History

As the "About Me" section states, I am a Korean American adoptee.  I was born on December 16, 1978, and came to America on May 1, 1979, a little May Day bundle.  Meeting me at the airport were my parents, Nanny & Gramps, Baba, my aunt & uncle, my future Godmother, and many other people.  I believe Art Linkletter (from Kid's Say the Darndest Things)was on the plane as well, and thought the entourage was for him.  Nope, I was the lucky one! 

It was a tricky flight, however.  The night before I was to arrive, my parents found out I was headed Chicago - O'Hare airport.  Except everyone was meeting me in Minneapolis.  In the middle of the night, my parents had to find a Notary and get documentation signed that someone could escort me from O'Hare to Minneapolis.  Fortunately, it all worked out.

And then March, 1980, my brother Mike was born.  The following July, 1981, Julie came along.  Mom and Dad had three kids under the age of 3.  After ten years of marriage, they had a very busy family!

I have always known I was adopted.  It's hard not to when you look nothing like your parents and siblings, although I think some families could fake it for awhile.  My parents always told me I was special and that God had chosen me specially for them.  They were very open about my adoption and my questions about my birth family.  When I was old enough, I was allowed to see the adoption papers.  I don't know how much I really remembered about them at the time.  I knew I wanted to someday go back to Korea and maybe find my birth parents.

Then the 1988 Summer Olympics came to Seoul.  I remember BEGGING my parents to bring me.  I was almost ten and watched the Opening Ceremonies from my couch, so proud of my birth country.  In retrospect, I was probably too young to attend, but still wish I could have been a part of that history. 

In high school English class I wrote a paper about searching for my birth family.  Mom and Dad were so supportive of any decisions I made.  I do believe this made me a more well-balanced adoptee.  I was never afraid they would be hurt by my questions or upset that I wanted to search for my birth family.  They answered all my questions and gave me all the contacts I would need to complete my paper.  If I can find it, I will post it here in the future.  At that time, I was too young and not quite ready to begin my search.

Then college came along and the age where I could begin the search if I wanted to.  For some reason, I always delayed sending the paperwork in.  I was enjoying singing in the Concordia Choir and experiencing life on my own for the first time.  The paper I had written was on the back burner.

In 2002, FIFA World Cup came to Korea & Japan.  Being an avid soccer player (still am!), I wanted to go to Korea for the event.  Alas, I was unable to go due to lack of funds (being a recent college grad).  I still wanted to search for my birth family, but now I was thinking I would like to do it with someone significant.  I wasn't sure who that would be, but I was patiently waiting to see when my future mate would come along.  It's too bad I didn't know Nate then, as soccer was one of the first things that drew us together.  We were married on December 28, 2008, eight years after World Cup.

After all this time has gone by, at 32, I am finally ready to make the leap.  Nate, my parents, and I are heading to Korea in June, 2011, with Children's Home Society's Tour Korea.  As a part of the visit, I hope I am able to search out some of my roots. 

In stepping into this journey, throughout the years, I have thought a lot about the possibilities, the potential outcomes, and what this may mean for my future and I hope to share my journey with you!