Korean adoptee Kara Bos sat down with Adapted Podcast listeners on June 27, 2020 to talk about her ordeal to find her biological Korean mother and having to resort to the Korean courts for official acknowledgement of her relationship to her biological Korean father. Her case was hailed as groundbreaking as it allowed a Korean adoptee to use the legal system to get confirmation of one of her parents. But her story illustrates how the process can still leave unanswered questions as the rights of the adopted person are still not fully recognized within Korean society.

Note: story includes child sexual abuse

Kaomi Goetz 49, was adopted from Korea to the United States at the age of six months old. She grew up racially isolated in rural Minnesota, the only daughter and adopted child in her family. In many ways she was like most kids around her. She climbed trees, built snow forts, sang in the church choir, played clarinet and volleyball. But she also knew she was different. She carried a painful secret that took her childhood away too soon. At age 11, she was sexually abused, and it became a family secret that both silenced and shamed her. That she had been given up by people who left no trace of themselves, either to be found, or loved, also remained an unexamined wound, locked away with no key. Lee details what happened when she reported her parental abuse to her adoption agency, Holt Korea and the late Molly Holt; the response was as much shocking as disappointing, that no one was willing to apologize or take responsibility for her pain. For this season-ending episode, Goetz sat down with Korean adoptee Alicia Soon, who was the first person interviewed for this podcast in 2016, and who also shared her adoption story of abuse and feelings of abandonment.

BLACK LIVES MATTER.

Audio available at 7 p.m, EST (US) on June 1, 2020.

Music appears under license with Blue Dot Sessions.

Jae Hyun Shim, 38, was adopted from Korea and grew up the youngest and only daughter and adopted child in their Minnesota family. But there were plenty of other adoptees in Shim’s life from an early age and their parents took unusual steps to secure access to Korean-ness for Shim. That close relationship with their parents helped Shim to securely develop into the person they are. And meeting their biological family has also given Shim a perspective about the meaning of family. 

Audio to publish on May 18, 2020 at 12:00 pm ET (US).

Music by license with Blue Dot Sessions.

This week, we’ll hear from Daniel Kang Yoon Nørregaard, 33, adopted from Korea to Denmark at three months old, he talks about growing up in a predominately racially white environment, leaving his adoptive country to study design and eventually settling down in London. Though his career has been his focus, lately he’s realized there are parts of himself that he’s been disconnected from. And through his life experiences to date, he’s been able to learn and explore his roots in a way that is meaningful for him right now. 

Audio available on Monday, May 4, 2020 at 12:00 pm EST.

Music by license with Blue Dot Sessions.

Growing up in the English countryside in a middle class family and attending private schools and later a boarding school, already would have set Saschia Ryder, 48, apart from many others with less-privileged backgrounds in the U.K. But she was also adopted from Korea –and like many transracially-adopted Koreans — grew up in predominately white environments where she began to feel increasingly uncomfortable and invalidated through the years. Ryder talks about how she’s been able to do some healing and come to terms with her own story, and the revelations that have followed. She now helps others to unlock their unconscious life through dreams.

Music under license with Blue Dot Sessions.

Kurt RuKim [he/him], 34, was adopted from Korea and raised in the suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota. His identity has evolved over time, from living in predominately white spaces to embracing his authentic self as an Asian male and claiming his own body, being a dancer and racial equity activist and ally for other adoptees. RuKim also shares some of his experiences and observances being part of an interracial couple (Asian man and black woman), and resisting stereotypes and assumptions. 

Music appears under license with Blue Dot Sessions.

Fung Brothers appear courtesy of Fung Brothers.

Sooki Jalali, 56, was adopted from Korea at the age of 12 or 14. She’s not exactly sure, and her paperwork was falsified, making her at least several years younger. Jun Sukja would take on a new name and identity in the U.S., but her new life often didn’t seem like an escape from her old one in the orphanage in Korea. As a first wave internationally adopted Korean, she grew up in a small town in the Midwest where no one had seen a family like hers before. She also had to adapt quickly to a new language, culture and way of life. But Jalali was able to find her way, despite all the circuitous turns. Ultimately, she learned to rely on herself and her own determination to help her find the path she is on today. 

Music appears under license with Blue Dot Sessions.

Cameron Lee Small, 39, originally named He Seong Lee, was adopted from Korea at the age of two by white parents and grew up in a small town in Wisconsin. But he was never interested in knowing more about his native country or exploring his own feelings about being transracially adopted. But that changed in his 20s. Today, Small is a licensed therapist who specializes in helping transracially adopted adults and children, their parents and families, to grow in their journey and to acknowledge the complexities inherent in transracial and transnational adoption. 

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Music appears under license with Blue Dot Sessions.

Wayne Kangas, 34, grew up in a small town in remote and rural northern Minnesota. He always felt different and spent his childhood trying to fit in — by excelling in sports and trying not to draw too much attention to himself academically. Kangas got a chance to experience Korea a a college student more than 10 years ago. But you’ll hear why he chose to return to northern Minnesota and continue to make it his home and of how both Korea and the Finnish-American culture he grew up in are equal parts of him. 

Music under license with Blue Dot Sessions.

“Can’t Help Falling In Love,” by Kina Grannis, from the original motion picture soundtrack for”Crazy Rich Asians,” appears courtesy of Warner Brothers.

“Black Swan,” by BTS, appears courtesy of Bighit Entertainment.

“Zappaguri,” from the original motion picture soundtrack for “Parasite,” appears courtesy of Jung Jae-il.

Jon F. Jee Schill, 33, has been helping to build and sustain the Korean adoptee and Asian-American communities in the Twin Cities for several years. But it might surprise you to learn a little more about his back story, and his feelings towards Korea and his adoptee identity. 

Music appears by license with Blue Dot Sessions.