Asian Adoptee Story w/ DANakaDAN!

Hey guys! So it's me and Mia again. Hi Mia. As per usual. But today we have a special guest. Dan! What up? Can you tell us a bit about your channel and what you kind of are up to? Yeah, so we have a channel called ISATV. It was founded by Wong Fu Productions and Far East Movement. It's a platform for Asian American youth culture. And then I also have my own channel where I do rap stuff and copy stuff. Actually we've seen him in action so it's pretty cool. So you guys need to check it out. It's pretty cool right? It is. So today our video is just going to be kind of hanging out with Dan. Seeing what he's up to, what he likes to do. And we're also going to play a few games with him after. Just to let loose, get to know each other a little bit more. Can't wait, let's do it. It's probably going to end on a bad note. I just came here for the games. So we've introduced Dan as this producer of ISATV channel and also as a rapper. But what we also are going to talk about is adoption story. Kind of like tell us how you started the process. And the kind of things that you went through. And the things that you remember the most. Just tell us all about it. I'll tell you everything. Everything. So I had this opportunity about three years ago to go out to Korea. Where I'm originally from, I'm adopted. And luckily I was able to, out of whatever pure luck. Pure luck. Where I had the opportunity to actually meet my biological family. So I met my biological family including my mom, dad. And I also found out that I had this identical twin brother that I never knew about. Oh my gosh. And it was just a really, really amazing thing. Like a once in a lifetime thing. So we had this opportunity to go out there and I figured that we might as well film it. So that way, not only for myself but for other adoptees out there or other people. To be able to see content that best represents them. So after going to Korea, what would you say, how was the reconnecting process? What was that like? Seeing your mom or seeing the people that you may have grown up with while you were there? You know it's crazy because I feel like everybody wonders. I think a little bit in their head, maybe what happens if Mia had an identical twin. Oh my gosh. Felicia had a sibling out there that you guys never knew about. Where's my doppelganger? There is one out there. So the weirdest thing I think is just seeing people that look like you for the first time. Because I've seen, when I'm around other Asian people, you're like, oh yeah, we kind of look similar. But to really just see it. I think my biological dad looks very, very similar to me too. We've got very similar mannerisms. It was kind of freaky, but also just a really special thing. What about your twin brother? How does it feel to meet your twin brother for the first time? Yeah, because you know how they always say twins have this connection. You know, we didn't have the instant connection. Just because I feel like it was weird and uncomfortable a little bit. Did he speak English? He spoke a little bit of English. But he's actually in Australia right now actually. And he's learning more English. And I feel like whenever we communicate, it's become a lot easier and easier over time. Were they really open about meeting you? Because you hear stories about they're a bit distant. They don't want to reconnect. No, totally. There's a lot of people that have definitely reached out to meet their biological family. And unfortunately, sometimes it just doesn't work out. But not only were they open to it, it happened pretty immediately. It could be years and years. It took like four months. It just happened to be that I was going out to Korea that summer. And it just worked out that they wanted to see me when I came out. Yeah, it's so crazy. Because I was actually watching another documentary called Twinsters. Yeah, and you know, their mother or their parents didn't want to reconnect with them for whatever reason. So that was the reason why I asked. Yeah, exactly. That's really special. An interesting thing about Twinsters. So go watch the Twinsters documentary. It's on Netflix right now. Highly recommend. Highly recommend it. But Sam, the girl who was in that documentary, was actually part of my documentary. And we're really good friends in LA. Because we have this very interesting shared thing in common. That we both met our twin siblings at the same time. So she met her twin earlier than mine. But as soon as I found out, I emailed her. And I was like, hey, you're not going to believe this. But I've got a twin sibling too. And that's like a sentence you never expect to ever say to anybody. Can I ask you guys something? So if Felicia had a twin or if Mia had a twin, what do you think your twins like? Do you think that you guys would get along? Would you guys be like, who's that girl that looks like me? It would be so weird to be looking in the mirror but not. Yeah, I would probably want to reach out to their face and be like, are you real? But I think it would be really awesome. Because for me, I have a sister as well. And just someone to bond with that understands you. And if they're from a totally different culture, I think learning about a person who is kind of more or less like you but not, that would be super cool. I will say that one of the most interesting things is definitely getting to know him. Especially because he grew up in Korea. Seeing him in that world could have very easily been my experience. And so getting to know his experience living in Korea, just watching him and learning more about how he grew up, it was like, oh my god, very easily. It's like learning about yourself but Korean you. Do you guys have similar personalities or are you guys the opposites? I feel like there's some things that we very much have in common that are incredible. You couldn't make this up. For instance, we both got into hip-hop at the same time. Our interests are very similar. He raps too, which is crazy. We got into rapping at the same time. And our tastes are very similar. And so I feel like whenever I buy him gifts, I know exactly what to buy him. Yeah, because it's like whatever I would want. Exactly. But there's definitely things that we don't have in common. Mainly because I feel like because he grew up in Korea, there's cultural mannerisms that he just inherently has. Versus growing up in America, it's very different. I feel like you guys could probably relate too. Because I feel like you grew up in Indonesia. And you grew up in Australia. And I feel like your experience is coming into America and seeing how Americans are. Totally. I feel like the culture, just the childhood, what you're raised with, the values, the lifestyle, it really obviously molds you into the person you are, right? It does, yeah. Going to Korea, being exposed to the Korean culture, has that made you more interested in wanting to find out about it? Or were you originally interested? You know, I was definitely pretty interested. Just because I felt like not being Korean, but still being Korean, without knowing the family, I wanted to find out a little more about myself. Before I met them, I never really considered myself to be Korean American. I was just like, I'm Asian American, I know what that means. But now that I met them, I feel a little bit more connected to my Korean culture. How's your Korean, by the way? Awful. Is it? I bet you guys can speak more Korean than I can. I can say hello, that's pretty much it. Okay, how do you say it? Ready? Annyeonghaseyo. That's pretty good. No, that was so bad. Really? Yeah. Say it again? Annyeonghaseyo. What about food? What's your favorite Korean dish? I couldn't even tell you. The only thing I can pronounce is Bulgogi. Oh come on, what about Bibimbap? Well no, I love Bibimbap, but I just can't like, obviously there's dishes that I really enjoy, but I just can't pronounce them. I don't want to embarrass myself. Butchering your own language and stuff. Are you still in contact? Do you talk every day? We do, yeah. We use Kakao. It is super funny because I feel like whenever I Kakao, my brother and I can speak English, he speaks English pretty well. With my biological sister, I Kakao with my biological father. How do you communicate with him? He sends me the funniest messages, we just basically talk in emojis. And then he sends me like, 21st century for you. The expressions are just spot on. Do you see any differences in you before and after reconnecting with your birth family? Differences in me? Yeah. I will say that I'm very excited about just life and like the world. And I feel like that after this happened, literally anything can happen. I feel like as an adoptee, as an Asian adoptee especially, there's not a lot of like positive content out there. I've seen like, I don't know, the whole thing about adoption has like a certain stigma to it. I don't know if it's like an Asian thing or if it's like a universal thing, but like to have someone like you to like be so positive about this. Whatever I can do for the adoptee community, I want to be able to do. So now we're just going to move on to these rapid fire questions. We're going to put you on the spot because that's always fun, right? I love questions. Go. Batman or Superman? Batman. Last song you listened to? Kanye West album, the one that just came out. Yeah. All of it. Ryan Gosling or Ryan Reynolds? Ryan Reynolds. One thing you miss most about being a kid? Pee. If you could be any animal, what would it be and why? I would be a hedgehog because they can run really fast according to cartoons. Can they? Why don't you be a road runner? I don't know. All right. Top three favorite Disney movies? Do Pixar movies count? Okay, yeah. Okay. All right. Up, Inside Out, and I don't know. They're all the deep emotional ones? Okay. In-N-Out or Shake Shack? In-N-Out. What is your biggest achievement thus far? Meeting you guys, being here in this video, obviously. Best New York memory? Meeting you guys here in New York right now. This, obviously. What a sucker, man. Morning person or night owl? Night owl. Pizza or burgers? Pizza. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? New York so we can do more of these videos. Biggest fear? Not being in New York. Spiders. Favorite TV show? Master of None. I just watched it. That's the only one on my mind right now. Craziest thing you've ever done? Don't say come to New York. Skydiving. And we're out of time. Perfect. Alright guys, so now we're going to move on and play Charades with Dan. Jurassic Park? What is this? Robot Fighter. Robot. Yes! It's in your eye situation. That was racist.