MEET JAE-RAN KIM
City of current residence:
Minneapolis
Adoption details:
I was adopted through Children's Home Society of MN back when they worked with Holt. I was adopted to Minnesota in 1971 when I was about 3. My Korean name was Jai-Ran Kim (I legally changed my American name back to my Korean name, changing it slightly to Jae-Ran Kim).
How has being a KAD shaped your career?
Being a Korean Adoptee has basically formed the entire basis of my career. I became a social worker because I was mentoring Korean and Chinese adoptees through a mentorship program at Children's Home Society and Family Services in the late 1990s-early 2000s. The director of the mentorship program encouraged me to become a social worker. After I finished my social work degrees, I worked in adoption at several levels so I could understand how the adoption process works - I worked at private adoption agencies, public agencies and at the MN Department of Human Services, and in post-adoption services. In each of these places my goal was to both understand how the system works, and to bring an adoptee's perspective to agencies and colleagues who only saw adoption from the point of view of adoptive parents and children. There has always been a myopic view of adoption and professionals and parents are so focused on children they forget we grow up.
Thoughts on the KAD community in MN (and/or nationally/internationally)?
I consider myself to be so fortunate to be part of such a vibrant and amazing Korean adoptee community in Minnesota. There is something for everyone here - if you're into socializing, organizations like AK Connection and AdopSource have stuff going on all the time. There are amazing adoptee artists based in Minnesota - poets, actors, playwrights, musicians, visual artists - really really inspiring and nationally and internationally known. Korean adoptees in other states often express how lucky we are to have so many Korean adoptee artists here. And now that I am currently in the "ivory tower" I am of course very fortunate to have such amazing Korean adoptee scholars in Minnesota too. The work being produced on adoption by these scholars is incredible.
I try to follow Korean adoptee artists, scholars and activists all over the world as much as I can. The work our community is doing is really amazing and all of my work - my blogs, my scholarship, my writing, my community work - is all done to add to and hopefully contribute in a meaningful and productive way - to the great work that has, and continues to be done, by amazing fellow adoptees.
Any favorite Korean artists, dramas, movies, etc?
Here is where I sadly admit that I am a bad, bad consumer of Korean pop culture! My favorite Korean movie (remember that I've seen very few) is The Host by Bong Joon-Ho. I don't watch K-dramas because I don't watch many movies/tv but I recently started getting into the old HBO show "The Wire" and am digging Sonja Sohn, who is half-Korean. Does that count?
Favorite Korean food?
Okay now this I can answer! I favor the 찌개 and 국. Something about the warm, spicy and heartiness of Korean soups and stews, mmmm! My favorites are 육개장 (yukgaejang), 순두부찌개 (soondubu) and 된장찌개 (deonjangjigae).
Check out JaeRan's blogs: harlowmonkey.typepad.com and jaerankim.wordpress.com
Minneapolis
Adoption details:
I was adopted through Children's Home Society of MN back when they worked with Holt. I was adopted to Minnesota in 1971 when I was about 3. My Korean name was Jai-Ran Kim (I legally changed my American name back to my Korean name, changing it slightly to Jae-Ran Kim).
How has being a KAD shaped your career?
Being a Korean Adoptee has basically formed the entire basis of my career. I became a social worker because I was mentoring Korean and Chinese adoptees through a mentorship program at Children's Home Society and Family Services in the late 1990s-early 2000s. The director of the mentorship program encouraged me to become a social worker. After I finished my social work degrees, I worked in adoption at several levels so I could understand how the adoption process works - I worked at private adoption agencies, public agencies and at the MN Department of Human Services, and in post-adoption services. In each of these places my goal was to both understand how the system works, and to bring an adoptee's perspective to agencies and colleagues who only saw adoption from the point of view of adoptive parents and children. There has always been a myopic view of adoption and professionals and parents are so focused on children they forget we grow up.
Thoughts on the KAD community in MN (and/or nationally/internationally)?
I consider myself to be so fortunate to be part of such a vibrant and amazing Korean adoptee community in Minnesota. There is something for everyone here - if you're into socializing, organizations like AK Connection and AdopSource have stuff going on all the time. There are amazing adoptee artists based in Minnesota - poets, actors, playwrights, musicians, visual artists - really really inspiring and nationally and internationally known. Korean adoptees in other states often express how lucky we are to have so many Korean adoptee artists here. And now that I am currently in the "ivory tower" I am of course very fortunate to have such amazing Korean adoptee scholars in Minnesota too. The work being produced on adoption by these scholars is incredible.
I try to follow Korean adoptee artists, scholars and activists all over the world as much as I can. The work our community is doing is really amazing and all of my work - my blogs, my scholarship, my writing, my community work - is all done to add to and hopefully contribute in a meaningful and productive way - to the great work that has, and continues to be done, by amazing fellow adoptees.
Any favorite Korean artists, dramas, movies, etc?
Here is where I sadly admit that I am a bad, bad consumer of Korean pop culture! My favorite Korean movie (remember that I've seen very few) is The Host by Bong Joon-Ho. I don't watch K-dramas because I don't watch many movies/tv but I recently started getting into the old HBO show "The Wire" and am digging Sonja Sohn, who is half-Korean. Does that count?
Favorite Korean food?
Okay now this I can answer! I favor the 찌개 and 국. Something about the warm, spicy and heartiness of Korean soups and stews, mmmm! My favorites are 육개장 (yukgaejang), 순두부찌개 (soondubu) and 된장찌개 (deonjangjigae).
Check out JaeRan's blogs: harlowmonkey.typepad.com and jaerankim.wordpress.com