Want to work with us? Our doors are always open. Find out how you can get involved here! If you are interested in becoming a voluntary contributor, please email your resume and portfolio (if you have one) to theuniversalasian@gmail.com . No professional experience necessary, just a passion for AAPI/API stories!

We are voices of the Asian diaspora. The Universal Asian is an open and safe online platform for our community of immigrated Asians. FEATURED Kira Omans Talks About 'Him': Challenging the Reality You Know “Him” (2024) is now streaming on Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime. Tomorrow marks the close of another AAPI Heritage Month, and the... Entertainment Ella Wu Nanchang Project Helps Chinese Adoptees Search For Heritage As May draws to a close, so does AAPI Heritage Month — a time to celebrate culture, identity, and history. But for adoptees like myself,... Adoptees Ella Wu 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... Entertainment Ella Wu RECENT POSTS Kira Omans Talks About 'Him': Challenging the Reality You Know Entertainment Nanchang Project Helps Chinese Adoptees Search For Heritage Adoptees Angeli E. Dumatol Paints Youth in Soft Shades Entertainment Rueben Dass Reveals How He Makes a Murderer Entertainment Lies, Spies, and a Guy Who Tries Entertainment ADOPTEE VOICES Kira Omans Talks About 'Him': Challenging the Reality You Know “Him” (2024) is now streaming on Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime. Tomorrow marks the close of another AAPI Heritage Month, and the... Entertainment Ella Wu Nanchang Project Helps Chinese Adoptees Search For Heritage As May draws to a close, so does AAPI Heritage Month — a time to celebrate culture, identity, and history. But for adoptees like myself,... Adoptees Ella Wu 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... Entertainment Ella Wu Artificial Habitat Growing up, I lived in one of those unremarkable suburban neighborhoods everyone has seen and no one remembers. Two-story houses.... Essay Cynthia Landesberg IN THE WORLD TODAY 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 &... World Ella Wu 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... Adoptees OSH 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... World 이영숙 Kristin R. Pak 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... World 이영숙 Kristin R. Pak ASIANS IN ENTERTAINMENT Kira Omans Talks About 'Him': Challenging the Reality You Know “Him” (2024) is now streaming on Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime. Tomorrow marks the close of another AAPI Heritage Month, and the... Entertainment Ella Wu Angeli E. Dumatol Paints Youth in Soft Shades There’s a quiet brilliance to “ A Sky of a Thousand Colors .” What might seem at first like a straightforward mystery — a missing person,... Entertainment Ella Wu Rueben Dass Reveals How He Makes a Murderer “Late one night, I was walking home from the train station…” author Rueben Dass begins, sounding eerily like the opening scene of a... Entertainment Ella Wu Lies, Spies, and a Guy Who Tries Kam Raslan's “ Malayan Spy ” is the kind of novel that sneaks up on you. It spins espionage, history, and unadulterated humanity into a... Entertainment Ella Wu Join our mailing list! Get updates and subscribe to our newsletter! Subscribe Thanks for subscribing! FINDING OUR 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... Culture Ella Wu 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... Culture Ella Wu 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... Entertainment Ana Clancey 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... Adoptees A.D. Herzel 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... Lifestyle OSH 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... Lifestyle Cynthia Landesberg 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... Lifestyle Haiku Kwon 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... Lifestyle OSH IN OUR OWN WORDS 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... Essay Heather Lewis 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... Essay Vanessa Nguyen Artificial Habitat Growing up, I lived in one of those unremarkable suburban neighborhoods everyone has seen and no one remembers. Two-story houses.... Essay Cynthia Landesberg 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... Essay Heather Lewis FICTON & 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... Fiction & Poetry Samantha Der 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... Fiction & Poetry Lauren Kofalt 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... Fiction & Poetry Samantha Der 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... Fiction & Poetry Lauren Kofalt

Stephanie is a #hyphenatedAsian. < Back Stephanie Fung Contributor Stephanie Fung is a #hyphenatedAsian . Born and raised in Hong Kong, Stephanie moved to Bristol in the U.K. at the age of 13 and currently lives in London. Her passion lies in writing and sharing stories of people. In 2018, she founded a media platform called Asians in Britain to share stories, amplify Asian voices, and empower and inspire Asian youths in the U.K. She recently also started a podcast called "High Expectasians" with her co-hosts Sanil Patel and Teresa Fan to discuss topics that highlight issues faced by the Asian community.

Erika is a Korean adoptee (KAD). < Back Erika Fisher Contributor Erika Fisher is an #importedAsian from Korea; born in Seoul and raised in the U.S. While her professional background is in international education, she’s also worked as a freelance writer, editor, and writing instructor for nearly 20 years. Erika currently lives in London with her husband and two children, and has previously lived in Kenya, Thailand, and the U.A.E. You can find her at www.erika-fisher.com .

Cynthia is a Korean adoptee (KAD). < 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 .

Kath was born in Manila and currently lives in Tokyo. < Back Kath Pacao Administrative Specialist Her weekday life revolves around being an administrative professional and communication expertise from staff to presidential levels. She has a demonstrated history of working in various financial institutions and organizations. As her weekday might seem tedious, Kath’s weekend revolves around cosplay as a hobby. For more than 10 years, she’s been traveling around the world doing cosplay photoshoots, meeting new friends, and trying world cuisines. Kath’s goal is to connect with people on various platforms and do small actions to make the world a better place.

Samantha is a #hyphenatedAsian. < 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

What's happening in the world? How does the Asian diaspora fit into the world of the past and present? Where did we start, and how far have we come? 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 &... World Ella Wu 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... Adoptees OSH 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... World 이영숙 Kristin R. Pak 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... World 이영숙 Kristin R. Pak Dialogues With Adoptees: Let’s make adoptees’ rights mainstream Reposted from The Korea Times This article is the 30th in a series about Koreans adopted abroad. Apparently, many Koreans never expected... Adoptees Dr. Kyung-eun Lee Dialogues With Adoptees: The systematization of ‘child exports’ for economic and political aims Reposted from The Korea Times This is the 29th article of the series. It is time to turn our attention to the least discussed, but the... Adoptees Dr. Kyung-eun Lee 1 2 3 4 5

Lauren is a Korean adoptee (KAD). < Back Lauren Burke Contributor Lauren (정미나) is an #importedAsian from Korea to the U.S. Her professional background is in financial analysis and management, but when the world paused in 2020, she was able to pick up her passion for writing again. She enjoys the practice of free-writing, in addition to writing song lyrics, and now, as a contributor for The Universal Asian . You can find Lauren engaged most often with the adoptee community, opening up about life as a Korean adoptee in the U.S., and what it’s like experiencing a birth family search process. She is also a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certified instructor and hopes to use that knowledge by returning to Korea someday, even if only for a chapter of her life. Lauren loves to connect and communicate with people, and hopes to use writing as a means to help others share their story. You can find her talking about adoption, BTS, and Korean food by following her on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsjungmeena FB: https://www.facebook.com/itsjungmeena

Jon is a Korean adoptee (KAD). < Back Jon Oaks Web Specialist Jon, aka 백승찬 (Baik Seung Chan), is a KAD currently living in the Detroit area. He is an award-winning professor of mathematics with over 17 years of teaching and tutoring experience. He values equity and believes that learning should be equitable for everyone. He is passionate about what he does, and his goal is to make sure every student knows that he cares about them. On a tour of Seoul in 2018 during his first trip back to Korea since being adopted, one of his friends gave him the nickname Prof. Seung Chan. The name has stuck with him as a reminder that he should be proud of who he is—past and present. He now uses the name Prof. Seung Chan on his weekly podcast with his friend Nick Ha. His hobbies include going to Detroit Pistons games, eating tacos, and drinking the occasional bottle of soju. One of his goals is to eventually visit every MLB Stadium and go to Paris when he retires.

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The creativity of our community knows no bounds. Come here to find the stories we write. 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... Fiction & Poetry Samantha Der 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... Fiction & Poetry Lauren Kofalt 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... Fiction & Poetry Samantha Der 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... Fiction & Poetry Lauren Kofalt 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... Fiction & Poetry Samantha Der 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,... Fiction & Poetry A.D. Herzel 1 2 3 4 5

Lilly is a Chinese adoptee. < Back Lilly Schmaltz Contributor Lilly is an #importedAsian from China. She is currently obtaining her doctorate in cellular and molecular biology. Outside of her career, she advocates for human and adoptee rights. She aims to create safe and validating spaces for fellow transracial adoptees. Her love of reading and writing lead her to the world of book reviews and The Universal Asian . As a contributor, Lilly hopes to share her love of books that represent both hyphenated and imported Asians. You can find her at LillyFei.com

Adoptee voices are at the heart of our Universal Asian community. We strive to keep this a safe space for all. Adoptee Voices Kira Omans Talks About 'Him': Challenging the Reality You Know “Him” (2024) is now streaming on Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime. Tomorrow marks the close of another AAPI Heritage Month, and the... Entertainment Ella Wu Nanchang Project Helps Chinese Adoptees Search For Heritage As May draws to a close, so does AAPI Heritage Month — a time to celebrate culture, identity, and history. But for adoptees like myself,... Adoptees Ella Wu 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... Entertainment Ella Wu Artificial Habitat Growing up, I lived in one of those unremarkable suburban neighborhoods everyone has seen and no one remembers. Two-story houses.... Essay Cynthia Landesberg 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... Adoptees OSH 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... World 이영숙 Kristin R. Pak 1 2 3 4 5