Community Forum: A conversation surrounding the Korean Peninsula

Hosted in partnership with AK Connection

What image do you see? Which Korea are you from? Are you a "good Korean" or a "bad Korean"?

Join Network of Politicized Adoptees (NPA) and AK Connection on Nov 27 (Monday) for an opportunity to come together to process what it means to be Korean adoptees during this time of heightened negative media and violence toward the Korean peninsula. This event will be a space to learn more about our history and have an open discussion on how that context impacts us today.

Sharon Chung will provide background on the Korean war and how that ties into the anti-Korean rhetoric that we are experiencing today. A panel, moderated by Dr. Jennifer Kwon Dobbs, will highlight Korean adoptee perspectives in this broader conversation. We will wrap up with small group discussions that will offer time for connection and reflection. We feel that this is an especially timely conversation to have with our friends, family, and the larger adoption community, and we hope that this conversation will provide new information, vocabulary, and insights to be able to process and talk about the current situation on the Korean peninsula.

Agenda:

6:00 - 6:30 Light Dinner
6:30 - 6:45 Welcome & Introduction
6:45 - 7:15 History & Context - Sharon Chung
7:15 - 7:45 Panel Discussion
7:45 - 8:20 Small Group Discussion
8:20 - 8:30 Close

Location:

People's Movement Center
736 E 41st St, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55407 (Corner of 41st St. and Chicago Ave.)

RSVP:
Please let us know you're interested by emailing an RSVP or by responding to NPA's Facebook event.

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Presenter:
Sharon Chung recently moved to Minnesota from New York. She is part of the Korean Education Exposure Program (KEEP) Planning Team (KPT) and was actively involved & in leadership with Nodutdol for Korean Community Development, and is now a supporting member of Nodutdol.

Moderator:
Jennifer Kwon Dobbs is a poet, essayist, and scholar with interests in creative writing, critical adoption studies, Asian American literature, and Korean literary translation. Since 2008, she is associate professor of English and directs Race and Ethnic Studies at St. Olaf College. She lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota. www.jkwondobbs.com

Panelists:

Kurt Blomberg is a Korean adoptee who lives in Minneapolis, MN. In 2015, he traveled to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea through the Korean Education Exposure Program KEEP. A former professional dancer- turned education, Kurt is committed to creating spaces and places that are radically welcoming.

Eva Song Margolis is a Korean American adoptee from Minneapolis. She is a writer, organizer, and advocate for racial and economic justice. Eva has over 17 years’ experience in the nonprofit industry working the fields of community economic development, asset building, workforce development, housing and youth development. She takes pleasure in connecting people, organizations, resources and philosophies. As poet, she sees how the arts can challenge and inspire us to dissect our understanding of the world, to redefine it, and to take charge in transforming it.

Jon Tufte was born in Korea in 1969, adopted to a Norwegian and German family in Prior Lake, MN . He arrived to the US when he was 3 years old. John works as a Restorative Justice coordinator at Johnson high school and loves discussing the intersections of culture and race in the US.