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Adapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 26: Alicia Soon Hershey - I am Not My TraumaI sit down with Alicia Soon Hershey, 41, a Korean transnational adoptee now living in Barcelona. Soon Hershey was the very first adoptee interviewed on the podcast back in 2016 and our conversation book-ends the podcast in the 165th episode (!). We get a chance to hear how she has evolved in the past eight years and her outlook for life now that she is a mother herself.2024-08-281h 18Adapted PodcastSeason 7 Episode 25: Eleana Kim and the Politics of Belonging for Korean AdopteesKorean-American cultural anthropologist Eleana Kim talks about her research that went into the seminal imprint "Adopted Territory: Transnational Korean Adoptees and the Politics of Belonging," Duke University Press, 2010. 2024-08-161h 30Adapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 24: Geoffrey Winder - Fluidity in IdentityGeoffrey Winder (born Jong Ke-Bin) (he/him), 42, of Oakland, CA, shares some of his story as a queer Black Korean transnational and transracial adopted man and about his activism in queer advocacy, adoptee community, and leadership spaces.2024-08-031h 10Adapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 23: Mirae KH Rhee - A Running DragonMirae Kate-hers Rhee, 48, is a transnational, transcultural artist and adopted Korean who uses her socio-political artwork and performance to investigate concepts like identity and belonging.2024-07-211h 22Adapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 22: Sarah Harris - Camptowns and BelongingKorean mixed-race adoptee Sarah Harris, 54, of Los Angeles, shares her story of visiting Korea and finding the place where she felt truly rooted.2024-07-051h 07Adapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 21: Delight Roberts - Marrying into a Korean-American FamilyKorean adoptee Delight Roberts, 52, talks about marrying into a Korean-American family and the challenges and benefits that provided her. Some were surprising – like table eating etiquette – but all of Roberts’ experiences from childhood bullying to having future in-laws who didn’t approve of her because she is adopted, have strengthened Roberts’ resolve to live the life of her choice.2024-06-211h 19Adapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 20: Wyatt Tuell - An Unconventional FamilyWyatt Tuell, 45, is a Korean-American adoptee who was raised outside Omaha, Nebraska with a Korean immigrant adoptive mother and a white American adoptive father who was much older than his mother. Growing up in the 80s, Wyatt often felt different from his white school peers around him and was sometimes teased for being Korean. At home, his family was very close and loving, which he credits today for the choices he's made in life. 2024-06-071h 05Adapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 19: Kit Myers - Ghostly KinshipKit Myers, 42, is a transracial Hong Kong adoptee and assistant professor in the Department of History & Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at UC Merced. In this interview, we talk about Myers' search for his birth mother and feelings he's had of having a 'ghostly' or ambiguous kinship with someone he doesn't know. We also talk about his upcoming imprint, " Violence of Love, Race, Adoption and Family in the United States."2024-05-2458 minAdapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 18: Nik Nadeau - Meeting My Birth Mother 2I continue the conversation with Nik Nadeau, 36, a Korean adoptee who is in reunion with his Korean birth mother. He is a secret, unable to meet his half-siblings who are also in their 30s, or be acknowledged by his mother, publicly. His relationship with his mother is qualified by language barriers, time and mutual grief, and love. We start off this episode with Nadeau recalling the experience of when he first introduced his then-girlfriend, a bilingual Korean-American, to his Korean mother. 2024-05-1037 minAdapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 17: Nik Nadeau - Meeting My Birth MotherNik Nadeau, 36, met his Korean birth mother 14 years ago. In this episode, he talks about his creative writing process and about how he's unlocked feelings about the reunion and his own identity as a transnational adopted person. 2024-04-261h 03Adapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 16: Yukyeong Kim and BanetLeader Yukyeong Kim and her group of neighbors and friends in Korea have been quietly and determinedly helping adoptees search for their biological family since 2018. I sit down with Kim to find out more about how the group got started and how their willingness to make a simple phone call has often times had surprising results. 2024-04-121h 17Adapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 15: JaeHee Chung-Sherman - You Don't Have to Be ResilientDr. JaeHee Chung-Sherman, DSW, LCSW, has centered her practice and research on decolonizing adoption and mental health for transracial and international adoptees. A transracial, transnational adoptee herself, Chung-Sherman, 47, has been among the first co-hort of TRIA therapists to do this work. She talks about narcissistic colonial adopt systems, and why she ultimately has decided to move on from private practice.2024-03-291h 29
Adapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 14: Leading an Adoptee OrganizationMia Quade Kristensen, 46, and Jannie Jung Westermann, 45, are on the board of the 34-year old Danish Korean adoptee organization, Korea Klubben. They will share about their own search and reunion stories, including one of them being in reunion with her Korean family for more than two decades. The women will also share about their community in Denmark and what is needed for the future. Besides the US and Korea, Denmark is the third most-downloaded country for the podcast. Audio is available on Friday, March 15, 2024. 2024-03-1547 minAdapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 13: Adoptee Consciousness ModelI talk with Dr. JaeRan Kim and PhD student Grace Newton about the Adoptee Consciousness Model - a framework for understanding adoptee awareness of the impact of adoption. Together with Dr. Susan Branco (not featured), the model is now being discussed and critiqued in academic and adoptee communities. Kim, 55, and Newton, 29, also talk about their earlier years when helming their own anonymous blogs about adoptee identity, 'righteous anger' and the impact of adoption. Dr. JaeRan Kim: Harlow's Monkey https://harlows-monkey.com/2022/06/23/coming-to-consciousness/ Journal link https://www.ibpj.org/issues/articles/Susan%20F.%20Branco,%20JaeRan%20Kim,%20Grace%20Newto...2024-03-011h 21Adapted PodcastSeason 7 Episode 12: Thomas Haessly and the Imposter WithinThomas Haessly, 40, has felt like an outsider ever since he can remember. Adopted from Korea by a Danish mother and American father to Racine, Wisconsin, Haessly recalls feeling like an imposter within his family, of not quite fitting in, and again as an adult at Korean grocery stores and parenting his own children. Haessly’s sister, Mia, also an adopted Korean, is featured on Season 7, Episode 8 of this podcast. This interview is the first for the podcast where adopted siblings who grew up together open up about their lived experiences, and illustrate their differences.2024-02-161h 21Adapted PodcastRachel Forbes and the 4Fs (of Survival and Trauma Responses)Rachel Forbes, LCSW, is a Korean-American adoptee with a psychotherapy practice in Connecticut where she specializes in transracial adoption and trauma-informed care. She is also an educator who speaks about trauma, attachment and healing within the adoption constellation. Forbes, 34, talks about the 4Fs regarding emotion disregulation and provides some good resources too. **CW: child sexual assault/ incest/ adoptive parent abuse 2024-02-0248 minAdapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 10: Marissa Lichwick and Her GhostsMarissa Lichwick, 46, is a Korean adoptee and filmmaker, playwright and actor. She is using her past pain and trauma surrounding her family separation, abuse in the orphanage and in her father and stepmother's home and the haunting loss of a half-sister she's never met in her art, to process the events of her life and to encourage healing and community with others. 2024-01-191h 04Adapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 9: Sara Docan-Morgan and Being In-Reunion Sara Docan-Morgan, PhD, 44, is a Korean adoptee and communications professor in Wisconsin. She's also the youngest child in her Korean biological family, with whom she reunited with many years ago. Her research has focussed on experiences of Korean adoptees and their families, and this month she is out with a new book, "In Reunion: Transnational Korean Adoptees and the Communication of Family" (Temple University Press). 2024-01-051h 09Adapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 8: Mia Haessly is Coexisting with Biological and Adoptive FamilyMia Haessly, 44, is a working mother and adopted Korean-American who has reunited with her Korean biological father. And while introducing her family to him and seeing her children connect with Korea in a way she never had has been meaningful, the reunion has presented new challenges. Besides the language and cultural barriers, there is the physical distance between Wisconsin (USA) and Korea. And Haessly's adoptive parents have at times struggled with accepting that her Korean father is back in the picture, especially her Danish mother. 2023-12-221h 09Adapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 7: Helen Noh, From Adoption Worker to Critic in South KoreaHelen Noh, PhD., is retiring next year after four decades working in child welfare in Korea, first as an adoption social worker to now a professor of social work, training generations of students to make an imprint on improving the lives of children and families. Noh, 64, has become a leading academic voice in Korea on changing policies regarding adoption in Korea. She talks with Adapted Podcast about her career, some observations working at Holt Korea, the problem with proxy adoptions as well as results of a study she and others conducted for the Korean Human Rights Commission, which found...2023-12-081h 33Adapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 5: Robert Holloway and Menzeba Hasati Are Children of an AdopteeRobert Holloway, 34, and Menzeba Hasati, 40, are siblings who are adult children of a Black Korean adoptee. Their mother is a first-wave adoptee, whose mother was Korean and father an American G.I. She was adopted to Alaska in the 1960s by a Black couple. Her children forged their own identities; one in spite of their mother's strong influence towards Korean culture, and the other, embraced it. Now as adults, Robert and Menzeba talk about the intergenerational trauma in their family, and how separation, abandonment, longing and love all embody their lives and experience with adoption. 2023-11-241h 13Adapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 5: Matthew Rodriguez and Fact Versus FictionKorean adoptee Matthew Rodriguez, 43, is trying to make sense of his adoption story. For years, it's been clouded by stories told to him and those he told himself, even if they weren't accurate. It was a means to survive. But Rodriguez, whose adoptive parents are white and Mexican American, has his own memories. And now in his 40s, he's learning how to feel comfortable being himself and with the truth. 2023-11-101h 25Adapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 4: Jenna Antoniewicz is ReadyKorean adoptee Jenna Antoniewicz, 40, has been on a whirlwind over the past 24 months since beginning to reckon her adoption history and adoptee identity. While a mayor of a town in Pennsylvania, she found herself speaking for Asian America during the coronavirus pandemic about anti-Asian hate. But it triggered an imposter syndrome for Antoniewicz, who hadn't previously reflected much on her adoption from Korea or what it meant to be Korean-American. Fast forward two years, and this wife and mother of two is now living on Jeju-do, off of mainland Korea, not far from her biological father, making sense of h...2023-10-271h 30Adapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 3: Hollee McGinnis and Her Soul WorkHollee McGinnis, 51, is a Korean adoptee and founder of Also Known As, one of the longest continuously running international adoptee community organization and based in the New York Tri-State area. In this episode, she discusses her new project, Mapping the Life Course of Adoption, and provides some insights from some of the preliminary findings. 2023-10-131h 14Adapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 2: Scar and FlowerLee Herrick, 52, is a poet, author, educator and adoptee. He was adopted from South Korea to the San Francisco Bay area in 1971. Herrick discusses how he uses his lens as an adoptee to observe and write verse about life. He also reads from his 2019 acclaimed collection of poems, “Scar and Flower.”2023-09-291h 01Adapted PodcastSeason 7, Episode 1: Kimberly McKee and Asian Adoptee FestishizationDr. Kimberly McKee, 39, currently a visiting Fulbright scholar at Sogang University in Seoul, Korea, is a critical adoption studies researcher. This November, her latest book, "Adoption Fantasies: Fetishization of Asian Adoptees from Girlhood to Womanhood" (The Ohio State University Press) will come out. We'll talk about her latest monograph as well as her 2019 book, "Disrupting Kinship: Transnational Politics of Korean Adoption in the United States." 2023-09-171h 07Adapted PodcastSeason 6, Episode 21: Randy Walker and Finding Self-WorthImagine a story told to you from childhood, that your biological mother died and your biological father decided to relinquish you? And the people who adopted you rehomed you to another couple, where you found abuse and neglect? Randy Walker, 48, has lived such a life and re-examines his trauma and discusses how negative family experiences can shape one’s future relationships.2023-06-131h 16Adapted PodcastSeason 6, Episode 20: Sara Jones Was Marked By LoveSara Jones isn't sure whether she's 48 or 49. That's because the circumstances surrounding her relinquishment are still a bit unclear. What she does know for certain, is that her father never wanted her to be separated from her family or be adopted overseas. But his worst fears happened anyway, and against most all odds she was able to find her way back. Now, she's using her voice to help other Korean adoptees whom the system disenfranchised and left vulnerable. 2023-05-231h 16Adapted PodcastSeason 6, Episode 19: Eric Poole and His New HopeEric Poole, 55, continues his conversation in this second-part of a two-part interview. In this episode, we follow his adoption to the U.S. and adjustment in New Hope, Minnesota, where as a Black Korean boy, he felt like he traded one outsider life for another. CW: N word2023-05-081h 16Adapted PodcastSeason 6, Episode 18: Eric Poole is the Boy from UijeongbuEric Poole, 55, is a transracially adopted Black Korean who has come a long way from his early days as a mixed-race Korean child in a US military camptown in Korea. He's now a father to three kids, husband, and one of the few Black pilots in the commercial flight industry. But his success story is built on the complicated foundation of being orphaned, outcast, alone and othered. He also shares his experiences being at the Holt orphanage, including being sexually abused by other kids and being groomed for a new life in the US. (Part 1 of 2 part interview). 2023-04-2559 minAdapted PodcastSeason 6, Episode 17: Karen Lechelt and ShapeshiftingKaren Lechelt, 50, is a mother, wife and a returned East coaster after two decades in the San Francisco Bay area and a few years in Amsterdam in between. Their childhood in New Jersey was marked with feeling not quite fitting wherever she was, and having to always adapt themself. Because of the loss of their first family, Karen says there's always been a feeling of not being anchored. That changed with the birth of their daughter.2023-04-131h 10Adapted PodcastSeSeason 6, Episode 16: Megan Nyberg - Superheroes Have Feelings Tooason 6, Episode 16: Megan Nyberg - Superheroes Have Feelings TooMegan Nyberg, 37, was adopted as an infant from South Korea to parents in Minnesota. But ever since her premature birth, she has struggled with medical conditions that have been constant reminders of the mystery surrounding her origins. Now a licensed therapist, Nyberg gives other grace and more recently, has started to give it to herself too. 2023-03-3058 minAdapted PodcastSeason 6, Episode 15: After Midnite - Santa Claus, Birth Parents and Other MythsQueer Korean adoptee Midnite Townsend, 38, is many things. A large part of her/their past has been as a performer; first training to enter the world of musical theater to realizing her/their real desires were better applied to the art of burlesque and drag king performance. Midnite's throughline has been a quest for authenticity - and the test of whether loved ones around her/them would see her. Theme music: Jae Jin Other music appears under license with Blue Dot Sessions 2023-03-161h 19Adapted PodcastSeason 6, Episode 14: Laure Badufle (Rebroadcast) Returns to SeoulKorean-born French adoptee Laure Badufle's story and search for idenity is now the subject of a new Sony Pictures film, "Return to Seoul." In December of 2021, Badufle, then 37, shared some of that story, including meeting her birth parents in her 20s. The film is now opening to more international audiences this month and is already winning accolades. This is a re-broadcast. 2023-03-031h 11Adapted PodcastSeason 6, Episode 13: Michael Jessup and His Inner GameMichael Jessup of Mountain View, California is a father, coach and adopted Korean. But it's only been in the last six years that the 46-year old has explored his feelings about his adoption and faced his pain about being abandoned and given up by presumably his first family at 13 months of age. He opens up about his life, how tennis has carried him through the years, and shares a touching letter to his eomma. 2023-02-231h 23Adapted PodcastSeason 6, Episode 12: Aneyah Elmore Has a StoryReunion with biological parents can be complicated for adoptees. Relinquishment or losing a child or parent, language, and culture can be traumatic and represent lifelong grief. But whose story is it? Aneyah Elmore, 56, is a Black and Korean adoptee who is balancing the need to tell her own story and the desire of her biological mother not to. CW****Child killings, racial genocide, suicide, emotional abuse of a child 2023-02-161h 33Adapted PodcastSeason 6, Episode 11: Lisa Woolrim Sjöblom - Our Bodies Have Been in Survival ModeLisa Woolrim Sjöblom, 45, is a Swedish Korean who was adopted at a young age from Korea and grew up in Sweden. The illustrator, comic book artist and adoptee and first families activist shares some deep personal insights about motherhood, attachment and the trauma and grief that is brought up with these life events. 2023-01-271h 15Adapted PodcastSeason 6, Episode 10: Samantha Lyons and Exploring Adoptee Identity Later in LifeSamantha Kim Lyons, 41, grew up with racial mirrors unlike many other transrcial adoptees. Her late father was white; her mom is a third-generation Japanese-American. Her childhood was spent in Hawai'i and later southern California. But like other Korean adoptees, Lyons finds herself searching for deeper connection to Korea and to her adoptee identity later in life, for the first time. 2023-01-141h 06Adapted PodcastSeason 6, Episode 9: Ed Pokropski is Case 84-1410Edward Pokropski, 39, of New York, NY is an adopted Korean-American who has a new one-man show out unpacking that experience. He talks about why not all audiences are comfortable laughing at jokes about adoption and how he approaches the topic while staying true to himself. 2022-12-291h 13Adapted PodcastSeason 6, Episode 8: An Investigation Starts (Part 2 of 2)This is the second-half of a recent conversation with Peter Møller of the Danish Korean Rights Group. The discussion takes place on Dec. 11, 2022 (KST), just days after the Korean Truth and Reconciliation Commission decided to start an investigation on Korean adoption by examining an initial 34 cases of the more than 300 submissions. We also discuss privacy in regards to the Special Adoption Law and threats made by Holt to Møller and other adoptees if they don't abandon this complaint. 2022-12-2135 minAdapted PodcastSeason 6, Episode 7: An Investigation StartsI sit down and talk again to Peter Møller, one of the co-founders of Danish Korean Rights Group, which has succeeded in convincing a truth commission in Korea to open an investigation into Korean adoption. The group has submitted more than 300 cases representing adopted Koreans in a number of countries, alleging false paperwork and switched identities among other human rights violations. 2022-12-1455 minAdapted PodcastSeason 6, Episode 6: Zhen E Rammelsberg and Her Puzzle PieceZhen E Rammelsberg, 50, was adopted from Korea by a white couple in Iowa in the US. She grew up without mirrors or anyone that looked like her. It would be more than four decades later that she would finally return to her native country. But instead of being able to neatly complete her puzzle she realized the missing piece - herself - no longer fit. 2022-12-011h 11Adapted PodcastSeason 6, Episode 5: Allen Majors on Retiring in Korea and of Not Driving LamborghinisAllen Majors, 63, is a Korean-American adoptee who has decided to retire in Korea -- more than 60 years after being sent away for adoption to the US. One could think of it as a kind of reclamation of identity but Majors chooses to not place too much emphasis and burdens on the past. Instead, he looks for 'spontaneous delightful moments' in the everday as he looks forward to embarking on the second half of his life where it all started. 2022-11-171h 07Adapted PodcastSeason 6, Episode 4: Christy Zaragoza and Why She Spreads JoyChristy Zaragoza, 30, regularly spreads joy in the adoptee community as a board member of the Association of Korean Adoptees in San Francisco. She reveals that the reason she is so interested in making others happy around her comes from a dark place. This is the first time Christy has shared her story publicly like this. 2022-11-031h 16Adapted PodcastSeason 6, Episode 3: Peter Møller and the Truth and Reconciliation CommisisonDanish attorney and Korean adoptee Peter Møller is the next guest in the podcast. He and his group, Danish Korean Rights Group, are submitting cases to Korea's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The aim is to encourage the body to investigate Korean intercountry adoption practices during the authoritarian regime fo illegality and criminality on the part of adoption agencies and government agents, as well as for violations of international human rights. We spoke to him on Oct 15, 2022 during his month-long work in Korea, ahead of an important appearance before the National Assembly on Friday, Oct. 21 (KST). 2022-10-191h 24Adapted PodcastSeason 6, Episode 2: Share Your StoryAt last month's AKASF's Bay to LA annual event in Koreatown, there was a booth dedicated to letting adoptees share part of their story on their own. We didn't know what to expect or whether anyone would share. This next episode is a compilation of all the submissions. It's a different way of documenting these histories -- almost like an audio diary. Thanks to all the adoptees who participated. 2022-10-0852 minAdapted PodcastSeason 6 // Nick Greene and His Three PhoenixesSeason Six kicks off with a live audience interview with Nick Greene of Association of Korean Adoptees – San Francisco. The Bay-area Korean adoptee group held its annual “Bay To LA” event September 16-17, 2022. More than 70 adoptees from CA, OR, TX, AZ, MN, IL, WA and MI attended. Greene, 40, is relative new to adoptee community spaces and he talks about his role as a leader for one group and what motivates him to get involved.2022-09-261h 23Adapted PodcastSeason 5, Episode 20: A Love Letter To Tigers -- Sun Yung ShinAmerican writer, poet and educator Sun Yung Shin, 48, of Minneapolis, MN closes out Season 5 by talking about her latest imprint, "The Wet Hex," and its themes of abandonment, survival, evolution and ecosystems. 2022-07-041h 10Adapted PodcastSeason 5, Episode 19: Jenny Town - Pear BlossomJenny 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 an university student, dating, and what she learned about herself while she was there. 2022-06-171h 20Adapted PodcastSeason 5, Episode 18: Post-Post-Korea Musings -- Kim Stoker and kim thompsonKorean adoptees Kim Stoker and kim thompson left Korea about five years ago. This time it was their decision. Stoker spent most of her adult life there, and thompson, nearly a decade. They talk with podcast host Kaomi Lee, who also moved back to the States from Korea five years ago, about the tradeoffs, adjusting back to US life, and the belief that in the case of Korea, you can always go home. 2022-06-011h 44Adapted PodcastSeason 5, Episode 17: Mothers -- Corissa Saint LaurentKorean adoptee Corissa Saint Laurent, 48, struggled with alcohol addiction as a young person after she felt abandoned by her adoptive mother. Just before she became a mother herself, she found her Korean mother, miraculously living not far from where she had been adopted to in New England. Reuniting with her eomma has closed a circle of pain for her. 2022-05-171h 34Adapted PodcastSeason 5, Episode 16: Being Korean is My Medallion -- Bjarte AarlandBjarte Aarland, 45, says he's always had pride in being Korean. Even if standing out for being different in western Norway wasn't valued in wider 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 it?2022-05-031h 22Adapted PodcastSeason 5, Episode 15: A Late Discovery -- Kristen ChoiWhat 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 has learned she once had a different name, Choi Bo-mi, and is figuring out how to embrace a new identity as an adopted person, as well as exploring the adoptee community for the first time. 2022-04-191h 24Adapted PodcastSeason 5, Episode 14: Home is Where You Are -- Jakob SandersenJakob 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.2022-04-1055 minAdapted PodcastSeason 5, Episode 13: Courage, Freedom & Loyalty -- Kimberley LeeKimberley 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.2022-04-011h 04Adapted PodcastSeason 5, Episode 12: Korean Dragon -- Han Yong WunrowFor so many Korean adoptees, little if any information is ever known about one's biological family, either because of empty case files or redaction of information because of Korean privacy laws that protect the relinquishing family. But what if one had a quasi-open adoption, where your adoptive father had met your biological mother and together they had arranged the adoption? That is the life story of Han Yong Wunrow, 27, who shares more about the unusual adoption story, and even more unusual that his white adoptive parents made Korean culture and interest in the Korean diaspora so central to their...2022-03-221h 07Adapted PodcastSeason 5, Episode 11 - Gratitude and Loss -- Ray TromRay 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 hunger and abuse from other children. At age 12, he was adopted to MInnesota and thrown into an American school knowing little English. Through it all, Trom found his path in life and has felt gratitude and loss, and credits both for who he is today. 2022-03-081h 20Adapted PodcastSeason 5, Episode 10: Grief and Forgiveness -- JoYi RhyssMixed-race Korean adoptee JoYi Rhyss, 51, shares her story of grief and forgiveness. Her pain starts in Korea, where she lived with her Korean other 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 the U.S., in a rural Minnesota town with Norwegian heritage where she grew up feeling othered and also not belonging. Rhyss's journey of self-hatred and not belonging took her down a path of discovering how to embrace her Blackness and learning how to accept herself. 2022-02-221h 18Adapted PodcastSeason 5, Episode 9: Dream & Manifest - Justin SnyderJustin Snyder, 35, is a dreamer and a seeker. He was adopted from Korea 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 traveled back to Korea to attend The Gathering and learn more about his origins. 2022-02-101h 06Adapted PodcastSeason 5, Episode 8: Never Forgotten - Tara TenhoffTara 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 initially and walks us through all the emotions of reunion and after. 2022-01-211h 15Adapted PodcastSeason 5, Episode 7: Sweden's Race Warrior - Tobias HübinetteTobias 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 Korea's commodification of its children -- an acknowledgment that is only now starting to permeate mainstream adoptee, political, historical and adoption industry circles. 2022-01-071h 08Adapted PodcastSeason 5, Episode 6: Transnational Gaze - Mai Young ØvilsenMai Young Øvilsen, 39, is a Danish Korean composer and lead singer of the band Meejah, whose alt-shoegaze sounds are punctuated by her lyrics about adoption, transnational identity and homeland. This is the last episode of 2021. 2021-12-291h 12Adapted PodcastSeason 5, Episode 5: Breathe & Be You - Laure BadufleFrench 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 how her parents reacted to her re-emergence and the resulting chaos she felt inside, set Laure on a quest for answers and to find peace within herself. This work is something she's now focused on helping other adoptees be able to find their peace too. 2021-12-161h 12Adapted PodcastSeason 5, Episode 4: Becoming Me - Peter SavastaPeter 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. Today, he continues to contribute by sharing his story with the podcast. 2021-12-011h 11Adapted PodcastSeason 5, Episode 3: In Search of IdentityKimura Byol, 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 her own falsified and inaccurate adoption records. 2021-11-161h 01Adapted PodcastSeason 5, Episode 2: Why Adoptee Representation MattersKorean adoptee Adam Crapser, 46, sits down with the podcast to share his thoughts post-deportation, the controversy surrounding Blue Bayou and filmmaker Justin Chon, adoptee citizenship and media exploitation of deported adoptees. You'll hear directly from Adam about the events that have unfolded over the past five years and what ethical filmmaking around adoptees should look like. 2021-10-122h 22Adapted PodcastSeason 5, Episode 1: Meet My Half-SisterThis 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 before my own adoption to the US, and I met in Denmark this past summer for the first time. For me, it was the first time to meet an immediate biological family member and we sat down a few weeks after that meeting to discuss how we felt through the process. 2021-09-301h 05Adapted Podcast*Bonus* Richard Kim Talks About F4 vs. Dual CitizenshipFormer Goa'l Secretary General Richard Kim talks to Kaomi Lee of Adapted Podcast about the pros and cons of the F4 visa vs. dual citizenship for Korean adoptees. Information heard here is subject to change. Consult an immigration attorney or the Korean immigration office for final word. 2021-06-1344 minAdapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 25: Susan GaetaSusan Gaeta, originally named Lee Hyung ho at birth in her native Korea, 48, 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 various communities, and why as an adoptee, it's so important to her. 2021-05-0347 minAdapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 24: Maree KinderIn 2016, Maree Kinder, now 33, originally named Chang Ma Ree, 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 connect to Korean culture. Now, her business, Beauty and Seoul, a Korean skincare retailer based in the UK, is celebrating its fourth year of success. Kinder shares her insights on Korea, her identity and what else she's learned along the way. 2021-04-2655 minAdapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 23: Jessye HaleJessye Hale, 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. 2021-04-1952 minAdapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 22: Allie De LacyAllie De Lacy, 25, was adopted from China to the UK at the age of two. Now married to a woman and living in Edinburgh, DeLacy talks about her experiences growing up in near racial isolation and the racism she has experienced and still does today, even more so in the past year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Listen as De Lacy shares how by researching her past, she discovered she knew even less than she had thought.2021-04-131h 18Adapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 21: Robert LeeRobert (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 a nearby Korean church community in Ithaca, NY. His story takes some surprising turns, including at one point being told by Holt Korea his file contained nothing to reuniting with his family and discovering the shocking revelation that he had been trafficked. 2021-04-051h 20Adapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 20: Jacquelyn WellsKorean-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 about it. 2021-03-301h 15Adapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 19: Darcy MittelstaedtTW: 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 raised in a farming community in Nebraska amidst abuse and dysfunction. Despite the emotional scars, Mittelstaedt has found her calling in life and has learned to form her own family and find some peace. 2021-03-2352 minAdapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 18: Sun Mee MartinKorean adoptee Sun Mee Martin, 39, was adopted from South Korea at the age of 3 1/2 years to Bavaria, Germany. She grew up constantly being questioned about why she was there and felt othered by others who would ask where she was from. "I think a more interesting question is, 'where are you going?', Martin says on the episode. After living in New York City and two trips back to Korea, Martin is now in Berlin and shares where she is going. 2021-03-161h 05Adapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 17: Sun Hee EngelstoftDanish filmmaker and Korean adoptee Sun Hee Engelstoft, 38, born 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 up for adoption. 2021-03-091h 06Adapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 16: Timothy VanderburgTimothy 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 about identity. 2021-03-0255 minAdapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 15: SunAh Laybourn 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 way to cope. Now an educator, motivational speaker and coach and podcaster, the high achiever has had much professional success. Lately, Laybourn has focused on a personal identity transformation that has culminated in changing her name to reflect her Korean roots. 2021-02-221h 25Adapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 14: Jonas GürrichKorean adoptee Jonas Gürrich, 34, was adopted at three months old to Norway. The story he's been told about his relinquishment by his Korean mother is a familiar one - a young woman unable to take care of him - and has chosen to embrace the positives in his life. Recently, he's been exploring DNA as a way to search for biological relatives, though not without some trepidation. 2021-02-1548 minAdapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 13: Rasmus Myung BertelsenRemember the days when you were 21 and trying to figure out life? Add being a Korean transracial adoptee in Copenhagen dealing with racism borne 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 his thoughts about it all at time in his life when the future outstretched before him. 2021-02-0837 minAdapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 12: Tara FootnerKorean-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 language2021-01-251h 00Adapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 11: Leah NicholsLeah 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 biological family in Korea. Listen as she talks about some of the surprising aspects of reunion, including realizations about the affect on her American family. 2021-01-1158 minAdapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 10: James StrakerJames 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 and having a family of his own. Today, he's done a lot of healing, but knows there is much more ahead. 2020-12-271h 34Adapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 9: Jenny DargrenJenny 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 40s. 2020-12-1551 minAdapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 8: Heather SchultzHeather 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 father. Seeking refuge for her grief, she found support and love from her paternal grandmother. After learning to love and accept herself, she began facing her deep grief and loss and past troubled family relationships. Today, she is an educator, public speaker and healer, who...2020-12-0355 minAdapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 7: Thomas JunckerThomas 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 and how adoption shaped it. This interview took place earlier this year, just days after his return to Denmark after nine months working in Seoul.2020-11-2341 minAdapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 6: Benjamin WhiteFirst 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 in a country where society does not easily embrace everything about him. 2020-11-091h 00Adapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 5: Grace NewtonChinese 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 truths have taken her back to China several times, each time imparting new perspectives. Newton has regularly shared some of this sharp and critical commentary with readers of her adoption blog, and as a leader within the adoptee community. 2020-10-271h 09Adapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 4: Jenny Heijun WillsKorean 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 time, language, boundaries, child removal and international closed adoption. and parental failings. The book also bravely addresses inter-adoptee harm, ways marginalized communities protect and hide sexual assault amongst their own kin, and the fears that come with breaking that code. 2020-10-121h 05Adapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 3: Daniel Jeremiah PerssonDaniel 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 Korea to explore his ethnic roots, Persson both found joy and disappointment. Utlimately, discovering his own connections to Korea helped him look at his Swedish life with fresh eyes. 2020-09-281h 07Adapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 2: Rachel RostadAmerican 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 matter. 2020-09-141h 13Adapted PodcastSeason 4, Episode 1: Shaun SeoShaun 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 to the Australian countryside and its racially white homogeneity. Seo recently attended the IKAA Gathering in 2019 and found community with other adoptees, especially others from Australia. This is his story. 2020-08-3158 minAdapted PodcastSeason 3 * Bonus with Kara BosKorean adoptee Kara Bos talked with Adapted Podcast in a zoom event on June 27, 2020 about her ordeal trying to find her find her biological mother and having to resort to pursuing a court case in order to get official acknowledgement of her relationship to her biological father. The groundbreaking paternity case may pave the way for other adoptees to find their parents. 2020-07-121h 32Adapted PodcastSeason 3, Episode 21: Kaomi GoetzKaomi Goetz, 49, was adopted from Korea to the United States at the age of six months old. She grew up in rural Minnesota and was sexually abused by her adoptive father as a young girl. After producing more than 60 episodes of this podcast, Goetz has decided to share her story of how being an incest survivor has affected her and why freeing adoptee voices to frame their own adoption narrative has become so important to her. This is the final episode of Season 3. 2020-06-021h 14Adapted PodcastSeason 3, Episode 20: Jae Hyun ShimJae 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 develop into the person they are. And meeting their biological family has also given Shim a perspective about the meaning of family. 2020-05-181h 05Adapted PodcastSeason 3, Episode 19: Daniel Kang Yoon NørregaardThis 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. 2020-05-0444 minAdapted PodcastSeason 3, Episode 18: Saschia RyderGrowing 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. 2020-04-201h 23Adapted PodcastSeason 3, Episode 17: Kurt RuKimKurt 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 others. 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. 2020-04-061h 04Adapted PodcastSeason 3, Episode 16: Sooki JalaliSooki Jalali, 56, was adopted from Korea at the age of 12 or 14. She's not sure, and her paperwork gave her a different name and birth date, 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. 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. Ultimately, she learned to rely on herself and her...2020-03-221h 21