Glenn Morey was born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1960. He was abandoned days after birth, taken to Seoul City Hall, then to a Holt orphanage, and adopted at the age of six months to the US. In 2013, Glenn and his wife, Julie, began filming The Side by Side Project, a documentary series that captures the voices of 100 inter-country Korean adoptees. In this conversation, Eugene and Glenn talk about what it means to be comfortable with one's unique self, and the various ways in which people can have relationships with their ethnic homelands.

The first portion of this episode is from the Side by Side Project, and more information can be found here: http://sidebysideproject.com/

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Chapter markers:

0:00 Snippet from interviewee in the Side by Side project

3:23 Glenn talks with Eugene about his Initial interest in international adoption

7:31 Connecting with international adoptees through the Side By Side Project

9:15 The “danger of the single story”

12:53 Reception of the project (both from adoptees and non-adoptees)

14:00 Glenn discusses how Korea's impact on inter-country adoptions

15:30 Glenn and Eugene discuss nterviewees' reactions & Importance of diverse narratives

18:10 Glenn and Eugene discuss the Duality of birth and adoptive families

20:03 Glenn shares a Story of a Tazmanian Korean Adoptee

24:30 Eugene and Glenn discuss “choice” and family

27:45 Glenn discusses finding belonging within the Korean Adoptee community

28:32 Glenn discusses a book that had a lot of personal significance for him: “A Prayer for Owen Meany” by John Irving

29:03 Eugene and Glenn discuss The Korean War and Korean Adoptees

32:18 Glenn and Eugene discuss Stigma against Korean Adoptees and orphans, including discussion of citizenship and military service

40:30 Glenn’s reading of “Wanting to Love Korea”

41:58 Glenn’s experience visiting Korea

46:50 Alienation & Assimilation - themes of the Side By Side Project

48:55 Glenn's understanding of family

50:20 Glenn’s suggestions for listeners

54:15 Outro - Paul discusses how this conversation made him think about the idea of closure