Tag: legacy project korea

Mike Kim was born in Korea but grew up in the United States. After struggling to find a job during the 2008 recession, his cousin invited him to live in Korea for a year. Initially intending it to be a temporary move, Mike eventually sold all of his belongings and has now been living in Korea for the past 14 years.

Since moving to Korea, Mike has constantly taken visiting friends to good restaurants, which ignited his passion for exploring and trying new Korean cuisine. Today, he has founded a food tour business that provides tourists with a delicious Korean food experience. Through food, he wants to share the beauty of Korean culture with as many people as possible.

Albert Kim was born in the US and spent most of his childhood in Orange County, California. Attending a private school with a small Korean population, Albert had a tough time dealing with the microaggressions of his peers and fitting in at school, challenges he faced for most of his childhood. While studying at Arizona State, Albert decided to move back to Korea, where he finally felt more comfortable and accepted– feeling at peace for the first time. Albert believes that his identity as a Korean-American has allowed him to be more well-rounded and empathetic as a person, especially towards other minorities that face discrimination.

Born in the US, but having grown up in Korea and attending an international school, Eunice Lee never felt fully Korean or fully American as a child. After a swimming injury, Eunice discovered musical theater as an outlet for her creative energies and eventually went to NYU for it.

Going to NYU after living in Korea for most of her life, Eunice faced difficulties with culture shock, assimilation, racism, and homesickness. Nevertheless, Eunice was able to find her niche through a Korean church and Korean American society. As someone who identifies as neither fully Korean nor fully American, Eunice carries a unique Korean American identity, as well as unique perspectives on Korean and American culture.

Michael Song moved to Korea at the age of 22 after experiencing difficulty finding employment in the US. Born and raised in LA, Michael was immediately immersed in Korean culture upon starting full-time work in the country. This experience went beyond culture shock, providing Michael with an understanding of his parent’s immigration experience in the US and a new context for decisions they made when he was younger. Now, Michael strives to find a balance between his personal journey and cultural and societal expectations.

Born and raised in San Jose, Aaron Choe always knew he wanted to reconnect with Korean culture. In high school, he discovered 90s K-pop, which sparked a curiosity that eventually led him to visit his sister who lived in Korea. Aaron fell in love with the country and ended up moving there permanently in 2008. Since then, Aaron’s been living in Korea as a film director and DJ. Making sense of his identity, Aaron has fully embraced his Koreanness and encourages others to move there to truly experience the country.

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.

Born a Korean American expat in Korea, Denny Hong grew up in various international and military schools in Korea, the U.S., and Germany. Denny’s family finally settled down in Memphis when he was in high school. While living in the states brought its own set of struggles, including racism, Denny has never let the challenges of his past define him. After returning to Korea to reconnect with his family and roots, Denny found himself enjoying life in Korea, keenly observing its shifting culture. Denny continues to live in Korea, and he now works as a radio broadcaster.

Born in Flushing, Queens, Albert Kim was raised speaking Korean by his grandparents throughout his time in elementary school. Even after his grandparents moved out, Albert maintained a connection to his Korean heritage through the practice of Samul Nori, traditional Korean drums. These connections grew stronger after Albert and his family moved to New Jersey while he was in middle school, and Albert found himself surrounded by even more Korean Americans in his community. Upon moving to Korea in his adulthood, Albert grappled with living with alopecia in a culture highly sensitive to physical appearances. Having moved around a lot throughout his life, Albert has learned to enjoy life by living in the moment.

Christine was raised as an American in a white family— far from where she was originally found, a train station in Daegu, Korea. Despite feeling fortunate for her loving adoptive family, she still felt and looked different, influenced by classmates that bullied her.

Years later, in 2018, Christine saw an online post about a welcome home program. Inspired by the documentary Lion, in which a man found his family on Google, she discovered the Korean American Adoptee Facebook group and was able to travel to Korea for the first time. The feeling of being home removed an unknown tension she had felt in the US.

The following year, she received confirmation from a DNA test that she has a sister living in Belgium. Reunited through the internet, they immediately felt a connection. They met for the first time in Korea, in an emotional reunion that prompted monthly trips to Belgium before COVID. Having reunited with her homeland and family, Christine has found satisfaction and peace in her Korean American identity.

Born in Korea and moved to the U.S. by age 8, Namjun Cho’s parents wanted to provide a better education for their children. Seeing how much diversity that the States provided, Namjun’s parents decided to lengthen their stay to see their kids graduate. Along the way, Namjun had a hard time in school, feeling little sympathy from the community as he would find himself in conflict with other students; never being able to share his side of the story because of the language barrier. After years of adjusting to America, Namjun then returned to Korea in late-July of 2020 to fulfill his military duties. Because of his need to learn English to get by in the States, Namjun found himself now struggling with his native-tongue and self-proclaimed American identity, which earned him no support yet again. Caught in between, Namjun went into training and service feeling Korean, and has come out on what feels like the distant other side of being American.

One night in Seoul, Tae Kim found himself in a Burger King, struggling to order his meal. Despite being able to speak Korean fluently in his home of Koreatown LA, he quickly found that it just did not translate so smoothly in his new home of Korea. As he tried paying for the meal he didn’t even want, Tae felt the realness of culture shock. Doubt and fear permeated as he began to settle into the new city, leading him to ask friends about finding mental health counseling. To his surprise, his struggle was met with judgment. Certain that he couldn’t be the only one, Tae took action. Starting with a Facebook group to provide a safe outlet for people struggling with their mental health in Korea, it became clear that he really wasn’t alone. So he made an app called “Gideb” where people could remain anonymous and find the right resources and access to the mental health support they need. Now, Tae is grateful to be living in Korea with his wife and son, happily running his company.

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.

Michael Hurt identifies as a visual sociologist, melding his draw towards street fashion and photography with his passion for observation and studies in race and gender. With a mixed background, his mother Korean, father African American, Michael’s interest in identity started early, carrying him through his academic years, eventually bringing him to live and work in Korea since the 1990s.

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.

As an anti-racist facilitator and overall creative, Kayla Kim Votapek leads a life of perpetual acceptance of growth and movement towards understanding, but getting there has come with its own challenges. Having grown up in an Italian American family of New Jersey, Kayla found closeness at home, yet felt unseen as an adopted Korean in a mostly White upper class town. To work through questions of identity, Kayla found the freedom to express herself through the arts and performance. This further ignited a passion in her to help others feel seen and heard, to facilitate spaces that nurture communities through action, communication and reparation.

For now Korea-based Sarah Chase, being Korean was first understood in the form of a dinner table split between American food and Korean food, taking shoes off in the house, and the smell of her grandmother’s jjigae wafting down the block on her walk home from school.

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.

Corey was born in Seoul, South Korea, and adopted with his twin brother to a white American family in Iowa. Though his home city was not small, there were not many Asians or a support system, leaving him to navigate the trauma of separation and the confusion of his Korean identity alone. The pain he felt culminated throughout the years, and he soon found himself in foster care because his parents couldn’t control him.

Matthew Pellegrino was born in Chungcheongnam-do Province, South Korea, and adopted into a white American family in Long Island at four months old. His parents supported him to the best of their abilities but he always knew he was different and faced many instances of discrimination and bullying as a child. It was not until pursuing his masters in music composition at Johns Hopkins University that Matthew truly began exploring Korean culture and what it meant to him.

As a kid, Ducky Chang didn’t see his parents often because they worked long hours running a grocery store and other jobs here and there. He saw them working as fluidity and felt encouraged to try anything that interested him. One thing led to another, and he decided to pursue film at California State University. Ducky dropped out two years into school due to an injury, so he took that opportunity to explore whatever he wanted.

Alex Pryor was born in DC, grew up in Maryland, and spent many Sundays in Virginia. Being half Black and half Korean, Alex describes his story as “perpetually on a bridge” – often having felt lonely and the need to fit in. When he entered college and joined a group for mixed-race students, it gave him an insight into where he belonged and the tools to understand race, ethnicity, culture, and nationality. Living in Korea has always been a dream, and now that he’s been living there since 2020, it’s been a liberating experience to navigate life on his own terms.

Professor Scott McLaughlin went to Korea to learn about the culture, his background, and most importantly, to find his biological family. After two years of searching, he concluded that finding them wasn’t meant to be. Since then, he has been residing in Korea for the last 15 years teaching and connecting with people with similar mindsets and backgrounds. In this Legacy Project interview, Professor Scott recognizes that he is still navigating what that means to be Korean. As he continues to explore who he is and the person he wants to become, he hopes that people create special moments for themselves to find a little jeong in their life.

Tony Chung has always dreamed of being an architect, but after going on a mission trip with his church in high school, he found his calling. Tony attended Wheaton College and majored in Bible Theology. After one summer at Yonsei University’s Korean language program, his heart for Korea and fellow gyopos(Koreans of the diaspora) grew. Tony learned that many Korean Americans who have fallen out of the church are also deeply hurt by them. By showing grace and being gracious, he hopes to build space for Korean Americans to explore their faith and be more inclusive of one another.

Janet Russell was a military kid born in Germany to a Korean mother and a Belizean father. She didn’t grow up seeing any Koreans around her, and since she was more acquainted with her father’s family, they told her that she was Black and needed to identify with her father’s race. So she lived her life identifying as Black.

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.

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.

Adopted from South Korea to a family in Central Minnesota at just 5 months old, Karl Johnson didn’t always feel a sense of ownership over his Korean heritage, which is exactly what brought him back to Korea in his adulthood. Karl shares his own poem “Baa Baa Yellow Sheep”, which questions what you’re left with when you’re stripped of your original culture, family, country as a transracial adoptee.

Robert Joe was born in NY and raised in Texas after his father decided to quit his job at Samsung to stay in America during the ’70s. As a child, he was drawn to his creativity and eventually grew up to pursue film studies at the University of Texas after realizing the impact movies made on his life. Since moving to Korea in 2002, Robert has been able to reflect on his limitations as a Korean American living there– from issues with its healthcare system while taking care of his sick mother, to questioning what he as a Korean American has to offer the quickly growing country.

Grace Kim was born in Dallas, Texas and was raised in a town a little outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Growing up, she didn’t realize how different it was to be a Korean American until her friends made negative comments about her bring kimbap to share with everyone for her birthday. In that split second, she thought to herself that she didn’t like it anymore. Wanting to find an outlet and explore life further, Grace took on hobbies such as dance and photography to show her creativity.

Before his first birthday, Linus Kim and his family moved to Bessemer, a town outside Birmingham, Alabama, after his uncle asked his parents to take over their business. When a friend invited him to visit Korea, he took the opportunity and brought along his barbeque rubs and spices. He somehow found a way to make barbeque and began to pursue popups to sell his pulled pork sandwiches. To his surprise, they were a hit and realized he was on to something and knew he had to head back to the US in order to learn more than just making pulled pork sandwiches. He traveled from town to town, meeting new people and learning new techniques. He eventually got to Batesville, Arkansas, where he trained to be a barbeque judge. After a few years of running popups in Korea and participating in competitions in the US, Linus opened up his own restaurant in Itaewon.

Mark Wilson was born in Seoul, South Korea, and adopted to a small suburban town in Philadelphia at nine months old. He grew up in a two-parent household with a brother who is ten years older and was domestically adopted. Upon entering college, Mark was still trying to find where he belonged. At times he would walk by the table of Korean students in the cafeteria but never felt connected with them. Having housemates involved in exchange programs, he ended up meeting the Korean students at a house party and became close friends with them. They invited him to their gatherings and even talked to him about going back to visit Korea.

Cory Lemke was born in Jeonju, South Korea and adopted to the United States when he was six months old. He was raised in a small rural town in Northern Iowa and grew up identifying more with White people. When his family moved to Tucson, Arizona, his racial identity was challenged by the people around him. He encountered much more obvious racism in Arizona compared to Iowa and began to realize the environment around him was not a healthy one.

Madison Jay was born in Korea in 1995 and was adopted to Arizona to a two-parent household with an older brother, who is also a Korean adoptee. Her parents were never shy in exposing her and her brother to Korean culture and read them books about adoption or Korean American identity as well as sending them to Korean heritage camp. As she went through high school and college, people knew her as the adoptee and would question her Koreanness. She didn’t speak the language, eat Korean food, or even know the latest K-Pop band causing her understanding of beauty and self to become unclear.

Chris Packard was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio to a Korean mother and American father. He recalls growing up with a true rural Midwestern life filled with baseball and bicycle rides but also vivid memories of helping his mother run her small businesses – something he considers a defining part in his childhood.

Greg Norrish was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1986 and was adopted to Northeastern CT when he was about 3 months old. Throughout his childhood, he distinctly remember being perpetually aware of his differences. By the age of 18, he began to process his identity in multiple ways and continued until he was nearing his late twenties, which was when he chose to come to Korea. Greg had no idea of what he was hoping for when he came to Korea. To a certain degree, he wanted to find a purpose while trying to live out the inflated dreams he made throughout his childhood but he was also feeling pressured because he told people back home his decision was to explore his Korean roots. After living in Korea for four years, he stopped worrying about his adoption because he found himself being able to feel comfortable in his own skin and living life through work and meeting people who embraced him as he is. As Greg continues life in Korea, he hopes to continue to process and explore his identity through each moment that comes naturally in his everyday life.

Mandy Hwang was raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma by an American father and Korean mother. She grew up feeling “perfectly half-Korean” thanks to her parents’ efforts to help her feel comfortable in her own skin, especially her father. Mandy moved to Korea with the intention of working in the K-pop industry but after taking a teaching job, she realized this was the career she wanted to pursue. Living and working in Korea has helped her feel more in-tune with her Korean identity and recognize that Korean culture is very different from Korean American culture. For Mandy, being half-Korean is a significant part of her identity and means having the best of both American and Korean culture. She believes that it is important for future generations of Korean Americans to not only be familiar with their Korean heritage, but also to make it their own.

Joshua Hwang was born and raised in Philadelphia as one of five boys in his family. His father was a pastor while his mother ran two dry cleaning businesses. Growing up, Joshua wanted to create an identity for himself as an American. He rebelled from the standard ideas of being a PK, or pastor’s Kid, and tried to avoid the Korean American community as much as possible. His parents eventually saw the recklessness and wanted to find an opportunity for him leave Philadelphia as soon as possible.

Brian Kuh was born in South Korea and moved to America at the age of six. He moved around frequently throughout his childhood, which always made him the new Asian student at school. By second grade, he started to realize how much his peers were teasing him and even recalls having rocks thrown at him. Instead of harboring any form of bitterness, Brian just wanted to feel like he belonged and continued to have a lingering feeling of being “in the middle”. With other Koreans, they would say he is too American. With Korean Americans, they would say he was too Korean. Eventually, he realized being between two cultures is a uniqueness not many people have and would allow him to become a bridge connecting two communities.

After his family immigrated to America in 1976, Joseph Kim and his brother grew up being one of the only non-white students in their community. Though his parents worked hard to help them fit in, he still endured teasing because of his race and financial status. He recollects when an old teacher at school called him a racial slur–extremely shocked and angry, fourteen-year-old Joseph did not know how to react. Though initially contemplating more extreme action to take his anger out on that adult, he settled on a more peaceful resolution.

Eric McDaniel was adopted at the age of four to a family in Kansas City, Missouri. On the car ride from the airport, his mom opened up a photo album showing four polaroid photos – one of a car, a big house, his Mom and brother smiling, and his bed. Having vivid memories of being abandoned, it finally clicked with him that he was getting a second chance and this was the family he wanted. Eric learned to adjust and quickly understood that fending for himself and fighting fire with fire was not the only way to live. By the time he entered high school, he had lost his Korean identity and became the catalyst to his own racism.

Kesung Anderson was born in Arlington, Virginia, and spent some time in New York before moving to Korea around the age of 5. After completing a few years of school in Korea, his family decided to move to Minnesota to be with his grandparents. As the new kid in middle school, Kesung remembers being picked on and treated like an outcast. He was scrawny, didn’t like to curse like the other kids, and still wore clothing brought from Korea, making him very aware and self-conscious of his differences from his peers. One day, he had the opportunity to participate in the running event at school and surprised everyone when he began to pass his classmates. Kesung was ultimately recruited for the track team and ended up beating the top runner at a sectional meet, thus helping him grow out of his shell and gaining confidence as well as respect from his peers.

Bernie Cho was born in Pittsburgh, PA and recalls moving around a lot before settling in Jamestown, NY, where both his doctor parents had their practice. During junior high, MTV was on the rise and Bernie became fascinated and obsessed. Living in a small town with very few minorities in his neighborhood, he recognized that there were no Asian VJs, music videos, or acts being represented and oftentimes became frustrated by the stereotypes portrayed in mainstream media.

Jason Lee was born in Queens, New York but ended up moving around a lot with his family. He hated dancing because his friends said he didn’t have rhythm and wasn’t born with it – so he believed it to be a genetic thing. While attending college, he had the opportunity to see the Oprah Winfrey Show where they brought a choreographer to teach the basic steps of dancing. He felt inspired and put months of practice into simple choreographies that soon sparked his love for dance and eventually joining a street dance crew in Time Square.

Dr. Jerome Kim is the Director General of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) in Seoul, South Korea. He is a third generation Korean American and from a family with long established roots in Hawaii. His grandmother was one of the first Koreans to be born in Hawaii and his grandfather was a Hawaiian correspondence and community organizer for the Korean Independence Movement. English was the primary language spoken in his home with his grandparents speaking Korean with each other and recalls being required to learn Japanese from the third to fifth grade.

Mike Kim was born and raised in a predominantly white town in the San Francisco Bay Area and felt he was constantly navigating between two worlds. Having conservative parents and being the first born in his family, he was expected to have deep connections to his Korean roots and focus on his education. However he embraced a more American mindset and culture and developed a passion for sports and the outdoors.

Growing up in California, Hayden Royalty felt pressure to pursue a career in medicine during her studies at university. As classes became more difficult, Hayden struggled to keep up which caused their mental and physical health to deteriorate. It was at this point they found asylum at the campus LGBTQ+ center, thus beginning their journey to understand their sexuality/queerness and Asian American identity. Upon returning home after graduation, Hayden decided to move to Korea to teach English by the recommendation of their cousin. This new sense of independence was liberating and brought much needed comfort allowing Hayden to remain in Korea for the next eight years. Motivated by their personal experiences and the lack of representation of queer and Asian counselors, Hayden plans to return to the States to pursue a career in social work. They hope to become someone who can support conversations between young queer Asian Americans and their families.

Danny Cho is a Korean American stand-up comedian, writer, and content creator. He was born and raised in Boyle Heights in East LA as one of the only Asian Americans in his community. Danny discovered his love for stand-up comedy the summer before his first year at UCLA when he performed at an open-mic; not only did it feel good to prove that an Asian could be funny, he loved the energy of the audience and continued to crave the rush. Comedy soon became a hobby after college but with the encouragement of fellow Korean American comedians it pushed him to quit his job as a consultant and pursue stand-up full time.

Though Bobby Choy was born and raised in NYC, he never quite felt comfortable living there. He felt safest every weekend at church where he and his brother could be around other Korean Americans with similar life experiences. By the time he reached high school, he had moved 18 times and found it difficult to form strong connections with the people around him. It was through music and poetry Bobby was able to find comfort and joy. He had never considered music as a career path he could take as a Korean American, but with the support of his brother, he was able to nurture those dreams in adulthood.

Kara Bos was born in Korea and adopted by an American couple in Sheridan, Michigan when she was about 3 years old. She had never felt the need to find her birth family until her daughter turned two years old. Her love for her two children and wish for them to know their origins sparked the search for her birth mother and her Korean identity.

Paul Jean was born and raised in San Francisco, California. After his parents’ divorce, Paul did not have much exposure and access to Korean culture or a community and grew up feeling disconnected and almost ashamed of being Korean.

As he got older, his curiosity of the world around him grew and allowed him to explore different ways of thinking. He continued to struggle to find his place in America and his desire for a greater purpose in life led him to move to Korea in 2006. For the first seven years, he was recognized as an American by his peers until he discovered jiu jitsu. Nobody at the gym cared that he was the Korean American, or a gyopo. Paul credits jiu jitsu in helping him connect with his Korean identity and keeping him motivated and grounded.

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.