First Person Plural

First Person Plural follows the story of a girl adopted from Korea in 1966 at the age of nine by the Borshays, a family in California. Upon first arriving from Korea, Cha Jung Hee, renamed by her American family as Deann Borshay, vowed never to forget her home and her culture. But as she grows up, memories of Korea grow fainter and fainter. Unexpectedly, as an adult, memories of her past begin to return. When she begins restlessly searching through her adoption papers, nothing appears out of the ordinary – until she examines the two pictures included in her file. They are indeed of two different girls. Borshay writes the orphanage and discovers the truth – her real name was Kang Ok Chin, and not Cha Jung Hee, and her birth family is in fact still alive. The documentary follows Deann Borshay Liem as she takes the courageous step to unite her biological and adoptive families in an attempt to reconcile and bring together the two parts of her life that make up her unique identity as a Korean-American adoptee.

Kim, Ryan. “Two Women Tell Stories of Being Koreans Adopted in U.S. / Author, filmmaker to be honored tonight.” San Francisco Chronicle. December 30, 2000.

LaSalle, Mick. “Getting Personal: Asian American directors use film to explore their own identities.” San Francisco Chronicle. March 5, 2000.

Marech, Rona. “Berkeley Filmmaker Unearths a Past She Left in Korea/’Orphan’ adopted by Americans finds her family.” San Francisco Crhonicle. December 15, 2000.

First Person Plural, Public Broadcasting System
http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2000/firstpersonplural/

Includes a history of transracial and international adoption (focusing on adoptions from South Korea and China), timeline, filmmaker’s story and interview, educational guide (geared towards middle and high school students), and discussion forums.

See also:

• Calcutta Calling, Asian American Filmography
• Daughter from Danang, Asian American Filmography
• “Operation Babylift Through Film: Suggestions for Classroom Use of Precious Cargo and Daughter from Danang” (Sue Gronewold)
  http://www.columbia.edu/cu/weai/exeas/resources/operation-babylift-through-film.html
• Precious Cargo, Asian American Filmography
• “Teaching Daughter from Danang” (Sue Gronewold and Bakirathi Mani)
  http://www.columbia.edu/cu/weai/exeas/resources/teaching-daughter-from-danang.html
• Transnational Adoption: Further Reading for Instructors
  http://www.columbia.edu/cu/weai/exeas/resources/transnational-adoption.html