Richard Kim is a former secretary general of Global Overseas Adoptees’ Link and lived in Korea for more than a decade. He talked with Kaomi Lee of Adapted Podcast about what both mean for Korean transnational adoptees. Listen to Richard’s interview from 2017

Susan Gaeta, 48, originally named Lee Hyung ho at birth in her native Korea, was adopted to the US as an infant. Today, she lives in Massachusetts and is a wife, mom and Lutheran minister. She’s also bisexual and has a rare health condition. Hear how she’s been able to find connection with others in … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 25: Susan Gaeta →

In 2016, Maree Kinder, now 33, originally named 창마리, quit her job in London and moved with her husband, Steve, to Seoul, to live for six months to search for her Korean mother. But disappointment and grief with her search had her turning to Korean beauty products as a way to numb the pain and … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 24: Maree Kinder →

Jessye Hale, or 송진주, 23, was adopted from Korea as a child and grew up in Wisconsin. Today, she finds herself back in her native country working as a cancer researcher.  She also found her biological parents and has been learning how to navigate these new relationships. 

Allie De Lacy, 25, was adopted from China to the UK at the age of two. Now married to a woman and living in Edinburgh, and an an anti-racism activist, De Lacy talks about her experiences growing up in near racial isolation and the racism she has experienced and still does today, as a result … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 22: Allie De Lacy →

TW: Cutting, child abuse (including sexual abuse)// Robert (Calabretta) Lee, 35, was adopted from South Korea to an abusive home in the U.S. He survived a difficult childhood, first in Michigan and later in central New York, by moving out at age 16 and found hope from key friendships along the way and exposure to … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 21: Robert Lee →

Korean-American adoptee Jacquelyn Wells, 33, born Choi Yena, shares some of her story in a wide-ranging interview about being a musician, jewelry designer and now taking on leadership roles in the Korean adoptee community. Listen to this up-close look at her life where she also talks about reuniting with her Korean family and her reflections … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 20: Jacquelyn Wells →

TW: Suicide // Korean adoptee Darcy Mitttelstaedt, 49, has overcome so much. And yet her faith and her work helping others have given her so much hope. She was adopted at the age of two from Korea and raised in a farming community in Nebraska amidst abuse and dysfunction. Despite it all and the emotional … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 19: Darcy Mittelstaedt →

Korean adoptee Sun Mee Martin, 39, was adopted from South Korea to southern Germany when she was 3 1/2 years old. She talks about how her own views on adoption have changed over the years, and of how her work has also evolved from being a communication designer to now curating spaces for interconnection and … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 18: Sun Mee Martin →

Danish filmmaker and Korean adoptee Sun Hee Engelstoft, 38, originally named 신순희, sits down with Adapted Podcast to talk about the making of her profound documentary film, “Forget Me Not,” which focuses on the lives of several Korean teenagers who are faced with a difficult decision of whether to keep their babies or give them … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 17: Sun Hee Engelstoft →

Timothy Vanderburg, 30, is an Australian Korean adoptee living in Sydney.  Growing up, he became involved with a local Korean adoptee camp and continued to have an interest in Korea throughout his life. And though he’s had many opportunities to connect with his native land and its people, those experiences have taught him important lessons … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 16: Timothy Vanderburg →

Korean adoptee SunAh Marie Laybourn, 38, was adopted to the state of Tennessee in the US at the age of four months from Korea. After her adoptive mother died when SunAh was young and navigating environments where she was different from the white or Black students at her schools, she buried her feelings as a … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 15: SunAh Laybourn →

Jonas Gürrich, 34, was adopted at three months from Korea to Norway. He has a positive outlook about his adoption and feels fortunate to have grown up with the parents and older sister, also a Korean adoptee, that he has. Recently, he’s been exploring DNA as a way to search for biological relatives, though not … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 14: Jonas Gürrich →

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 … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 13: Rasmus Myung Bertelsen →

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 … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 11: Leah Nichols →

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 … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 10: James Straker →

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 … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 9: 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 … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 8: Heather Schultz →

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 … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 7: Thomas Juncker →

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 … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 6: Benjamin White →

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 … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 5: Grace Newton →

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 … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 4: Jenny Heijun Wills →

Daniel Jeremiah Persson, 27, was adopted from Korea at age two to white parents in Sweden and grew up in the countryside where he faced bullies and racism. It wasn’t until he left to attend dance school in London when he found his voice to express himself through words and movement. When he went to … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 3: Daniel Jeremiah Persson →

American Rachel Rostad, 26, is a Korean adoptee who reunited with her biological family only to find that her eomma was suffering from a chronic illness that only added more questions than answered any. But while she would come to feel a sense of belonging with her Korean family, her belonging in Korea was another … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 2: Rachel Rostad →

Shaun Seo, 33, is an Australian Korean adoptee whose childhood was marked with multiple tragedies. Living with his family as expats in Papua New Guinea and Fiji, he also was thrown into the politics of poverty and privilege at a young age. But a family rupture changed Seo’s life yet again and sent him back … Continue reading Season 4, Episode 1: Shaun Seo →