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Relative Strangers

During and after the Korean War, thousands of mixed-race children were abandoned by their American GI fathers, stigmatized by Korean society, and sent to be adopted by couples in the West. Today many are searching for their original families, initiating unexpected discoveries about self, family, race, and culture. Relative Strangers follows their stories, uncovering the racial and social inequalities of the world’s largest international adoption program, and its impact on individuals and societies.

Relative Strangers

News

04.03.2025

South Korea's Truth and Reconciliation Commision (TRC) reports widespread fraud, malpractice and human rights violations in Korea's adoption practices. Listen to Deann Borshay Liem discuss her reaction on NPR.

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04.02.2025

To contribute to the current global dialogue about South Korea's adoption practices, Geographies of Kinship is re-airing on the PBS App now through end of May 2025. Watch here!

04.01.2025

Vivien's Wild Ride is completed and will have its World Premiere at the San Francisco International Film Festival on April 18 and 19! Buy tickets here. The screenings will have Audio Descriptions and Closed Captions; venues are wheelchair accessible.

11.07.2024

Geographies of Kinship screens Nov 7 at 8pm at Studio De Bakkerij in Rotterdam, Netherlands, as part of a week-long program about adoption called "Far from Here." Tickets and RSVP here. 

Recent Works

Geographies of Kinship

Geographies of Kinship

In this powerful tale about the rise of Korea’s global adoption program, four adult adoptees return to their country of birth and recover the personal histories that were lost when they were adopted. Along the way there are discoveries and dead ends, as well as mysteries that will never be unraveled. 

Crossings

Crossings

In Crossings, a group of international women peacemakers, including renowned activists Gloria Steinem and Christine Ahn, sets out on a risky journey across the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, calling for an end to a 70-year war that has divided the Korean peninsula and its people.

Vivien’s Wild Ride

Vivien’s Wild Ride

After a long career in cinema, film editor Vivien Hillgrove starts losing her sight, forcing her to re-examine past traumas and relationships, and to re-invent herself and her art. Directed by Vivien Hillgrove.

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