Tag: 1.5 gen

Janet Burt was born in Seoul, Korea, in 1967. When she was a junior in high school, her parents made the decision to move their family to the United States in hopes that their children might have access to better education. After a decade of navigating the hurdles of obtaining American visas, the family immigrated to Los Angeles in 1983, uprooting their life in Korea to join their relatives abroad. Because she moved to America a little later in life, she feels that she straddles the generational gap between Korean and American cultures, identifying as a 1.5th generation Korean American; her family speaks Korean and maintains certain Korean traditions while interacting and working within a larger, multiethnic American sphere. In the time since she’s moved to L.A., she’s gotten married and raised a family of her own; having lived in Los Angeles for over thirty years, she considers it to be her hometown. Today, she serves as the Director of Diversity and Business Development at the largest law firm in Los Angeles and is an active member in a number of community organizations in Koreatown, working to attract the younger generation of Korean Americans to engage more with the neighborhood while its elders hold down the fort.

Dong Hyeon Jeong, originally born in Gyeongju, South Korea, had a unique upbringing in the Philippines due to his parents’ missionary work. Growing up there, he experienced preferential treatment, largely due to his lighter skin, and remained unaware of racial discrimination until his move to the United States in 2003, where he pursued a Master of Divinity. His early experiences as a Youth Pastor for Korean American children were marked by challenges in adapting to a new cultural context. Today, Dong Hyeon resides in Skokie with his multicultural family and actively promotes diversity and the celebration of different identities within his community.

Soon Young Oh, originally from Gimhae, South Korea, was adopted into a Minnesota family. As an adoptee, she grappled with her racial identity throughout her time in school but found connection through cultural centers in Minneapolis. After visiting Korea and meeting her biological father in Korea, she discovered the complexities of her adoption. Now a mother, she’s committed to instilling her Korean American identity in her 10-year-old son and is active in the Korean adoptee community, seeking connection after a childhood marked by isolation.

Born in Korea, Matt Miller was adopted at nine months old and raised in Elgin, Illinois, where a predominantly white environment shaped his perspective. Growing up alongside his biological sister, he found strength in their bond. It wasn’t until his early 20s that he embraced his Korean identity, finding solace and connection through a local church community. Now a parent of three, he has created his own interpretation of Korean tradition, embracing the complexity of identity and family.

Born in Seoul and adopted into a Minnesota family several months old, Bree Yoo-Sun McLeun’s upbringing extended across two worlds. Balancing her Korean American identity while adhering to familial expectations left her feeling alone throughout her childhood. Later, after unexpectedly becoming a single mother during her college years, she found purpose in connecting with her community and healing through motherhood, while raising a multi-racial child.

Born in Busan, but raised an adoptee in Iowa, Zach Benson grew up looking and speaking differently from his mainly white peers. Zach struggled with fitting in and participating in class until he discovered a passion for breakdancing in high school. When Zach was 23, he came to Korea to learn more about his heritage and search for his birth mother, with whom he was finally able to reconnect. Zach later moved to Daejeon, where he worked as an RA at a Korean international school, to spend more time with his birth mother.

The son of a pastor, Sangmin moved from Korea to McLean, Virginia at a young age. Reflecting on his parents’ struggle to provide for their family, Sangmin resolved to become an entrepreneur and make a lot of money. However, after moving to Korea in his late twenties, Sangmin found a new, though familiar calling in the ministry. Following in his father’s footsteps, Sangmin became a pastor at Jubilee, a church in Seoul. Having served at Jubilee for upwards of seven years, Sangmin was made the leader of King’s Cross Church, a new, English-speaking church in Seoul created by Jubilee, where he still serves today.

An immigrant to Mercer Island, Washington, Kyu Lee recalls not knowing anything about Korean culture aside from the obvious, he and his family were all born there. It wasn’t until after college that Kyu began to be exposed to Korean entertainment. In 2005 during a vacation to the motherland, he watched “Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War” for the first time and was blown away. Working for Sony at the time, Kyu flew home and enthusiastically told his team about the film. It was quickly picked up and distributed in the States, making it the first Korean film screened in the U.S. entertainment market. Sparking Kyu’s pride and desire to introduce Korean content to the States, he quickly built his network from there, ultimately leaving him responsible for the U.S. viral sensation “Gangnam Style”. Life is still a crazy rollercoaster ride for Kyu as he continues to work in film and distribution. As he rolls with the punches, he hopes to continue to uplift and provide opportunities to those around him.

At age 15, with a natural talent for perfect pitch, Edwin Kim quickly immigrated from South Korea to New Jersey’s very own Palisades Park to attend Juilliard’s competitive pre-college program. Rather than encouragement for his gift of music, he was met with doubt and accusations of plagiarism from instructors. As a student and young immigrant, Edwin recalls this incident causing a deep struggle to prove himself, almost bringing him to end his own life. With a lot of perseverance and eventual support, Edwin is now known as a “jack of all trades”, breaking his life-long music career down into five key roles: concert pianist, singer, arranger, composer, and writer – always following his heart and doing what’s right for himself.

Joseph Kim left Korea at four years old and grew up in Colorado Springs. His father felt strongly about their Korean heritage and emphasized the importance of speaking Korean. Joseph currently resides in Korea and shares his unexpected journey into the Korean music industry as a songwriter and producer. With many songs and hits under his belt, Joseph recognizes the large range of talents in Korea. He is now at a point in his career where he wants to nurture and guide the next generation of creatives in the Korean music industry and hopes to showcase their skills to the world.

Born in 1968 in Gimpo, South Korea, Peter Han recalls his mother bringing home food, ingredients, and even leftovers from her job to provide for the family. At ten years old, Peter’s father becomes sick and passes away. Two years later, his mother remarries a white American man she met at the military base she worked at and soon moves everyone to the US.

Sarah Park was born in Seoul and immigrated to the US in middle school. As a child in Korea, Sarah noticed inequalities and injustices surrounding her and would try to create a space where everyone was equal. She would make sure classmates would have resources and offer support when needed.

David Shin recalls his dad expressing their family’s immigration to Canada as being “for the sake of his children” despite their struggles with money. Watching his father balance a difficult life of buying properties and paying mortgages– “asset rich, cash flow poor”– led David in a completely different direction towards engineering and law school. He was able to make his own successes during his time in Houston, earning his way up in the world, but still struggled with the guilt ingrained in him from his experiences at Baptist churches. He’s currently on the path to find peace by giving back to his community any way he can.

“Sangsun Yaksu (상선약수, 上善若水) Flow with water, flow with nature” are the words that Dr. Casey Youn continues to carry with him as he flows through his own life; taking any opportunities that comes his way. Born just 7 years before the Korean War broke out, Dr. Youn developed an altruism to give back to community after seeing the aid that the U.S. gave back to Korea during a time of devastation and need. To this day, Dr. Young uses his various work skills – which range from chemical engineering to coffee shop owner – to give back to his Korean American community. He now acts as President of the Korean American Association & Community Center of Houston.

David So was born in South Korea in 1987 and moved to the United States with his family in 1995. Reflecting on his experiences as a 1.5 gen Korean American pastor’s kid, David shares the complexities he’s faced with his own identity but also frustrations he had with the Korean church.

Through the smell of beondegi and dalgona wafting through the air, Ken Hong felt instantly welcomed back to Korea despite spending many years away after his family immigrated in the 1970s. After many stints of living in Korea while traveling around Asia for work as a PR representative, Ken is now proud to call Korea home and provide a more rooted and immersive cultural experience for his teenage daughter; something he lacked in his own childhood in America.

Frank Nam would describe his youth in the Tri-state area as “Korean on the weekends and American on the weekdays.” After graduating from Rutgers as a history major, he never expected to land a job at MSNBC.com as a web developer; later moving on to Microsoft. He then spent the next 24 years in Seattle exploring different sectors within his career before being suddenly laid off during the 2001 recession, thus facing many emotional stressors throughout a year and a half of unemployment. He finally confronted himself and laid out two options – go back to NY or stay in Seattle to explore his passions instead of being what he thought a good Korean American Christian should be.

Eunbi Kim is a concert pianist born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in Maryland. At 19 years old, she was working in retail and met an executive at a major tech company who offered her a mentorship opportunity for a scholarship at his company. After a few interactions, she began to increasingly feel uncomfortable with the way he acted at their meetings. Eunbi expressed her boundaries and chose to remove all forms of communication yet he continued to reach out and leave voicemails blaming her for her actions. It even got to the point where he filed complaints to the police that she was the one threatening and harassing him. With the support of her father, they made a report to his company and launched an internal investigation against him. He continued to deny all accusations and shifted the blame onto Eunbi.

Hyeseung Yoo was born in Seoul, South Korea, and currently works as a domestic violence social worker. In 2015, she was sexually assaulted by someone she thought she could trust. Hyeseung never went to the authorities or the hospital because, at the time, she believed it could affect her family’s visa status. In this installment of Legacy Project #MeToo, Hyeseung speaks about generational traumas and increasing openness to share and listen to survivors in the Korean American community. She wants other survivors to know that they are not alone and that there is a safe space for them to talk about their experiences.

Julia Park grew up in Seoul, South Korea and immigrated to the US at age 13 where her father ran a grocery store. Julia spent much of her childhood in America working at the store and even recalls her father treating school as her reward for working. Today, at age 57, Julia Park works in social service and as the executive director and trip director of Sejong Camp. In this special series, Julia examines the impact of her childhood, becoming a mother, and her passion to give back to future generations.

Seo Hee Kelleher grew up in Seoul, South Korea, and immigrated to the United States in 1991 at the age of 15. She currently works as a Korean American shaman, using her spiritual gifts to help others heal in a way that is authentic to her cultural identity. However, during the process of studying the spiritual world, she realized that much of traditional Korean spiritual knowledge was inaccessible to non-Korean speakers. In this special series, Seo reflects on the struggles of assimilation and her passion to publish spiritual wisdom books for non-Korean speakers.

With his lacerating wit, pop culture savvy and equal fluency with humor and pathos, the Emmy-nominated screenwriter, playwright and producer Jason Kim is one of the most dynamic young voices in the entertainment world. He has written for Girls and Love and is a producer on HBO’s Barry. He also wrote the book for KPOP, an off-Broadway show that won Outstanding Musical at the 2018 Lucille Lortel awards. Currently, he’s developing a series for Amazon called Neon Machine, starring Korean hip-hop star Tablo. Born in Seoul, Jason immigrated with his family to St. Louis, MO when he was ten. He talks to Catherine and Juliana about fleeing the midwest for NYC immediately after high school, his quarter-life crisis as a young staffer at The New Yorker, his decade-long process of coming out to his parents, his grandmother who encouraged him to be a writer and — last but not least – his devotion to his dermatologist.

Judy Hong was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea before moving with her family to Queens, NY at the age of 12. She struggled during her first year in America and would practice saying, “I don’t speak English” to avoid conversations.

Hyojin Park was born and raised in South Korea. After working as an actor in Hyehwa, the theater district, she decided to move to New York to pursue a Masters in acting. She spent her first few years in America motivated by her belief in the American Dream but by her final year of grad school, she noticed that her appearance and accent sometimes meant she was treated differently from her peers and that simply working hard is not enough to overcome those barriers.

Kristin Pak/이영숙 was born in Incheon, South Korea and was adopted to Waterbury, Connecticut when she was about 7 months old. She grew up in a very diverse working class community where race and ethnicity were central to many conversations. Her peers were reflective of the diversity around her and had strong connections to their ethnic identity, many spending summers in their parents’ home country, while she struggled to claim her own Korean American identity. After moving to New York to teach ESL and meeting Korean Americans from different backgrounds, she learned that there are many ways to be Korean American.

Ms. Pak has since moved to Seoul and expresses how Koreans adopted overseas have the right to reclaim their Korean identity and feel part of the Korean nation. As a linguist and educator, she believes that language fluency is not inextricably tied to one’s cultural identity and hopes that perceptions of who is considered Korean will change.

John Park spent only six years in Seoul, South Korea before moving around the world due to his father’s job as a diplomat. He moved to Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, and eventually landed in the United States. In this sitdown interview with his son Owen, Mr. Park recalls his highschool experiences in Virginia and remarks on his feelings of being an outsider looking in.
It was only later in his college years when he was able to find a sense of belonging through his martial arts “tribe”. In this interview, he expresses how he discovered his happiness well into his 30s and also shares advice for Owen as they consider their next chapter in their lives.

In our first Remote Edition of Legacy Project, Jeanne Jang sits down with her son Owen as he gets to know more of his mother’s story in this interview. Jeanne Jang was born in Korea and immigrated to the United States when she was in first grade, along with her parents and younger sister. She quickly assimilated to her new community but also came to learn about physical and racial differences for the first time. Her father, who set up his own company when they first moved to the U.S., has been a hugely influential figure in her life, encouraging her to keep her Korean heritage and speak Korean at home when she was a child. Her father’s relationship with her own son and her own relationship with her father has continued to remind her of the importance of self-acceptance and being comfortable with who you are.

Kam Redlawsk was born in Daegu, South Korea in 1979 and adopted by an American family in Michigan in 1983. Growing up in an almost entirely white community, she was made to feel like an outsider for her physical differences. It was during college that Ms. Redlawsk was diagnosed with what is known today as GNE myopathy, a rare genetic disease that leads to weakness and wasting in one’s muscles and affects only around one thousand people worldwide. Today, she uses her skills and artistic talent for advocacy and spreading awareness about rare diseases like hers. Dealing with loneliness and watching her disease progress to affect more and more of her physical abilities over time only pushed her to live life to the fullest by seeking out new experiences. In sharing her experiences as a Korean adoptee and someone affected by a physical disability, she hopes to spread the message that everyone has their own reserves of unlimited courage and that empathy can only be built when people begin to seek out each other’s differences.

Born in Seoul, Esther Jung spent her early childhood in California after her parents decided to immigrate to the United States when she was two years old during the South Korean IMF crisis. Her parents worked odd jobs to provide for their family, and the resilience of her mother in the face of hardship left a lasting impression on her. Upon moving to Phoenix, Arizona when she was in second grade, she began to notice the physical differences between herself and her peers. In realizing these differences, however, Ms. Jung became more determined to claim her heritage and be proud of her Korean roots. Most recently, her study abroad experience in Kenya fueled her passion for the empowerment of women and children, further inspiring her to follow in the footsteps of the many strong women she had met throughout her life.

Chang-rae Lee is the author of Native Speaker, On Such a Full Sea, A Gesture Life, Aloft, and The Surrendered, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His latest novel, My Year Abroad, is a dazzling tale about an American college student whose life is upended when he travels to Asia under the wing of a mysterious Chinese American entrepreneur. From his home in San Francisco, where he’s on sabbatical from his position as a professor at Stanford, Chang-rae talks with Catherine and Juliana about overcoming the pressures of being “the first” well-known Korean American novelist, developing his early love of writing as a student at Exeter, and the way his mother’s early death from cancer at age 52 may have influenced his decision to pursue writing as a career. He also shares stories about his parents (we learn his mother was featured in Time magazine in 1956!) and his fond memories of the Korean church summer camp he attended as a kid.

Born in Gwangju, South Korea but raised in Los Angeles for most of her life, Audrey Jang attended Catholic school in California before attending boarding school in Connecticut for four years in high school. As her father traveled back and forth in between California and Korea due to work, Audrey stayed in California with her mother and sister, seeing her father less and less before he decided to stay permanently in Korea. Due to their immigration status, they were unable to leave the country for thirteen years. From her experience with applying for financial aid in college as a non-citizen to her own personal confrontations of her identity, Ms. Jang experienced the challenges associated with not being a U.S. citizen firsthand. After receiving her green card in the past year, she speaks about unpacking her identity while contemplating two possible futures for herself in either Korea and America.

The youngest of five daughters, Nancy Yoon grew up in Koreatown, Los Angeles during the 1970’s, after immigrating to the United States at the age of four with the rest of her family. As an adult, Ms. Yoon worked in finance for a while before transitioning to more creative work in the entertainment industry. About twenty years ago, Ms. Yoon struggled with the death of her father which led her to take care of her single mother until she eventually passed in a car accident. Ms. Yoon speaks about the experience of seeing her mother’s spirit in several separate instances. Following her mother’s sudden death, Ms. Yoon felt a strong desire to change her life and eventually got more involved in the Korean American community in Los Angeles which led her to start Asians In LA (@AsiansinLA) – a social network of Asian American influencers in politics, entertainment, nonprofit and community leaders. Empowered by her unshakable faith, she tells a story that demonstrates the power of connection and the importance of representation.

Joseph Jeon was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1971. Two years later, his family immigrated to the United States when his father entered a medical residency program in Barberton, Ohio. Currently a professor of English at the University of California, Irvine, he is also the director of the UCI Center for Critical Korean Studies, an institution aiming to centralize Korean Studies at the university and support students and faculty in their work. His experience of raising a daughter has helped him discover how racial dynamics in American communities have shifted over the past few decades and provided him with a positive outlook on the future. His process of learning how the different places in a person’s life shape the culture in which they grow up has, in turn, helped strengthen his commitment to contribute to his community. All content has been recorded in advance prior to the US outbreak of COVID-19.

Jim Lee is one of the most influential and revered figures in the world of comic books. The chief creative officer and publisher of DC Comics, Jim was born in Korea and immigrated to the States when he was nearly five. From Superman to Batman to Iron Man to Wonder Woman, Jim has drawn just about every superhero you can think of and holds the record for the best-selling comic book of all time, X-Men, #1. Jim tells Catherine and Juliana about his earliest childhood memories of life in Seoul; his lifelong obsession with drawing; his teenage years as a Korean American prep schooler; and the epic blowout he had with his parents when he announced he wasn’t going to medical school. He also shares his thoughts on the importance of representation in the industry and the possibility of Americans embracing an Asian superhero. Joining our co-hosts for this special episode is K-Pod audio engineer and Jim Lee superfan AJ Valente.

Taneka Hye Wol Jennings, born in Cheongju, South Korea, was adopted at 3 months old into a white American family in New Jersey. Growing up, she sometimes felt alone navigating her life as a Korean adoptee and not having a community to identify with. Taneka speaks about her journey to find community and belonging to where she is today, being deeply involved in Asian American and adoptee human rights work. Taneka is currently the Deputy Director at HANA Center in Chicago, IL and is also involved in KAtCH: Korean Adoptees of Chicago.

Dr. Wonhee Anne Joh was born in South Korea and moved to Chicago in the late 1970s where she grew up with first-generation immigrant parents who ran a dry cleaners store. Dr. Joh recalls seeing the tensions of class differences within the Korean American community and how she never identified with the model minority stereotype. Dr. Wonhee Anne Joh is currently a professor of Theology and Culture at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. Much of her teaching revolves around the Korean concept of “jeong” as a different type of love separate from the Western notions of love.

Visual artist KangHee Kim, best known as @tinycactus on Instagram, uses Photoshop to transform images of everyday street scenes and apartment interiors into surreal dreamscapes, all featuring portals into dreamlike worlds. On a visit to KangHee’s home and studio in Queens, Catherine and Juliana learn that the artist’s very distinctive work is directly connected to her status as a DACA recipient, which has prevented her from leaving the U.S. for over a decade. These images of “surreal escapism,” as she refers to them, have since become a form of visual therapy and have been called emblematic of today’s digital aesthetic.

Eunjo “Jo” Park is the executive chef at Kāwi, the fine-dining Korean restaurant opened by David Chang’s Momofuku restaurant group in New York City. Jo is at the forefront of a growing group of chefs putting modern Korean food on the map. After culinary school at CIA she climbed the ranks in some of the best kitchens in the country, including Daniel, Per Se and Momofuku Ko. She tells Catherine and Juliana about her childhood in rural Korea, learning to cook for herself while her parents ran a dry cleaners, a devastating injury early on in her career, and the challenges lying ahead.

Micro aggressions, a part of my whole life
You’re so great at math
Can you see out of those eyes
Run your fingers through my ebon straight hair, go ahead, invade my privacy

Dr. Yuri Doolan was born in an Air Force base to an American father and Korean mother who met in Korea during the 1980s.

In Part 2, Matt talks about the beauty of starting a new chapter with his family and the joys becoming a father to his own biological sons.

Matt Fischer was born in Korea and adopted at the age of 7.

Jay Yoo came to Chicago, Illinois in 1977, leaving behind his grandparents and friends in Seoul, Korea.

Recorded in Chicago, David Chang is interviewed by his daughter, Loren Chang.

“I remember getting a phone call from my dad saying, ‘Min died.'”

Chris Detrych came to America in 1985 at 3 months old where he was adopted by a Caucasian family in Detroit, Michigan.

Sung Tse’s son brought up this haunting question the day he told his mother he did not identify as a female.

Soyoung Lee built her career at Metropolitan Museum of Art where she was the museum’s first curator of Korean art, organizing such landmark shows as  “Silla: Korea’s Golden Kingdom” and “Diamond Mountains: Travel and Nostalgia in Korean Art.” Last year, after 15 years at the Met, she was appointed Chief Curator of the Harvard Art Museums. She talks to Juliana and Catherine about her childhood as the daughter of a South Korean diplomat living in Jakarta, Stockholm and London; her early love of Japanese art; and the challenges of making ancient art compelling to modern American audiences.

“When I give my advice to youngsters, it’s to live your passion. Have a balanced life but do what you love.”

Fears of the unknown and uncertainty have never stopped Jinhee Ahn Kim from having her own adventure.

Oejong Kim worked as a translator, chef and corporate housing specialist in Tokyo and New York before discovering her true passion: knitting. In 2004, Kim co-founded the yarn and knitwear company Loopy Mango, which has become a creative force in the knitting world. Loopy Mango’s signature product is Big Loop, a luxuriously thick, chunky merino wool yarn that has inspired many imitators. Catherine and Juliana travel to Beacon, NY to meet Oejong and see for themselves why this artsy, eccentric Korean-American in the oversized glasses has become a cult figure in the DIY world.

Facebook creative director Ji Lee is one of the most influential graphic designers working in the country today. Born in Korea and raised in Brazil, he built his career in advertising, working for Google Creative Lab, Droga 5 and Saatchi & Saatchi. But it’s his wide range of witty and subversive personal projects — like the Bubble Project and the Instagram sensation Drawings for my Grandchildren, which features the artwork of his 76-year-old father — that are dearest to his heart. Catherine and Juliana learn about his Korean-Brazilian childhood, his unique creative process and his passion for challenging the way we see the world.

Marcus Hahm, also known as Avec Plaisir, is an award-winning sound designer, mixer, and music producer who’s worked with national brands and major labels doing commercial work, songwriting and music supervising.

Celebrity manicurist Jin Soon Choi has been a force in the beauty world for the last two decades. Her pioneering work has been featured on countless magazine covers and has made her a backstage fixture during New York Fashion Week. In the industry, everyone loves Jin — she’s the fun-loving, ageless cool kid who hangs out with Marc Jacobs and the Hadid sisters, always with a smile on her face. But what Catherine and Juliana learn is she’s never forgotten her humble start in the States when she spoke just a few words of English and worked as a waitress at GamMeeOk in Koreatown.

Get to know our very own Executive Director, HJ Lee, who co-founded KoreanAmericanStory.org with his wife Theresa Choh-Lee 9 years ago. HJ shares with Julie Young his intimate and personal experiences growing up that helped foster his vision for KoreanAmericanStory.org and ultimately led him to where he is today.

Born in Seoul, Hyun Joon Lee grew up in Indonesia, went to Yonsei University, and ended up in the Bronx working as a medical resident.

Lynn Richards-Noyer shares how she found her birth family through an appearance on Korean television and how she “accidentally butt-dialed” her birth mother.

Adopted from Seoul as a baby, Nellie Sung, the only person of color at her schools in Minneapolis, never felt like she fit in.

Adopted at the age of two by a white family on Long Island, social worker Lee-Ann Hanham grew up with her non-biological, adopted Korean sister as the only Koreans in her neighborhood.

Seungjin Lee takes us back into his family’s story before his move to the U.S.

Seungjin Lee, now a father himself, provides an intimate retrospective on his father’s sacrifices and trials.

Michael Pulliam clearly remembers the time when he was punched squarely in the face right after he boarded the school.

Meg Campbell grew up in Upstate New York with her 3 other adopted sisters, where she felt a strong sense of isolation and loneliness due to the strained relationship with her parents.

“Everything in your life is not your choice.” Marissa Martin opens up about life as a Korean American adoptee.

HeeSun Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1983, and was adopted by a Chinese American family. You may have heard her rap on the Korean TV program Show Me the Money. Growing up as an adoptee, she felt stereotyped by other Koreans, which led her to write about what she was going through in her music. She shares how the experience shaped her journey in finding who she is.

Michael McDonald was adopted to the U.S. at 3 months old.

Andy Marra is a Korean American adoptee and leader in LGBTQI advocacy.

According to his adoption papers, Michael Mullen was left on the steps of a police station in Seoul, Korea.

Jae was adopted at 4 months old from Seoul, South Korea, yet she did not come to terms with her Asian identity until college.

Bomsinae Kim, the Executive Director of the Korean American Family Service Center (KAFSC) could easily be described as outgoing. But according to Bomsinae, this was not always the case.

Anna Lee was born in Long Island, New York to two musician parents – her dad a classical conductor/composer and her mom an organist and pianist.

In this month’s KoreanAmericanStory on KRB 87.7 FM, Angie Kim, Community Organizing Fellow at Minkwon Center for Community Action, talks about her experience as a DACA Dreamer and her involvement in advocacy for young immigrants.

Hyepin Im, an MBA student in 1992, recalls how the media falsely portrayed Korean Americans as the main aggressors during the LA riots.

Joe Ahn recalls feeling both fear and anger during SaIGu: fear that his father would get hurt during the riots, and anger that the people who were most affected by the public’s expressed frustration with the government were the people who had the least resources. As businesses went bankrupt in Koreatown, new laws were created that effectively made it very difficult for the common types of Korean-owned businesses to reopen. Joe Ahn played a critical role in helping to pass a revitalization act that included components such as: loans and tax credits for Korean-owned businesses.

TC Kim, a journalist in 1992, hit the streets to capture photos during the LA riots, even though his wife asked him to stay home.

Jinho Lee, journalist at Radio Korea (KBLA-AM 1580) in 1992, recalls how Radio Korea became a makeshift command center during the LA riots.

John Lim, then president of the Korean American Bar Association, recalls his experience of SaIGu and how he was moved to mobilize a team of over 80 lawyers to provide pro bono legal services for Korean Americans in the aftermath of SaIGu.

In this month’s KoreanAmericanStory on 87.7 FM, Doogaji creators Charles and Victoria Thompson talk about the importance of bicultural identity, and how their books are meant to instill this value in Korean American children.

Suk Jong Lee reflects on the difficulties she faced as an Army chaplain, due to being both female and Asian.

Executive Coach and Consultant, Caroline Kim Oh is one of those people who radiates goodness. Like her bright smile, her presence and energy seem to light up a room

Unzu Lee, currently a Presbyterian pastor, used to have “zero confidence” in her language abilities due to a sudden move from Korea to Brazil at 14 years of age.

Growing up in a church full of political dissidents, Unzu Lee learned early on that “political activism was just one way of social transformation.”

Sarang Kang is a Korean American female pastor whose visionary and assertive character sometimes ruffles feathers.

Yena Hwang, a Korean-American female pastor, grew up with affectionate and supportive parents who raised her with gender equality norms.

Growing up, Charles Yoon moved country-to-country as his dad got new job assignments—interacting with many different cultures.

In this week’s KoreanAmericanStory with KRB 87.7 FM, Kyung B. Yoon, Executive Director and co-founder of KACF, talks about how to advance as a Korean American community by a new definition of success.

In this week’s KoreanAmericanStory with KRB 87.7 FM, Haewon Latorre talks about her experience as a Korean Latin-American individual, and describes the complexities of an intertwined identity.

In this week’s KoreanAmericanStory with KRB 87.7 FM, Ester Fang talks about her experience growing up as a hapa in Korea.

A month after 9/11, Aiyoung Choi got contacted by KAFSC (Korean American Family Service Center) about a father who wanted to leave his son with someone for the weekend.

In this week’s Korean American Story with KRB 87.7 FM, documentary filmmaker Pearl Park talks about mental illness, and shares about her recent work Can, which features a Vietnamese-American man and his battle with bipolar disorder.

At 23, Aiyoung Choi fell head over heels for a Cuban man and married him—cutting ties with her parents who disapproved of the pair.

In this week’s Korean American Story with KRB 87.7 FM, Jacob Ham, a psychotherapist at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, talks about trauma related to Korean heritage, as well as the different stages of psychological development that children go through into adulthood.

In this week’s Korean American Story with KRB 87.7 FM, Jacob Ham, a psychotherapist at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, talks about trauma related to Korean heritage, as well as the different stages of psychological development that children go through into adulthood.

In this week’s Korean American Story with KRB 87.7 FM, Jacob Ham, a psychotherapist at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, talks about trauma related to Korean heritage, as well as the different stages of psychological development that children go through into adulthood.

Chef Hooni Kim (of restaurants Hanjan and Danji in NYC) talks with Julie Young on winning a Michelin star, striving to please customers first, leaving medical school to become a chef with the support of his wife, and more.

Civic activist Aiyoung Choi recounts her father escaping to China to avoid being forced to research new technologies for the Japanese war effort

In this week’s Korean American Story with KRB 87.7 FM, Clara Yoon talks about her experience as a mother of a transgender son, and the support that’s available at PFLAG for LGBTQ individuals, their families, and friends.

In this week’s Korean American Story with KRB 87.7 FM, professional photographer Juliana Sohn talks about her recent project that involves taking funerary photos for Korean elders in the community, and interviewing these individuals about how they would like to be remembered.

In this week’s Korean American Story with KRB 87.7 FM, Milton Washington talks about the tumultuous years of his life after his adoption to America, and how he came to resolve the inner conflicts regarding his identity.

In this week’s Korean American Story with KRB 87.7 FM, Milton Washington talks about his childhood in Korea as a half-Korean and half-African American boy. With pride, he shares about his prostitute mother – the essence of love and security up until his adoption to America at 8 years old, and the reason why he was able to endure the unfriendliness of a world that gave him birth.

For this week’s Korean American Story, Jaeki Cho, co-producer of the hip-hop documentary Bad Rap, talks to hosts and audience of KRB (87.7 FM) about what life was like growing up in Queens, NY, his own experience working in a creative field, and the challenges Asian Americans face in the music industry.

In this week’s Korean American Story with KRB (87.7 FM), Jannie Chung, Councilwoman of Closter, NJ, shares about her brother’s tumultuous adolescence, and the turning point that made him into a monk. Don’t be surprised to find yourself laughing and crying at the same time!

In this week’s installment of Korean American Story on KRB (87.7 FM), Councilwoman of Closter, NJ Jannie Chung took the audience on an emotional storytelling journey about an event that drastically changed her family. If you missed the show on air, here is the podcast version on our website.

In the newly launched radio series Korean American Story, HJ Lee, president and founder of KoreanAmericanStory.org, talks about the journey of his non-profit, and the mission of our organization with the hosts and audience of Korean Radio Broadcasting (KRB). Tune into 87.7 FM to hear guests share about their personal experiences every Thursday evening at 8:15pm. Podcasts of each recording will be available on our website as well.

Jack McGovern and Noah Sinangil are both adopted Korean Americans that we interviewed at Sejong Camp in New Jersey.

When her child, born female, came out to Clara Yoon and her husband as a boy, they decided to accept and support his transition.

Minjung Kim (24 years old) was born in Seoul, Korea and immigrated to the US when she was 11 years old. Emily Lynch (27 years old) was also born in Seoul, Korea, but she was adopted along with her twin brother by a Caucasian family in Connecticut.

Lila Lee came to the United States in 1965 as a 22 year-old. She arrived in New York and lived in Brooklyn with her brother who had come to the US earlier. In this Legacy Project video, Lila talks about her first day at a job she started that year, the reasons why she decided to stay in the US, and the financial challenges she and her husband faced and eventually overcame. She is interviewed by her son Bernard Lee on March 21, 2015, in Westchester, New York.

In our first “Not Your Average” video, Julie Young interviews Jaeki Cho, a Korean American hip hop artist based in Flushing, NY. Jaeki was born in Korea, grew up in Nanjing, China, and immigrated to the US—first to Seattle, later to Elmhurst, New York. Jaeki discusses hip hop, rapping in Korean, and his documentary about Asian American rappers titled “Bad Rap”.

Sabryna Ro and Leah Rice are both 17 years old and they met at Sejong Camp, a cultural camp for Korean adoptees and American born Koreans

Chris Todd, 31, was born in Seoul, Korea and adopted by a Caucasian family when he was a baby. Steven Yeun, 31, was born in the US, and grew up in Long Island.

This is the story of Thomas Park Clement, an abandoned bi-racial Korean War orphan, who was adopted by a white American family in 1958. He overcame many obstacles to become a successful entrepreneur and a humanitarian.

Artist, music producer, and entrepreneur Chino (Kyu Min Lee)is “Seoul-born, Bogotá-raised, L.A.-grown, Brooklyn-aged.” He’s dined with diplomats and considers Erykah Badu a friend.

At age twelve, Dong-Jin Eastern Kang Sim huddled in a tiny cell in Mexico City with his mother and thirteen-year-old brother. They were the only Asians in the jail.

Dr. Jeff Choh is an interventional radiologist who was born in Korea, immigrated to Ohio in 1972 and now lives in the Chicago area.

Joy was adopted from Korea. She came to her family just shy of her sixth birthday.

Susan Knight (birth name: Yim Hee Jung), 37, was born in Seoul and currently lives in Cumming, Georgia with her husband and three children. This is her story of resilience of growing up in poverty and moving to the U.S. at age eight to join her mother and stepfather, a U.S. soldier.

Kim’s paintings often engage with themes of vulnerability and contrast, and her artistic influences extend beyond visual artists to include writers (such as T.S. Eliot and the Korean poet Midang), her grandmother, and her friend who was a flower vendor on 14th Street.

I expected the artist Daru to be a mysterious and distant character, even more so due to her impressive credentials: a Bachelor’s degree from the prestigious Seoul National University in 1977 and a Master’s degree from the Pratt Institute in 1980.

Haewon Latorre was born in Korea, moved to Argentina as a toddler, then moved to NYC as a teenager.

I’m 42 and I’m not successful, but I’m Korean American.  (Am I allowed to say that?)  My story begins in Seoul, Korea in 1970, the year of the dog, when I was born.  I was born into a very broken family.

Lisa came to the US when she was 2 years old. Her mother left the family at age 5, then she was sent back to Korea at age 11, only to return to her father in Los Angeles at age 14.  

I was eleven when my father, a Korean immigrant in the U.S. army, tried to drag me to a psychiatrist. My symptoms? Unusual thoughts, erratic behavior, filial disobedience: I suddenly refused to eat meat.

I never want to forget the look on my mom’s face when the cashier rang up the sneakers and we realized that they were not on sale. I never want to forget picking up a TV that was thrown out on the street in Williamsburg for my first apartment in NYC,

To see Hyun Kim in person, one might think he seems to fit the part of the hip, well-styled and good-looking marketing industry insider. Follow him on Twitter and you see that he, appropriately so for his profession, has his finger on the pulse of all that is current.

I’m not the only Korean kid whose parents acted as if becoming a lawyer or a doctor were the only career options. For my parents, the doctor path was the first line of offense.

Legacy Project video of Yong-Hee Silver interviewed by her son, Adrian Silver in New York.

I thought that way for many years because I had experienced much despair in my life. For a long time, despair kept me from thinking that my immigrant life would change.

My relationship with a certain pickled cabbage, you could say, is complicated. Kimchee became symbolic of my Korean identity, for obvious reasons and otherwise.

In Genesis of the Bible, there is a story of Abraham being tested by the Lord to offer his only son Isaac as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah.  When Abraham was about to kill his son, he is stopped by the Lord

I was born in 1971 to a Korean mother and an African-American father. My parents met in Germany while my mom was in nursing school.

What makes Myong Feiner identify herself as Korean?

I posed this question to Myong Feiner, owner and chef of Myong Gourmet, a Pan-Asian restaurant that recently opened in Mt. Kisco, New York.   Myong Feiner, simply known as Myong, identifies first as Korean, and second as Jewish.

Back in 1981, when I was ten years old, my life had become a foreign-language film without subtitles.

Two weeks ago, I officially became a citizen of the United States of America. Took me long enough…I’ve been living in the US for the past 27 years and have been a permanent resident for 22 years.

Twenty years ago I went to Seoul to visit family and to see Seoul. Twenty years before that I had left Seoul as a five-year old child.

Born in Seoul of a Chinese father and a Korean mother, people have always tried to locate my identity in fractions, particularly in America.

“What possessed you to write a book?” I am most often asked, the reference to “possessed” always accompanied by a smile.

My family arrived in New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport in July of 1973, and like most immigrant families, with little money, few personal belongings and the hope for a brighter future.