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, for himself and for all those he cares about. He shares what it’s like to slowly become a stranger’s son.

Music: Under license with Blue Dot Sessions

Logo: Rusty Detty

Korean adoptee Leo Chung, 44, was raised in The Netherlands but now makes his origin country his home. Chung talks about his experience in the Dutch military and of developing an interest in Korea from an early age, especially its martial arts. That, and a reunion with his birth family at the age of 20, motivated him to make repeated trips back over his life. But while his reunion with this biological family has far from a storybook ending, Chung has come to embrace his Korean identity on his own terms, including becoming a dual citizen.