Emily Flynn

Emily Flynn is a textile designer, field hockey enthusiast, and board member of Also-Known-As. Born in Seoul, she was adopted at five months old into a white family in New Jersey and raised in Vermont, where she grew up in a largely colorblind, predominantly white community. Without the language to express feeling othered, she spent years navigating hyper-vigilance and survival mode. Field hockey became a refuge, eventually leading her to play competitively in college and found NYC Field Hockey.

A study abroad trip to Italy challenged her sense of being “white-adjacent” when locals repeatedly addressed her in Asian languages, prompting a deeper exploration of her Korean identity. Becoming a mother strengthened that connection, inspiring her to incorporate Korean food, language, music, and heritage into her children’s lives. In 2019, she reunited with her birth mother, stepfather, and half-brother in Seoul after initiating a search through Social Welfare Society.

Alongside her husband, who is also an adoptee, Emily continues to explore the complexities of adoption, family, and identity. After losing her closest sibling—a fellow Korean adoptee, trans woman, and best friend—she turned her grief into purpose, dedicating herself to building healing spaces within the adoptee community through Also-Known-As and reminding others that they don’t have to walk alone.

Special thanks to the Thomas and Wonsook Foundation for their generous support in making this project possible.