< Back Ana Suli Clancey Contributor Ana Suli Clancey is a Chinese #importedAsian . She was adopted from Yueyang, Hunan at 18 months old and is passionate about traveling, eating, and connecting with nature. Ana is also an advocate for mental health. She was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and strives to raise awareness, especially for communities of color and adoptees. Also, when her mother passed away as a child, she buried her emotions for eight years. She found that being vulnerable, although painful, was the way to reclaim her power. Ana's goal is to fight systemic racism by sharing her story and creating equitable solutions. She strives for a future where leadership is representative of all backgrounds, and the voices of underrepresented folks are amplified instead of being taught to remain quiet.

< Back Cynthia Landesburg Contributor Born in Busan, South Korea, Cynthia spent seven weeks with her birth family and the next four months in an orphanage and foster home before being flown to Washington, D.C., to her Jewish adoptive family as an #importedAsian . As a recovering perfectionist and overachiever, she left her legal career in favor of caring for her two sons, both adopted from Korea, and her biological daughter. She currently spends her day homeschooling her sons, chasing her baby daughter around the house, and spoiling her dog with a lot of walks to clear her head. And in the moments in between, she writes. Cynthia looks forward to exploring issues around parenting, adoption as an adoptee, and the overall adoptee experience. You can find more of her writing at her website, www.adoptionsquared.com .

< Back Tara Footner Founder Her everyday identity is an English language educator, which she has done for over 20 years in Japan, the U.S., and the U.A.E. to fuel her passion for travel and experiencing the world’s vastness. However, like most, OSH holds a number of other identities including writer. With the dream of writing since she was eight-years-old, OSH has written for April Magazine and contributed to various other online publications over the years. Yet, none have quite satisfied a desire to provide our community with a platform to share our collective experiences, showcase our many talents, and inspire each other to express ourselves openly in an otherwise dominated society. Therefore, OSH’s aim as founder of this online magazine is to offer an open and safe forum for our varied voices to be highlighted and heard. You can also follow Tara’s adventures here .

< Back Heath Hyun Houghton Contributor A Korean American adoptee who grew up in rural Michigan and is currently based in Portland, OR. Heath Hyun Houghton is an actor, writer, and director. He holds an MFA in creative writing with a focus in playwriting from Goddard College and a B.A. in theatre with a focus in performance from Humboldt State University. He also studied Korean dance and performance styles in Jinju, South Korea, with USD Modern Dance. Poems and essays have been published in Spring Time Magazine and The Pitkin Review. Heath’s work has appeared online in Pif Magazine, MiGoZine, and Korea4Expats. He has also contributed lyrics to albums released by Ultraviolet Hippopotamus (“One Eye Shut,” Stop Watch Time Drop ) and The Turnips (“Move Your Ass,” Background Music ). His plays have been seen as staged readings in Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea, and in the U.S. in California, Michigan, and Oregon. He is currently an Ensemble Member with Theatre Vertigo and Linestorm Playwrights. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild and USA Gymnastics.

< Back Haiku Kwon Contributor Haiku Kwon, aka Laura Kruis, is a Korean American #importedAsian , writer, and wanderluster, who loves dogs, weightlifting, food, and connecting with others. Through her contributions to The Universal Asian , she hopes to demonstrate the importance of storytelling and sharing one’s personal truth to build community. Haiku has held many varied roles throughout her life and travels as much as possible, which has taught her that “home” isn’t always a place. Sometimes, it’s a moment. Blog: https://haiku-kwon.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haiku_kwon/

Our Mission The Universal Asian is an open and safe online database platform in a magazine-style to provide inspiration to Asian adoptees (#importedAsians) and immigrated Asians (#hyphenatedAsians) around the world. We strive to mainstream discussions on topics related to pop culture, politics, lifes tyle, and more importantly help make our community of Asian voices universally heard . Our Val ues Anti-discrimination and abuse The Universal Asian will not tolerate racism, discrimination, violence, or abuse of any kind. We embrace diversity and are committed to ensuring a space, culture, and platform that is free from discrimination or abuse in any form. If there are any instances of racist, discriminatory, or abusive language used in deal ing with The Universal Asian or any of our collaborators, then we shall block the account immediately and call it out publicly on our platform. Honesty The Universal Asian is committed to being honest about our diverse experiences without sugar-coating or diluting the voices of our contributors and collaborators for what is shared is our TRUTH. Integrity Trust is essential to any organization. We build that trust through the actions and judgment of all The Universal Asian team — in our social media platforms, in our workplace and in what we post on the site. Respect The Universal Asian aims to build and serve a global audience that is vast and diverse representing the Asian diaspora. To do that fully and fairly, we treat our community — our readers, contributors, collaborators, and our team with the utmost empathy and respect. Collaboration The Universal Asian does not place itself in competition with others raising voices or sharing stories, but rather gives respect to and raises up the creativity and expertise from every part of the diaspora to fulfill our mission. It is our greatest aim to work together and support each other to provide a sense of community and inspiration to those who engage with us.

Essay Heather Lewis Essay Musings of a Middle-aged Matriarch: Finding my tribe There’s a sea of different people in this world. While everyone is unique and different, there are enough commonalities between us all to... Vanessa Nguyen Essay What It Means To Be Asian in America: Recognizing and breaking the cycle of trauma The rise in hate crimes against the AAPI community has left many of us questioning not just our identity as Asian-Americans, but how we... Cynthia Landesberg Essay Artificial Habitat Growing up, I lived in one of those unremarkable suburban neighborhoods everyone has seen and no one remembers. Two-story houses.... Heather Lewis Essay Musings of a Middle-aged Matriarch: How do you find joy? As adoptees, many of us have had to create our own joy. We have to work at joy because it doesn’t come naturally to us. We are too busy... Cynthia Landesberg Lifestyle Choosing Parenthood “I think, maybe, we should talk about starting a family,” my husband said one day, as we sat on the back porch of a winery north of our... Heather Lewis Essay Musings of a Middle-aged Matriarch: Looking exotic sitting at Cracker Barrel I was adopted into a small farming community with one blinking stop light. For all my life, I was surrounded by people who did not look... 1 2 3 4 5

< Back A.D. Herzel Contributor A.D. Herzel is an #importedAsian from Korea. She is a Visual Artist, writer, and educator. A.D. has exhibited work nationally for the past 20 years. She trained as a painter and printmaker at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and went on to receive her Master of Eduaction (M.Ed.) in art education at the Tyler School of Art in 2000. Her digital work has been published in the Manifest International Drawing Annual , INDA 8, and she has won several awards of recognition for her drawings. In addition to exhibiting work in numerous juried shows, she has been recognized by curators from the Amon Carter Museum of American Art , The Kimbell Museum of Fine Arts in Texas, and The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. She has been represented by galleries in Fort Worth, TX, Nashville, TN and Philadelphia, PA. A.D. Herzel is an Asian-American artist and writer who has shared her work nationally and internationally. You may learn more about her and her work by following her on social media and visiting her website. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pseudopompou FB: https://www.facebook.com/PseudoPompous Website: https://www.pseudopompous.com Medium: https://medium.com/@pseudopompous Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/adherzel

< Back Kara Bos Contributor Kara Bos (Kang Misuk) is an #importedAsian from Korea to America, and is now a Dutchie—living in Amsterdam with her Dutch husband and two amazing children. Kara is an adventure-seeker discovering the world one country at a time (more than 50 so far!), an entrepreneur running a drowning prevention program Swim4Survival , and through her journey has become a resilient spokesperson for adoptees’ rights. She is determined to change the rhetoric of the more than 200,000 Korean adoptees searching for their identities and past; while also hoping to change the narrative of the definition of what adoption means to the average individual. Furthermore, she is a woman, wife, and mom, trying to do her best at all three of those while not sacrificing any of them.

< Back Heather Lewis Contributor Heather Lewis, or 노 영 미 as her biological sisters have named her, was born in Seoul, South Korea and raised in the U.S. at six months old. Heather has had many professions: waitress, ballroom dance instructor, middle school English teacher, and her current role in operations. She has a master’s in English, a master’s in Critical Studies of Teaching English, and a master’s in business administration. She is a proud KAD (Korean ADoptee) and likes to explore identity through writing. She loves being married to “fake Dave Grohl” and raising her only daughter. Despite still not knowing her birthday, she’s sure she is a Capricorn. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lewie73

Fiction & Poetry Samantha Der Fiction & Poetry Appearances That night, as she stood alone on the water’s edge, the expanse of the ocean before her felt as dark and infinite as the universe. A soft... Lauren Kofalt Fiction & Poetry Poems Time Time flies by In the blink of an eye How should I spend my day So many things that I could do But in my bed i just lay Being... Samantha Der Fiction & Poetry Are You Me? The Noodles That Tie Us I loved my shirt With three pockets of color Gym shoes Blue shorts And black hair That flopped over My gold-rimmed glasses I was ready... Lauren Kofalt Fiction & Poetry Poems Nothing What can you do when there’s nothing to do The sun shines bright and the sky so blue Yet sitting inside thinking of you It seems... Samantha Der Fiction & Poetry All the Home Views Penny and Mimi raced around the house, climbed up beds and clamored up couches to look out every window. The children were excited to see... A.D. Herzel Fiction & Poetry Yuletide Solstice December I will leave you still flush from April and July, a fresh scar unveiled, an amniotic window tender not porous. taught, fragile,... 1 2 3 4 5

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#HYPHENATEDASIANS Ella Wu Entertainment 'Interior Chinatown' Pushes You To Step Outside Your Lines All 10 episodes are now streaming on Hulu. At some point, we all wonder: are we the star of our own story or just another face in the... FEATURED Ella Wu Entertainment An Adoptee’s Reaction to ‘Joy Ride’ (2023) Available in theaters July 7. “Joy Ride” hits like a solid punch to that white kid’s face: satisfying, but maybe not quite right. For... Ella Wu Entertainment 'Everything, Everywhere All at Once' Warning: possible spoilers ahead! Available in cinemas on March 25th On behalf of The Universal Asian, I had the privilege of attending... RECENT POSTS 'Interior Chinatown' Pushes You To Step Outside Your Lines Entertainment On the Edge of Extinction: 'The Last of the Sea Women' Culture ‘Dìdi (弟弟)’ (2024) Is Quiet, Awkward, but Heartfelt Entertainment Holly M. Kaplan Reflects on the Bittersweetness of Youth in 'Sunflower Girl' (2023) Entertainment ADOPTEE VOICES Ella Wu Entertainment An Adoptee’s Reaction to ‘Joy Ride’ (2023) Available in theaters July 7. “Joy Ride” hits like a solid punch to that white kid’s face: satisfying, but maybe not quite right. For... Cynthia Landesberg Essay Artificial Habitat Growing up, I lived in one of those unremarkable suburban neighborhoods everyone has seen and no one remembers. Two-story houses.... OSH Adoptees Book Review: 'The Global Orphan Adoption System' by Dr. Kyung-eun Lee "The Global Orphan Adoption System: South Korea’s Impact on Its Origin and Development" by Dr. Kyung-eun Lee is an informative and... 이영숙 Kristin R. Pak World Living as a Returned Migrant in Korea (Part 2 of 2) Reposted from Ildaro.com As Koreans from the diaspora who have returned to the motherland we are acknowledged by the government as part... IN THE WORLD TODAY Ella Wu World Introducing Studio ATAO’s ‘Food Systems 101’ Studio ATAO is raising funds for their first food education program “Food Systems 101: An Introduction to the Politics of Food &... OSH Adoptees Book Review: 'The Global Orphan Adoption System' by Dr. Kyung-eun Lee "The Global Orphan Adoption System: South Korea’s Impact on Its Origin and Development" by Dr. Kyung-eun Lee is an informative and... 이영숙 Kristin R. Pak World Living as a Returned Migrant in Korea (Part 2 of 2) Reposted from Ildaro.com As Koreans from the diaspora who have returned to the motherland we are acknowledged by the government as part... 이영숙 Kristin R. Pak World Human Rights: My life as a migrant adoptee, 2018 (Part 1 of 2) Reposted from Ildaro.com Introduction: As someone who became a migrant through intercountry adoption, Kristin Pak has a unique... ASIANS IN ENTERTAINMENT Ella Wu Entertainment 'Interior Chinatown' Pushes You To Step Outside Your Lines All 10 episodes are now streaming on Hulu. At some point, we all wonder: are we the star of our own story or just another face in the... Ella Wu Culture On the Edge of Extinction: 'The Last of the Sea Women' Now streaming exclusively on Apple TV+. On the rocky shores of Jeju Island, a remarkable culture hangs on by a thread, embodied in the... Ella Wu Entertainment ‘Dìdi (弟弟)’ (2024) Is Quiet, Awkward, but Heartfelt In the summer of 2008, Chris Wang, a 13-year-old Taiwanese-American boy, stumbles his way through friendship, family, and identity. He... Ella Wu Entertainment Holly M. Kaplan Reflects on the Bittersweetness of Youth in 'Sunflower Girl' (2023) Skateboard wheels on asphalt and a mellow, pulsing instrumental ease us into “Sunflower Girl” (2023), a tender yet poignant coming-of-age... Join our mailing list! Get updates and subscribe to our newsletter! Subscribe Thanks for subscribing! FINDING OUR CULTURE Ella Wu Culture On the Edge of Extinction: 'The Last of the Sea Women' Now streaming exclusively on Apple TV+. On the rocky shores of Jeju Island, a remarkable culture hangs on by a thread, embodied in the... Ella Wu Culture How Xenia Deviatkina-Loh Is Redefining Diversity in Classical Music Many people think of classical music as a thing of the past. Its compositions have stood the test of time, holding a unique place in... Ana Clancey Entertainment Bao Vo's Journey from Refugee to Artist Can you share a bit about yourself and how your Asian identity shaped who you are? Today I am an artist, music producer, and songwriter... A.D. Herzel Adoptees Korean Adoption Documents: The print portfolio The meaningful and meaningless documents that make up the story of my adoption inspired this set of digital composites. The first step in... LIFESTYLE OSH Lifestyle Introducing Angela Wu Angela Wu is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Empowerment Coach who is passionate about de-stigmatizing mental health in the... Cynthia Landesberg Lifestyle Choosing Parenthood “I think, maybe, we should talk about starting a family,” my husband said one day, as we sat on the back porch of a winery north of our... Haiku Kwon Lifestyle A #hyphenatedAsians POV: Christine Ha Christine Ha is a powerhouse of creativity and resilience. She was the first-ever blind contestant and winner of Gordon Ramsey’s amateur... OSH Lifestyle Food: Truly colorblind glue As I walked the streets in the Asian part of Rome near Termini Station, the Asian stores were mostly empty, perhaps as a result of COVID... IN OUR OWN WORDS Heather Lewis Essay Musings of a Middle-aged Matriarch: Finding my tribe There’s a sea of different people in this world. While everyone is unique and different, there are enough commonalities between us all to... Vanessa Nguyen Essay What It Means To Be Asian in America: Recognizing and breaking the cycle of trauma The rise in hate crimes against the AAPI community has left many of us questioning not just our identity as Asian-Americans, but how we... Cynthia Landesberg Essay Artificial Habitat Growing up, I lived in one of those unremarkable suburban neighborhoods everyone has seen and no one remembers. Two-story houses.... Heather Lewis Essay Musings of a Middle-aged Matriarch: How do you find joy? As adoptees, many of us have had to create our own joy. We have to work at joy because it doesn’t come naturally to us. We are too busy... FICTON & POETRY Samantha Der Fiction & Poetry Appearances That night, as she stood alone on the water’s edge, the expanse of the ocean before her felt as dark and infinite as the universe. A soft... Lauren Kofalt Fiction & Poetry Poems Time Time flies by In the blink of an eye How should I spend my day So many things that I could do But in my bed i just lay Being... Samantha Der Fiction & Poetry Are You Me? The Noodles That Tie Us I loved my shirt With three pockets of color Gym shoes Blue shorts And black hair That flopped over My gold-rimmed glasses I was ready... Lauren Kofalt Fiction & Poetry Poems Nothing What can you do when there’s nothing to do The sun shines bright and the sky so blue Yet sitting inside thinking of you It seems...

< Back Lauren Kofalt Contributor Lauren Kofalt is an #importedAsian . She was adopted from China at age one and is currently in the United States. Lauren has taken back her birth name of Zhu Ling Jin as of the past few months, and has been writing poetry since she was little and has always had a passion for it. She is currently attending Penn State University and is happy to share her poetry with our Universal Asian community!

< Back Samantha Der Contributor Samantha Der is a multigenerational #hyphenatedAsian . Her passions include lifelong learning; the humanities and creative arts; supporting socially conscious enterprises; and strengthening communities through family care advocacy. She graduated with a B.A. from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. She loves writing both fiction and nonfiction. Follow her on IG @samantha_der_writer