Adoptee Hub's annual self-care workshop features kimchi-making, a film, and some drumming
2025-09-27 08:30 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Coffman Memorial Union, 300 Washington Ave. SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, United States
Adoptee Hub is holding its Cultural Identity and Self-Care Workshop at the University of Minnesota on September 27.
The day-long workshop is designed to help adult adoptees recharge and build community with fun cultural activities. Participants will choose four of 12 classes to take including: kimchi-making and mandu (dumpling) preparation; a tea ceremony demonstration; massage; Korean language for beginners; empowerment and the “gratitude effect”; a film with discussion; Korean songs with the K-Breeze kids’ choir; and an introduction to Korean drumming with Shinparam Korean Drum Troupe.
Registration is by reservation only, and the workshop, including breakfast and a Korean lunch, is $50. Registration is at the attached link.
The event will be held at Coffman Memorial Union, 300 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis.
More about Adoptee Hub is at its website at: www.adopteehub.org.

Korean adoptees discuss records fraud at live radio event
2025-11-11 18:00 - 20:00 | Arbeiter Brewing Co., 3038 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis, MN, 55406, United States
A panel of four Korean adoptees will discuss the South Korean governments admission of adoption records fraud and its effect on the local Korean adoptee community in a live event Tuesday, November 11, hosted by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) and Twin Cities Public Television (TPT).
The event, titled Mistaken: Minnesota’s Korean Adoptees Grapple with Confessed Systemic Corruption, is part of the North Star Journey Live series. It will be held at Arbeiter Brewing Company in South Minneapolis beginning at 6 p.m.
The panelists, who are all Korean adoptees, are: Ami Nafzger, president of AdopteeHub, which reaches out to adult Korean adoptees with social and self-care programming and birth family searches; Cameron Lee Small, a therapist who works in adoption literacy and counsels adoptees and their families; Matt McNiff, director of the Camp Choson summer Korean culture camp; and Mary Niedermeyer, the CEO of the non-profit organization Communities Advancing Prosperity for Immigrants (CAPI).
See feature story at this link.
Tickets are required. See link below for registration information.

Minnesota Han performing and visual arts event set
2025-12-06 17:00 - 19:00 | Queermunity, 3036 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, 55408, United States
A visual and performing arts event, Minnesota Han, will bring four artists and a Korean traditional performing arts group together for an evening of arts, music, and fun activities on Saturday, December 6 in Minneapolis.

Minnesota Han, featuring five local artists, will celebrate the joy and angst of being a Korean American artist in Minnesota. Featured artists are: Su Hwang, Naomi Ko, Sun Yung Shin and May Lee-Yang. Additionally, artist Heather Kim will premiere new work, and JangMi Arts will perform traditional Korean drumming.

The event will include a small holiday market with Asian American vendors. Attendees can also learn how to make a norigae, a traditional Korean accessory.

There will be Korean refreshments, including Korean-inspired brews from Arbeiter Brewery. The event is free, but RSVP is requested.

Adoptee Hub to hold third session on adoptees dealing with ICE
2026-02-01 12:00 - 13:30
Immigration attorney Greg Luce, founder of the Minnesota-based Adoptee Rights Law Center, will be the featured speaker in a zoom event geared for international adoptees, to be held Sunday, February 1, noon to 1:30 p.m.
The session, the third of four planned sessions sponsored by the Twin Cities-based Adoptee Hub, is intended to inform international adoptees, citizens and non-citizens, of their Constitutional rights under the law, particularly in light of the recent immigration crackdown by ICE in the Twin Cities.
Luce’s practice concentrates on helping individual adoptees with citizenship, access to birth records, and other legal issues associated with adult adoptees. He also works to build and join coalitions to reform and standardize adoptees’ rights and to promote citizenship for all adoptees.
The series is designed to inform and educate adoptees and to allow adoptees to access resources they need, and to stand together, especially in Minnesota, during a stressful time.
The event is free; preregistration is needed to get the meeting link. More information will be available at the website: www.adopteehub.org/events.

Lunar New Year event at Arbeiter Brewing
2026-02-07 12:00 - 22:00 | Arbeiter Brewing Co., 3038 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis, MN, 55406, United States
A Lunar New Year celebration with a special community focus will be held at Arbeiter Brewing on Saturday, February 7, noon to 10 p.m.
In the Korean calendar, it is the Year of the Fire Horse, representing courage, community resistance, resilience and endurance. The Korean-owned brewery posted on its website noted that the characteristics of the Fire Horse are appropriate due to the ongoing resistance of Twin Citians against the excessive force of federal immigration troops.

The event will include vendors such as artist/activist Sean Lim, Myonghee Kimchi, and Project Huson (a project to support a trip to Korea for children of Korean adoptees, initiated by JangMi Arts)
There will be a Korean drumming performance by JangMi Arts at 3 p.m. and a performance by Conner Lee at 4 p.m., who combines rock, pop and jazz with arrangements of traditional music to explore his heritage.
Arbeiter has produced a few new microbrews in honor of the new year, such as Hibiscus Tokki, a Korean rice lager with hibiscus; and Gochujang Stout, a sweet stout flavored with Korean-style fermented pepper sauce.
Karaoke (known as noraebang in Korean) will be sponsored by AK Connection, an organization of adult adoptees.

Ways to stay safe from ICE for adoptees
2026-02-08 12:00 - 14:00
A free virtual session entitled Ways to Stay Safe and Reduce the Risk of Detainment by ICE will be held Sunday, February 8, noon to 2 p.m.

This is one in a series of zoom sessions, with local expert speakers, intended for Korean and other Asian adoptees to inform them about issues involved in the current Operation Metro Surge, where many legal residents and citizens have been illegally detained by ICE and other Department of Homeland Security troops.

Other upcoming sessions are Navigating Life in Korea (Sunday, February 15, 6 to 7:3o p.m.) and The Korean HANA Center: Resources for U.S. Citizens and Legal Immigrants (Sunday, February 22, noon to 2 p.m.).

The sessions are structured to invite conversation and strengthen community during a stressful time.

The series is sponsored by Adoptee Hub, a Twin Cities resource and service organization for Korean and other international adoptees.
Registration is required on the website in order to receive a link.

New film on adoptees and birth searching to be screened at U of Minnesota
2026-02-10 17:30 - 20:00 | Liberal Arts Engagement Hub, 310 Pillsbury Drive SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, United States
The new documentary film K-Number, directed by Seyoung Jo will be screened at a free event open to the public on February 10.
The film describes and follows several Korean adoptees in Korea, zeroing in on one woman who returned to Korea from the U.S. several times to do birth family searching. It examines the adoption process, the lack of post-adoption services for adoptees, and the problems and corruption that persist in the international adoption program. It follows adoptees who have expended time, money and emotional energy in dealing with the dysfunction of the system.
A Q and A session with the director will follow the screening.
The event will be held at the Liberal Arts Engagement Hub, located in Pillsbury Hall (see map link).
It includes a dinner beginning at 5:30 p.m. Registration is appreciated for planning purposes, but walk-ins are also welcome. Parking validation is available for attendees (for University-affiliated parking facilities only). Information on parking and directions to The Hub can be found here. There is also some (city) metered street parking in the neighborhood.
This event is co-sponsored by the Asian American Studies Program, Dr. Rich Lee, the Center for Race, Indigeneity, Disability, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, AK Connection, the Immigration History Research Center, and the Department of German, Nordic, Slavic and Dutch.
For questions on this event, please email: aa**@*mn.edu

Free session on navigating life in Korea
2026-02-15 18:00 - 19:30
A free virtual session entitled Navigating Life in Korea: F4 Visa ( will be held Sunday, February 15, 6 to 7:30 p.m.

This is one in a series of zoom sessions, with local expert speakers, intended for Korean and other Asian adoptees in light of the current Operation Metro Surge, where many legal residents and citizens have been illegally detained by ICE and other Department of Homeland Security troops.

This session in the series will cover issues involved in living and working in a Korea through an F4 visa, which allows anyone born in Korea to return to work or attend college or other training with a special visa.

Other upcoming sessions include The Korean HANA Center: Resources for U.S. Citizens and Legal Immigrants (Sunday, February 22, noon to 2 p.m.

The sessions are structured to invite conversation and strengthen community during a stressful time.

The series is sponsored by Adoptee Hub, a Twin Cities resource and service organization for Korean and other international adoptees.
Reservations are required on the website in order to receive a link.

Free virtual session on resources for citizens and legal immigrants
2026-02-22 12:00 - 14:30
A free virtual session entitled The Korean HANA Center: Resources for U.S. Citizens and Legal Immigrants will be held Sunday, February 22, noon to 2 p.m.

This is one in a series of zoom sessions, with local expert speakers, intended for Korean and other Asian adoptees in light of the current Operation Metro Surge, where many legal residents and citizens have been illegally detained by ICE and other Department of Homeland Security troops.

This session will include staff from the HANA Center of Chicago, which reaches out with resources, language learning, citizenship classes, immigration reform advocacy and many other resources for a wide spectrum of immigrants in Chicago.

The sessions are structured to invite conversation and strengthen community during a stressful time.

The series is sponsored by Adoptee Hub, a Twin Cities resource and service organization for Korean and other international adoptees.
Reservations are required on the website in order to receive a link.

Insun Park and the Generals to perform at Cedar Cultural Center
2026-02-25 19:30 - 21:30 | Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN, 55414, United States
Insun Park and the Generals, a South Korean band that blends rock, Korean traditional music and Korean mask dance (talchum) rhythms, will perform at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis for one show on Wednesday, February 25.
Insun Park stands out as one of the few women who are masters of the Gangnyeong Mask Dance. The talchum tradition has traditionally been dominated by men, but Park has been designated as an National Intangible Cultural Heritage asset of South Korea (Number 34).
She leads a quartet of musicians who perform a unique blended style of ancient performing art and contemporary sound. They include Donghyuk Seo (composer/guitar), Hyunmo Yang (drums), Johyun Kim (taepyeongseo (Korean folk reed instrument) and flute),and Hahyungki Baek (bass guitar).
The band’s approach offers a fresh perspective on Korea’s musical heritage and makes the traditional mask dance accessible to new audiences. Park is a leading force in shaping the future of Korean traditional performing arts.
Headiners Insun Park and the Generals will be joined by Black Widows, a surf-punk-psyche band from Minneapolis. The Black Widows have toured nationally and internationally, and have a full-length album Creatures of the Night, coming out this spring.
The Korean Institute of Minnesota, a Saturday culture and language school for children and adults, located in Minneapolis, is the cultural partner for this event. The Korean American-owned Minneapolis micro-brew pub Arbeiter Brewing is also a partner.
Doors open at the Cedar Cultural Center at 7 p.m. for the 7:30 p.m. show. Tickets $27.81 for general admission are available at the link.

AK Connection holds Seollal (Lunar New Year) event
2026-02-28 13:00 - 16:00 | Pearl Park Recreation Center, 414 E. Diamond Lake Road, Minneapolis, MN, 55419, United States
AK Connection, a Minnesota-based organization by and for Korean adoptees, will hold a Seollal (Lunar New Year) event to welcome the year of the Fire Horse. The event will be on Saturday, February. 28, 1 to 4 p.m. at the Pearl Park Rec Center in Minneapolis.
The event will include a Korean lunch, Korean-themed activities, crafts, and games, and a drumming workshop at 3 p.m. by members of Shinparam Korean drum troupe.
Registration encouraged, but walk-ins will be admitted. Tickets are available (pay what you can, or $10). For questions, please email: ev****@**********on.org

Immigration and citizenship rights event set
2026-03-14 08:00 - 17:00 | Arbeiter Brewing Co., 3038 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis, MN, 55406, United States
A free/pay-what-you-can event, Unite for Adoptees’ Rights with Adoptees United, designed to help adoptees and their families deal with issues of legal documentation and citizenship, will be held Sunday, March 22, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Arbeiter Brewing Company in Minneapolis.
The event will feature a talk by Greg Luce, a lawyer with a specialty in adoptee citizenship rights. He is the executive director of Adoptees’ United, and also founded his own adoptee-driven practice, the Adoptee Rights Law Center, located in Minneapolis.
All intercountry and domestic adoptees, adoptive families, and allies are welcome, with a livestream available on AK Connection’s YouTube channel for those who cannot attend in person. A brunch will be served at the event.
The event is co-sponsored by Adoptees United and AK Connection, an organization of adult Korean adoptees and allies in the Twin Cities.
The attached link is a ticketing site with a description of the event. It includes registration and an opportunity to donate to defray costs.
