Stay Soft, Stay Open

"It's confronting how much I was willing to sacrifice and put on pause to make this move back to Korea." "You left Korea before you were ready, and you still have unfinished business." Quotes from the Adopted Feels podcast episode, Hana's Guide to Moving to Korea . We saw 숙모, we shopped at 남대문, we ate so much food, our feet were so sore.

Korea, Day 8. A rainy day. I saw a giant white crane fly across the sky and it was a stunning image. We ate at Yang Sushi and got a bunch of 서비스 items. We went to Olive Young and tried a bunch of skincare products.

Korea, Day 7. 엄마 was supposed to go to 할머니's bank in Seoul, but 삼촌 ended up going by himself instead. I went on my morning walk. On my way there and on my way back, I was watching the people working in the neighborhood — at the 시장, the 옥수수 stands, the 떡집, the park — and I thought about how they all have stories. I wonder what their stories are? How did you start making 떡? How did yo...

We started our journey to find our Korea identity papers. We went to the 구청 (district office) to get 이모's and 엄마's 호적 (family registry), but we could only get 이모's. Because her last name changed when she came to America, she can't get get her family registry. Her fingerprint didn't work because it's too old and outdated, so they don't match up anymore.

Korea, Day 5, Sunday. This was a really difficult day. All of the stress, the sleep deprivation, all of the massive, massive grief, broke my spirit on this day. I didn't want to be in Korea anymore.

Korea, Day 4. This was a day of massive grief. We went to 할머니 and 할아버지's 산소. This was our first time visiting the grave with 할머니 buried there. We also visited 왕할머니 and 왕할아버지's graves. I grieve the life 할머니 didn't get to live because of the war, the Japanese occupation, the patriarchy of Korea, and the oppression women have to experience in Korea. I grieve how much I didn't...

Day 3 in Korea. Going on my morning walks, talking to the park 아저씨s, eating 보리밥 and 찰옥수수, going to the library where 이모 has her weekly poetry class, talking to an 아줌마 at the library about her life, dealing with an 오지랖 librarian who was scolding me for talking too loudly, doing laundry, and eating 팥빙수. My 숙모 and 삼촌 brought fried chicken and 미숫가루 for us. The frustrating...

In July 2025, we went to Korea for the first time in six and a half years. This was our first time back to Korea since 할머니 died, since 아빠 died, and since Haejoon was born. This episode is about our travel day from America to Korea, and our first two days in Korea. 엄마's family stories, 아빠's family stories, our plans for our trip, and memories from past trips to Korea. The Korea Collection...