Saturday Workshops: Session I
Healthy to Unhealthy Relationships, and Everything In Between
Christine Joo, Saenam Kim, Inae Lee (The Korean-American Family Service Center, Inc.)
Location: D1106
Open to: Anyone, especially youth and young adults
What does a healthy relationship look like to you? This workshop aims to discuss important components of relationships including boundaries, communication, self-awareness, and consent. Through discussion and interactive activities, the workshop will explore topics relevant to folks in LGBTQ community in the cultural context as well as engaging participants in the practice of self-love.
#MentalHealth
Reclaim: On Cultivating A Spiritual Life Outside of Organized Religion
Sandy Hong, Katherine Tom, Alice Sparkly Kat, Grace Naw, Esther Hur, Dawn Kang
Location: D1009
Open to: Everyone
What does it mean to live a spiritual life? What does it mean to be in connection with spirit? What does decolonization of spirituality actually look like for you? Together we will unpack what it means to cultivate a spiritual life outside of organized religion and walk away with our own definitions of spiritual practice as it relates to Body, Mind, Self and Community.
#Faith
Coming Out as a Journey
Bo James Hwang
Location: D910
Open to: LGBTQ people of Korean descent
In this interactive workshop, we will explore the complexities of coming out as a multilayered experience versus a singular experience. Through mindful listening and sharing oral stories, workshop attendees will build a community of support.
#FamilyAcceptance
Intergenerational Heart to Heart: Korean Parents & LGBTQ Kids
Sung Tse, Wai Tse & Rej Joo
Location: D1107
Open to: LGBTQ people of Korean descent & their parents
When was the last time you spoke to your parents about your LGBTQ identity? Are there questions you want to ask your LGBTQ child, but are unable to? This workshop will be provide various discussion format and guiding questions to ask each other, offer insights and support, and share stories that are sometimes difficult to do with your own parents or children!
#FamilyAcceptance
Know Your Rights / Know Your Power
Kristina Tendilla & Andy Kim
Location: D1001
Open to: Undocumented people, immigrants, and allies
This training draws on our need to know our legal rights AND our power as we are fighting existing xenophobic, racist, homophobic, & transphobic systems. As we train our communities, how do we do this in a trauma informed way especially for the most targeted communities?
Talking Circle: LGBTQ Adoptees of Korean descent
Location: D1102
Open to: ONLY LGBTQ adoptees of Korean descent
Talking circle is a lightly facilitated and informal space intended for LGBTQ adoptees of Korean descent to connect, discuss, support and/or organize together!
Saturday Workshops: Session II
Radical Support for Queer/Trans Korean Survivors
Hyejin Shim, Stacy Suh, Esther Kang
Location: D1107
Open to: Anyone, especially survivors and those who know survivors
For many Korean queer/trans individuals, violence is often normalized in the family as well as in intimate/romantic relationships. It can also feel loaded when you're navigating complex community dynamics, intergenerational trauma, and often, silence or isolation. So what can we do from here? Join us for a conversation about intimate partner violence and family violence, and how we can better support Korean queer/trans survivors in our own lives.
#MentalHealth
Can Queer be Holy? Envisioning Ethics of Queer Holiness as Korean American Spirituality
June Hee Yoon
Location: D1009
Open to: Everyone
The workshop starts with the question “Can a queer person be holy?” Through the three-parts lecture and interactive reflections, the workshop helps the audience to understand themselves as holy and queer simultaneously while they come to understand the core ethical value of being Korean descent in America with Christian faith.
#Faith
Claiming Your Truth: Writing as Access to Courage
Arhm Choi Wild & Patrick G. Lee
Location: D910
Open to: Everyone
In this workshop, we'll hear letters written by LGBTQ+ people and draw on master LGBTQ+ texts as a means of naming the struggles and joys specific to being an LGBTQ+ identified Korean. Then, we’ll write our own letters, short stories, or poems to forge connections with the ones who matter most: ourselves and the ones we love.
#FamilyAcceptance
New Narratives on Adoption: Stories of Korean Birthmothers and Korean Adoptees who are Gender Non-Conforming (GNC), Queer, and Women
Schuyler Swenson, Sam Brandt, Meejin Richart
Location: D1102
Open to: Everyone
Join us for a short presentation of birth mother and adoptee voices, a short discussion, and visioning session on a future world where parenthood and self-determination over our bodies and our children's bodies is just. As queer, GNC and women adoptees, we want to do this visioning with our Queer, Trans and GNC Korean community because we understand our issues do not exist in a silo and the future world should include visions of a much broader community. Whether you're an adoptee interested in hearing a new conversation, a prospective parent considering adoption, curious about adoption community stories, a futuristic/visionary geek, or looking for a space to be with community we hope you'll join us!
#FamilyAcceptance
Talking Circle: Femme-identified people of Korean descent
Location: D1001
Open to: ONLY femme-identified LGBTQ people of Korean descent.
Talking circle is a lightly facilitated and informal space intended for femme-identified LGBTQ people of Korean descent to connect, discuss, support and/or organize together!
Talking Circle: Multi-racial LGBTQ people of Korean descent
Location: D1106
Open to: ONLY multi-racial, mixed race, or bi-racial people of Korean descent
Talking circle is a lightly facilitated and informal space intended for mixed race LGBTQ people of Korean descent to connect, discuss, support and/or organize together!
Saturday Workshops: Session III
WHO'S AFRAID OF THERAPY?: Cultural Myths, Family, Sex, and Mental Health
Calvin Chin, PhD, Shinhee Han, PhD, Jessica Joseph PhD, Patricia Yoon, PhD
Location: D1107
Open to: Everyone
This workshop aims to explore major cultural roadblocks around seeking counseling among Korean LGBTQ individuals. We will engage in discussion with participants on topics including family relationships, culture, sex, fears and mental health issues such as depression/anxiety/suicidal thoughts/mental illness.
#MentalHealth
Radical Notions of Family: At the Intersections of Queer Justice and Adoptee Justice
Chaelee Dalton (이채연)
Location: D1009
Open to: Adoptees, but also adoptive families, queer/trans folx looking to adopt, and anyone interested
This workshop focuses on creating a bridge of commonality between queer and trans Koreans in diaspora and Korean adoptees. Participants will learn about how the history of these movements overlap, create conversation about how these movements can act as allies, and make a zine based on their own understanding of family outside of the state’s definition.
#FamilyAcceptance
Lost in Translation: Umma, I'm Gay
Sam Jeong, Sophia Lee, Sunyoung Lee
Location: D910
Open to: Everyone
Coming out is difficult for all families, but as Korean Immigrant families we face additional challenges from generational, culture and language gaps. Come watch, listen and share stories of families coming out and challenge each other to build empathy to recover all that was lost in translation.
#FamilyAcceptance
Creating Bilingual LGBTQ Resources for Korean Communities
Mark Ro Beyersdorf & Elena Chang
Location: D1001
Open to: Everyone
In 2013, the Dari Project published the first bilingual collection of personal testimonials from LGBTQ people of Korean descent. In this workshop, Dari Project leaders will discuss the process of creating one of the few existing bilingual LGBTQ resources for the Korean community from concept to product. We’ll discuss all aspects of creating such resources from conducting a call for submissions to finding a publisher and ensuring LGBTQ-sensitive translations.
Talking Circle: Trans & Gender Non-Conforming people of Korean descent
Location: D1102
Open to: ONLY trans or gender non-conforming (GNC) people of Korean descent.
Talking circle is a lightly facilitated and informal space intended for trans or gender non-conforming (GNC) people of Korean descent to connect, discuss, support and/or organize together!
Talking Circle: Parents and Family member of LGBTQ Koreans
Location: D1106
Open to: ONLY parents and family members of LGBTQ Koreans.
Talking circle is a lightly facilitated and informal space intended for Korean parents and family members of LGBTQ Koreans to connect, discuss, support and/or organize together!