JinYoung, a Korean American adoptee and freediver, explores ancestral and genetic memory through the DNA-driven science of freediving and reconnection with her Korean roots.
DIVING IN (working title) is a personal documentary which explores the science of the mammalian dive reflex in freediving and correlates it to the inherited ancestral memory written into my own DNA as a Korean American woman and adoptee.
A journey of healing and connection, Diving In will interrogate the margins of what we believe to be fundamentally true about who and what we are in order to examine the concepts behind how identity is defined, what it means to be human, and what can happen when our journeys take us into spaces with which we have a fundamental connection but in which we’ve been told we no longer belong.
Themes: Intercountry and transracial adoption, identity and loss, social justice, culture, community, science, nature, water sports
JinYoung Kim (she/her) is a Korean American adoptee, 360-degree filmmaker, and freediver. After 16 years in emergency medicine, JinYoung shifted her focus to wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, contributing fieldwork as a community scientist studying endangered species such as black-footed ferrets, desert tortoises, jaguars, and ocelots. In 2019 she and her husband, James Beissel, founded Just Float Films with the goal of creating fully immersive virtual wildlife experiences that engage viewers with our planet in new and exciting ways. When not filming or digging up new stories about wildlife, JinYoung focuses her attention on advocacy efforts supporting the amplification of adult transracial and intercountry adoptee voices. During her free time, she can be found freediving, exploring the Colorado Front Range with her husband, and reconnecting with her native Korean heritage and culture. DIVING IN is her directorial debut.
