MEET KEVIN HAEBEOM VOLLMERS
Adoption details: "At the age of seven, I was placed by Children’s Home Society & Family Services into a family who lived on a farm outside of a super rural MN town. I went from being called Jeong Haebeom to Kevin Douglas Vollmers. Yeah. There’s that. Anyway, prior to my adoption, I lived with my mother in Korea, who would periodically have family members take care of me while she tried to sustain a job or find one as a single mother. Toward the end of my time in Korea, I stayed in an orphanage and with a foster family in Seoul. My mother was unable to raise me; she was very ill. She passed away a year and a half after relinquishing her rights as my parent."
Current city: "Minneapolis, MN! Long live the 612! To be specific, I live in South Minneapolis, and, like numerous folks who live in my area, pretending to be all 'radical,' 'hipster,' and such, I have bourgeois tendencies."
How has being a KAD influenced your personal/professional life?:
"Being a KAD has heavily influenced my career, especially now. There’s no way that I could do what I do at Land of Gazillion Adoptees (LGA) if I wasn’t adopted."
Thoughts on the local KAD community?
"As I like to say, Minnesota is the Rome of the adoptee community. All adoption roads lead back to our lovely state. And although MN adoptees from all different backgrounds are doing great work in their respective fields, a significant number of KADs in the Land of 10,000 Lakes are leaders in the community (and beyond) and deserve the accolades that have been coming to them. Honestly, unlike folks like me who just talk (and talk a lot), numerous KADs in Minnesota are responsible for kickass research, literature, policy, art, and the like coming out of the state. I feel incredibly fortunate to live and run a business where there are so many great adoptees; I’m looking forward to seeing what else comes out of MN in the near future."
Favorite K-Pop/Movies/Dramas: "I heart Big Bang. Their video for 'Monster' is proof that nobody does boy bands better than Korea. Rumor has it that I also own and dance to The Wonder Girls 'Nobody.' But that’s just a rumor. I think Korean films are getting better every year. If folks want to see a truly messed up, but awesome piece of cinema, check out Kim Jee-Woon’s I Saw The Devil. There’s a hilariously wrong Waiting For Godot moment that will make you want to puke."
Favorite Korean food: "I don’t have a favorite Korean food because Korean cuisine is hands down the greatest food in the world. It’s so vibrant. Nevertheless, jajangmyeon is my sentimental favorite. My mother bought it for me as a special treat."
Check out Gazillion Voices, the online magazine that Kevin plus a bunch of other amazing and talented individuals have recently launched!
Current city: "Minneapolis, MN! Long live the 612! To be specific, I live in South Minneapolis, and, like numerous folks who live in my area, pretending to be all 'radical,' 'hipster,' and such, I have bourgeois tendencies."
How has being a KAD influenced your personal/professional life?:
"Being a KAD has heavily influenced my career, especially now. There’s no way that I could do what I do at Land of Gazillion Adoptees (LGA) if I wasn’t adopted."
Thoughts on the local KAD community?
"As I like to say, Minnesota is the Rome of the adoptee community. All adoption roads lead back to our lovely state. And although MN adoptees from all different backgrounds are doing great work in their respective fields, a significant number of KADs in the Land of 10,000 Lakes are leaders in the community (and beyond) and deserve the accolades that have been coming to them. Honestly, unlike folks like me who just talk (and talk a lot), numerous KADs in Minnesota are responsible for kickass research, literature, policy, art, and the like coming out of the state. I feel incredibly fortunate to live and run a business where there are so many great adoptees; I’m looking forward to seeing what else comes out of MN in the near future."
Favorite K-Pop/Movies/Dramas: "I heart Big Bang. Their video for 'Monster' is proof that nobody does boy bands better than Korea. Rumor has it that I also own and dance to The Wonder Girls 'Nobody.' But that’s just a rumor. I think Korean films are getting better every year. If folks want to see a truly messed up, but awesome piece of cinema, check out Kim Jee-Woon’s I Saw The Devil. There’s a hilariously wrong Waiting For Godot moment that will make you want to puke."
Favorite Korean food: "I don’t have a favorite Korean food because Korean cuisine is hands down the greatest food in the world. It’s so vibrant. Nevertheless, jajangmyeon is my sentimental favorite. My mother bought it for me as a special treat."
Check out Gazillion Voices, the online magazine that Kevin plus a bunch of other amazing and talented individuals have recently launched!
