American writer, poet and educator Sun Yung Shin, 48, of Minneapolis, MN closes out the season. Author of a new book of poetry called “The Wet Hex,” Shin reads excerpts from book and talks about how adoption, race, evolution and the pandemic  informs their writing. 

Jenny Town, 46, is a Korean adoptee who was one of the first waves to go back to Korea after their adoptions. Now, a foreign policy expert specializing in North Korea, Town recalls her time in Korea as a university student, dating, and what lessons she learned about herself while she was there. 

Korean adoptees Kim Stoker and kim thompson left Korea five years ago after many, many years living there as artists, activists, writers and educators. But when it was time to leave, it was time. They sit down with podcast host, Kaomi Lee, who also moved back to the States from Korea during that same time … Continue reading Season 5, Episode 18: Post-Post-Korea Musings — Kim Stoker and kim thompson →

The topic of mothers has been a sensitive one for Korean adoptee Corissa Saint Laurent, 48. She lost her natural mother at the age of three, and her adoptive mother years later, after her parents divorced. She sought solace in alcohol as a way to numb the pain and fight feelings of abandonment. It wasn’t … Continue reading Season 5, Episode 17: Mothers — Corissa Saint Laurent →

Bjarte Aarland, 45, says he’s always had pride in being Korean. Even if standing out for being different wasn’t valued in wider Norwegian society. Aarland talks about the complexity for many Korean adoptees in Norway, a country descendant from Vikings. And of being asked the ultimate question by his biological family: Was his adoption worth … Continue reading Season 5, Episode 16: Being Korean is My Medallion →

What if you only discovered you were adopted in your 30s? Kristen Choi, 33, or 최우경, learned the truth about being adopted from Korea only a year ago, and is still unpacking what this new information means. Choi is figuring out how to embrace a new identity as an adopted person, as well as exploring … Continue reading Season 5, Episode 15: A Late Discovery – Kristen Choi →

Jakob Sandersen, 54, is at a crossroads. A Danish pharmacist with a family living outside Copenhagen, he might otherwise be content. But the pull of Korea, his native country, has long been present. With his education and knowledge, he has opportunities to relocate and work in Korea. But something holds him back. 

Kimberley Lee, 38, says she’s always felt very Aussie growing up in suburban Sydney, Australia. Her Korean roots seemed as faraway as the country itself. But in recent years, she’s realized the importance of connecting that past to her present. 

For so many Korean adoptees, little if any information is ever known about one’s biological family, either because of empty case files, redaction of information because of Korean privacy laws that protect the relinquishing family or even less-than-helpful Korean adoption agencies that might not notify an adoptee that their family was looking for them. But … Continue reading Season 5, Episode 12: Korean Dragon — Han Yong Wunrow →

Ray Trom, 46, survived trauma that no child should have to experience, first after his parents died leaving him with abusive relatives, to being relinquished to an orphanage with a brother he barely knew, learning to fend for himself from abuse from other children. At age 12, he was adopted to Minnesota and thrown into … Continue reading Season 5, Episode 11: Gratitude and Loss – Ray Trom →

Mixed-race Korean adoptee JoYi Rhyss, 51, shares her story of grief and forgiveness. Her pain starts in Korea, where she lived with her Korean mother until age nine, but always aware she might be sent away because her dark skin meant she didn’t belong. Her journey took her to one of the whitest areas of … Continue reading Season 5, Episode 10: Grief and Forgiveness — JoYi Rhyss →

Justin Snyder, 35, is a dreamer and a seeker.  He was adopted from Korea as an infant by parents in West Virginia and grew up in a small town only to now have traveled the world in search of meaning, spirituality and innovative thinking. Snyder embarked on his own adoptee journey in 2016 when he … Continue reading Season 5, Episode 9: Dream & Manifest – Justin Snyder →

Tara Tenhoff, 47, is a Korean adoptee living in Minneapolis, Minn. She came to the US by way of a private adoption and had always been told a story that didn’t seem quite real until she went back to Korea a few years ago and met her birth family. Tara describes her feelings finding them … Continue reading Season 5, Episode 8: Never Forgotten – Tara Tenhoff →

Tobias Hübinette, 50, is an adopted Korean and academic scholar of critical adoption, race and Korean studies, respectively. His work has focused on looking at international adoption from Korea to the West from all angles, not just from the perspective of receiving countries or adoptive families. He has also been an activist and critic of … Continue reading Season 5, Episode 7: Sweden’s Race Warrior – Tobias Hübinette →

MAI YOUNG ØVILSEN, 39, is a Korean Danish composer and front woman for her band Meejah, whose alt-shoegaze sounds are guided by her haunting voice and lyrics about Korean adoption, transnational identity and homeland. Øvilsen also shines a light on an aspect of searching for biological parents for adoptees that is often left out of … Continue reading Season 5, Episode 6: Transnational Gaze – Mai Young Øvilsen →

French Korean adoptee Laure Badufle, 37, shares her story of growing up in the French countryside to meeting her birth parents in Korea in her 20s. Trying to make sense of the reunion and being thrown back into old family disputes, the chaos became overwhelming, and sent her on a tailspin. Eventually, Laure set out … Continue reading Season 5, Episode 5: Breathe & Be You – Laure Badufle →

Peter Savasta [he/him], 46, has been around adoptee spaces for more than two decades. Raised in Queens in an Italian-American family, he found mirrors when he went to a diverse high school in Bronx, NY, and again when he found other gay Asian-Americans. In adoptee spaces he was an early mentor and source of support. … Continue reading Season 5, Episode 4: Becoming Me – Peter Savasta →

Kimura Byol 木村 별 , also known as Natalie Lemoine, [ze pronoun] talks about how ze adoption and upbringing in Belgium helped shaped ze politics and activism related to international transracial adoption. Particularly Kimura is passionate about improving access for adoptees to their birth records and identities. Part of that activism began when Kimura faced … Continue reading Season 5 Episode 3: In Search of Identity – Kimura Byol →

Korean adoptee Adam Crapser, 46, sits down with the podcast this week to talk about representation, the media, Blue Bayou and the controversy surrounding Justin Chon and ethics, his life post-deportation and candid thoughts like you’ve never heard before. Photo: Jes Eriksen David Chang appears via fair use and courtesy of Netflix. Blue Bayou film … Continue reading Season 5, Episode 2: Why Adoptee Representation Matters – Adam Crapser →

This year has been a whirlwind. I was contacted by someone who would later be confirmed to be my paternal half-sister. Lisa Beck, adopted to Denmark as an infant nine years after my own adoption to the US, we met in Denmark this past summer for the first time. For me, it was the first … Continue reading Season 5, Episode 1: Meet my half-sister – Kaomi Lee & Lisa Beck →