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 … Continue reading Season 3 * Bonus with Kara Bos →

  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, … Continue reading Season 3, Episode 21: Kaomi Goetz →

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 … Continue reading Season 3, Episode 20: Jae Hyun Shim →

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 … Continue reading Season 3, Episode 19: Daniel Kang Yoon Nørregaard →

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 … Continue reading Season 3, Episode 18: Saschia Ryder →

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 … Continue reading Season 3, Episode 17: Kurt RuKim →

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 … Continue reading Season 3, Episode 16: Sooki Jalali →

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 … Continue reading Season 3, Episode 15: Cameron Lee Small →

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 … Continue reading Season 3, Episode 14: Wayne Kangas →

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 … Continue reading Season 3, Episode 13: Jon F. Jee Schill →

Navigating multiple identities like being queer and a Korean adoptee has been interesting, says Shawyn Lee, 41. “We’re quick to throw people in boxes,” says the Hermantown, Minn., resident. But the labels aren’t always accurate and don’t allow people full visibility. In this episode, Lee talks about the complexity of identity, relationships, owning up to … Continue reading Season 3, Episode 12: Shawyn Lee →

Emma Wexler, 22, is a Vietnamese adoptee who grew up influenced by the experiences and writings of Korean adoptees. She has thought a lot about identity and race, intercountry adoption and privilege, socio-economics, race and child displacement. The future medical school student has always felt different – from being raised by a single white woman … Continue reading Season 3, Episode 11: Emma Wexler →

Korean adoptee Mila Konomos, 44, has spent a lifetime pondering the meaning of family, first as an adopted child to white American parents stationed on military bases in places such as Japan and the Philippines, later meeting her biological Korean parents to becoming a mother to biracial children in the U.S. But neither her adoption … Continue reading Season 3, Episode 10: Mila Konomos →

Son of a Korean haenyo, the storied female free divers, and a single mother, adoptee Ben Coz, 30, also plunges depths in adoption activism in Korea. You’ll hear how his politics are inextricably linked to his personal life, and how early trauma and loss has influenced his call to action.  Blue Dot Sessions music used … Continue reading Season 3, Episode 9: Ben Coz →

What do you do when you become an adopted parent’s caregiver and there might be unresolved issues related to your childhood and adoption? Sarah MeeRan Cave, 33, a Korean adoptee and an accomplished violinist, composer, and teacher, talks about caring for an aging parent, her relationship with the violin and teachers along the way, and … Continue reading Season 3, Episode 8: Sarah MeeRan Cave →

Sharon Jung, 37, is on a redemptive journey. Adopted from Korea at the age of four, Jung, along with her twin sister, would learn devastating details about the separation from their first family and what the adoption agency did to make that happen. It ultimately led them down a path to the wrong family. Jung … Continue reading Season 3, Episode 7: Sharon Jung →

Taneka Hye Wol Jennings, 34, works towards social justice and immigrant rights as the deputy director of Hana Center in Chicago, Ill. She also uses that passion to advocate for the Korean adoptee community through organizations like KAtCH in Chicago and others. Listen as Jennings steps out of her comfort zone to share some of … Continue reading Season 3, Episode 6: Taneka Hye Wol Jennings →

This week marks the release of “All You Can Ever Know” by Nicole Chung on paperback. Chung, 38, sat down for an interview earlier this year during the Korean American Adoptee Adoptive Family Network conference, where she gave the keynote. Her book, published by Catapult, is a memoir of growing up as a Korean transracial … Continue reading Season 3, Episode 5: Nicole Chung →

LA-based filmmaker and Korean adoptee Jon Maxwell had once struggled to put a lens to his own adoption story in a way that felt satisfying. But he found that by helping to tell the stories of other adoptees, his own came more into frame. Listen as Maxwell, 39, shares his own story about adoption, career … Continue reading Season 3, Episode 4: Jon Maxwell →

What do you do when your adoption agency stonewalls and lies to you? Greg Monroe, 27, of Ann Arbor, Mich., didn’t give up his search and after many trips to Korea and hard conversations with Holt Korea 홀트아동복지회, he was able to reunite with his birth family. But the reunion didn’t come with rough parts, … Continue reading Season 3, Episode 3: Greg Monroe →

Korean adoptee and self-described “southern belle” Cindy Wilson, 43, shares a fascinating life story of growing up in the Deep South, adopted transracially by African-Americans and navigating identity, belonging and being true to herself. Music: Under license, Blue Dot Sessions Audiobinger The First Time I Laid Eyes / China Town / New Hope / Sunday … Continue reading Season 3, Episode 2: Cindy Wilson →

Julie Yackley’s path to motherhood was not a common one. But then again, this 33-year old Korean adoptee has faced many challenges that perhaps might uniquely qualify her for her current role as a mother of two children — one she shares a biological connection with, and the other, a transracial adoptee one. A blogger … Continue reading Season 3, Episode 1: Julie Yackley →