a leader within the adoptee community. 

Warning: This episode contains references to sexual assault within family or kinship.

Korean adoptee and Canadian Jenny Heijun Wills, 39, talks about her 2019 acclaimed memoir, Older Sister. Not Necessarily Related. It’s about her relationships with her first family after being reunited in a form of a letter to an older biological half-sister, separated by time, language, boundaries, child removal and international closed adoption. and parental failings. The book also bravely addresses inter-adoptee harm, ways marginalized communities protect and hide sexual assault amongst their own kin, and the fears that come with breaking that code.  

Wills also discusses the vulnerability and emotional labor adoptees must endure when returning to Korea to search for family or to connect with their roots, and the way the search process and international adoption strips adoptees from support or personal agency, when trying to retrace and uncover their journey, kin and identities.