Photos by @junmichaelpark @seoulphotographer for @nytimes / The coronavirus pandemic has largely put international travel on hold. Even when flights are available, many countries, including South Korea, now require a quarantine upon arrival. For international South Korean adoptees that found their birth family after years of searching, this stipulation has added another layer of complication for their plans to reunite with their parents and other relatives.

Mallory Guy, of Ohio, reconnected with her Korean birth family through a DNA test. The family was supposed to visit her in the US in March, but the pandemic derailed the plan. Instead of waiting indefinitely, Mallory made a gutsy decision: she hopped on a plane to South Korea to meet up with her birth parents for the first time in 33 years. Then, they all went into the mandatory two-week quarantine together in a small apartment in Cheonan, a city located 85 kilometers south of Seoul.

NYT reporter Bryan Pietsch, himself an adoptee, profiled several South Korean adoptees who had been hoping to travel to meet their birth family. I had the privilege of photographing Mallory and her extended birth family in South Korea. Having many Korean adoptee friends myself, I started a personal project on this topic already a while back. Although the subject matter is heavy and complicated, this story was particularly uplifting and positive.

Many thanks to photo editor Elijah Sinclair Walker for trusting me with this one. You can read the story here.
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(Text editing by M.)