joomanchoi@snu.ac.kr

What marked Jooman Choi’s life and every choice along the way was having lived in three different countries: South Korea, the U.S., and Colombia. Always adventurous, he decided to embark on a journey by moving by himself when he was 15.

He landed in California and became interested in the Spanish language, the Chicano community, and the problems that this group face in the U.S while in high school. Wanting to delve into the dynamics, he decided to earn his college degree in Bogotá, Colombia.

Income inequality, classicism, racism and, abject poverty are some of the notions that he experienced while living in Colombia.

At the end of his stay, he was impacted by the immigrant crisis of Venezuelans and became interested in the subject in his home country.

Upon research, he found out about the rejection of the Yemeni refugees in Korea, and he decided to come to Korea to do a master’s degree.

After meeting refugees and working as a volunteer at an NGO, he was able to come up with a research subject: transgender refugees. Working as an intern at CTMS, he aims to shed light on this marginalized and invisible community to empower them.