From Orphan to Author: My Journey as a Korean Adoptee

Welcome to my blog! My memoir, Crossing the Cherry Blossom Sea, will be published this Spring 2024, but I wanted to begin to share behind-the-scenes of my writing and creative process, key insights of the book and life as an author and adoptee.

My five-year-old self as an orphan in South Korea.

My journey as a Korean adoptee began as soon as my sister and I stepped off an airplane into the United States. I was five-years-old, and she was only four. Our lives were literally transformed overnight from living in an orphanage in Korea, to moving into a new home in the Pacific Northwest, with new parents and three other adopted siblings. Growing up, I barely had any memories of my former life in Korea or my birth parents and I grappled with a sense of loss, grief and depression. It didn't help that I was raised in a mostly white city, where I struggled with my identity and never felt like I quite fit in. Furthermore, despite having four other adopted siblings, I had very little opportunity to fully acknowledge or embrace my Korean roots. As the years went by, like so many other adoptees, I convinced myself that adoption had been the best thing for my sister and me.

I began the search for my Korean birth parents in 2015, but I had no idea what an emotional, yet life-changing journey it would be as I delved into the layers of my past.

It has been said that an adoptee is like a tree without roots, and without knowledge of our origins or culture, we are unable to flourish. As much as I tried to ignore my past, there came a point in my life where I felt stuck, particularly with finding love and living a truly fulfilling life. I began the search for my Korean birth parents in 2015, but I had no idea what an emotional, yet life-changing journey it would be as I delved into the layers of my past. I discovered many valuable lessons along the way, and grew to love myself in the process.

It took a long, arduous path to get here (enough to fill a book!) but I have since proudly embraced my Korean identity and heritage. I wrote my memoir to not only share my experiences and personal struggles as a transnational adoptee, but to offer guidance and hope to those with similar journeys. However, even after years of continual personal growth and being proud of the woman I am today, I find that I am still learning every day what it means to be an adoptee. There will always be a sense of loss and grief for the past that persists, but writing my memoir has been an incredibly healing experience. It has strengthened my conviction that facing our pain and sharing our experiences, no matter how difficult or scary it may be, is what helps us move forward. I invite you to join me as I continue to share my story, with the sincere hope that you'll feel inspired to do the same.

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