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Adapted™ Podcast

A podcast about Korean adoptees that include topics of race, identity, belonging and life after returning to Korea, reuniting with biological family and more. Each story is different but there are common threads that many adoptees can relate to.
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Adapted™ Podcast
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Now displaying: 2017
Dec 28, 2017

Brian Nieken, 32, has known who is biological Korean father is for half his lifetime - they first reunited in Korea when he was only 16. Nieken says as the years went by, important questions remained unanswered. He talks about that disappointment and of coming to terms with tough details about his relinquishment. 

Jul 21, 2017

Korean adoptee Matt Blesse, 31, is an American who moved back to Korea six years ago. A poet who now spends a great deal of time in kitchens in Seoul, the Californian chef-in-training got cerebral and talked with us about his ideas on adoptee identity and authenticity. We caught up with him on the island of Jeju.

Jul 2, 2017

This episode, we'll hear from Adam Kohlhaas. He talks about finding and meeting his biological parents while living in Korea, and how the reunion wasn't really as he imagined it be. 

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Thank you for listening to ADAPTED. Originally funded by a Fulbright grant (2016-7, Adapted will continue on in some form yet to be determined.

Music credits:

Alexander Paschka: theme music.

Jahzzar: “Friends,” “Silver,” and “Solitude.”

Kai Engel: “Oecumene Sleeps.”

Lion’s Club clip: Sangshow via YouTube.

Logo: Rusty Detty.

Special thanks: Brad Linder.

Apr 18, 2017

Robert Ogburn, 57, is a Korean-American adoptee who has returned to the country he was born in -- as a diplomat. Raised an only child, Ogburn's story includes an unexpected adoption twist and insights on how Korea and its perception about adoptees has changed over the years. And like so many other adoptees, Ogburn talks about a quest to know more about his past, and of the all-too common realities of an elusive paper trail. 

Apr 5, 2017

Austin Johnson, 28, is a Korean-American adoptee and Seoul resident. He's been living here with his wife, Janetta, for the past two years. They came to Korea together and it's ironically, Janetta, who actually been his bridge to Korea: cooking authentic Korean food and being an anchor when life back in his native country got tough. 

Mar 21, 2017

Not every adoption story is the same. Some adoptees struggle within their adoptive families out of neglect, of not feeling loved or a sense of belonging. Adoptees who return to Korea to live often face other issues too: of confronting their relinquishment and grief over biological parents. Korean-American adoptee Laura Wachs, 28, shares her story, and of how poetry has given her the strength to now help others who are also trying to make sense of their own meaning of family. 

Mar 7, 2017

Rachel Smith, 23, lives in Cheongju, Korea. She's spent the last two years teaching English on the Fulbright program. Smith talks to us about growing up in Kentucky, what got her interested in coming back to Korea, searching for her Korean mother and how all of this has helped her firmly grasp who she is at such a young age. 

Feb 22, 2017

Richard Peterson, 31, moved to Korea from New York City nearly nine years ago. A history buff, he immersed himself in Korean history and language in college. But while he reflects on his move back to the country of his birth, he's focused on the present with his wife Emily and their future. 

Feb 8, 2017

Julien Brulé, 31, is a Korean adoptee from France. Last year, he quit his job and his life in the French countryside to come to Korea to meet his biological mother. Then he took the unusual step to move in with her, despite a language and cultural gulf. For more than half a year, he's been learning more about her and himself as they attempt to write a new story together. He shares his story in French [with English introduction].

Feb 7, 2017

Julien Brulé, 31, is a Korean adoptee from France. Last year, he quit his job and his life in the French countryside to come to Korea to meet his biological mother. Then he took the unusual step to move in with her, despite a language and cultural gulf. For more than half a year, he's been learning more about her and himself as they attempt to write a new story together. He shares his story in French [with English translation]. 

Jan 23, 2017

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

Jan 11, 2017

Cara Kim Mooney, 23, is a Korean-American adoptee who grew up in upstate New York. She was adopted from Korea at the age of six months, and returned to her country of birth two years ago as an English Teaching Assistant on the Fulbright Program. Mooney wanted to come back to Korea to get in touch with her roots, after a childhood filled with memories of international travel and family support. As an adult, she's grown to love Korea, and accept it too. 

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