"Crossing Out Boundaries: Introducing Korean Adoptee Aesthetics" -- Dr. Aino Rinhaug, March 4, 2020

Event Date: 

Wednesday, March 4, 2020 - 2:00pm to 3:30pm

Event Location: 

  • Multicultural Center Theater

Dr. Aino Rinhaug is Lecturer of Norwegian at UCLA and UC Berkeley. She was born in Seoul and then adopted by her Norwegian parents. She completed a Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of Oslo, and she has since taught in Norway, Portugal, France, and the United Kingdom before coming to California in 2015.

Since 2009, Dr. Rinhaug has conducted research on Korean adoption, transnational cultural studies, and international activism among adoptees. Her most recent work has focused on how specific transnational Korean adoptees have expressed their identities through different forms of art and literature. The art featured in this announcement, for example, is by Cecilie Flumé, a Swedish Korean adoptee based in Stockholm. Dr. Rinhaug is currently making a documentary film, entitled Nordic Stars Morning Calm, about Korean Scandinavian adoptee writers and artists like Ms. Flumé—they were among the 25,000 Korean children adopted into Scandinavian families since 1955. This talk provides an overview of that community and that work. Dr. Rinhaug’s visit is being co-sponsored by the Department of Asian American Studies, the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies, and the Department of English.