It has felt like a year and a lifetime since information about my mother was relayed to me. In reality, only a year has passed since her restaurant was discovered. Time has moved quickly and stood still all at once. While this year has presented much more information than I have had access to before,…
As a transracial adoptee, fighting to be seen is an underlying current through many aspects of my existence. Not only fighting to be seen as Korean, but fighting to be seen as the child my mother relinquished decades ago. The news of Kang, Mee-sook’s legal victory has made its way through the US and Korea.…
My return to Korea was one of introspection, healing, and a newfound understanding and acceptance for who I am. It was a culmination of years of emotional labor, working through the abandonment issues that have plagued me throughout my life. Being adopted by white extroverts, I never “fit” in my adoptive family. Round peg, square…
As with many things that are adoption related, closing one door doesn’t necessarily mean the door will remain closed. I fully intended on closing my search, knowing that my mother refuses to respond. Instead, I have decided to keep it open, with the hope that I can find my birth father…
Last week I asked KAS to close my search. The emotional toll it has taken on me is one that has left me exhausted. Paired with my adoptive father’s death this year, I can say without a doubt this has been one of the most difficult years I have lived through.