A few months ago I joined Nodutdol, a group of diasporic Koreans organizing for Korea’s reunification, national liberation, and a world without imperialism. I’ve since been presented the opportunity to visit my home country alongside some of the most amazing people I've had the pleasure of working with these last few months. I'm not usually one to ask anyone for help, but this is by far the most important trip of my life and right now it's not possible for me to make it without a little help from my friends.

To give some context, I was adopted the same year I was born in '95 to NY and I've never had the opportunity to go back and visit Korea. After a good bit of searching I made contact with my birthmother late in 2019. She explained she had been waiting my whole life for me to find her as we exchanged a few emotional letters. I promised that I’d visit her in the Spring of 2020. A few months passed, COVID happened and I couldn’t keep my promise. Since the pandemic, it hasn't been possible for me to be reunited with my birthmother. In 2022, I applied to the ReKorea program through Global Overseas Adoptees’ Link (GOAL), an opportunity for adoptees to revisit Korea for the first time for a heavily subsidized cost, but was denied as the cohort was small and a ton of others applied.

The KEEP (Korea Education and Exposure Program) trip being organized by Nodutdol is now my greatest opportunity to see Korea again. I’d be able to reunite with my birthmother, forge lifelong relationships with other Korean grassroots organizers, and finally experience the country I was taken from. Thanks for reading this far, all this stuff is really important to me and even you reading this means a lot. I know times are getting tough these days but, if you’re able to comfortably spare some funds for this trip, it would be greatly appreciated.