Axie Oh is a NYT and Indie bestselling author. Her book — The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is literary magic. As a Korean American, Axie's stories center Korean culture and characters and are inspired by Korean folklore, but her storytelling reaches beyond any cultural limitations, as evidenced by the fact that her books are translated into over 30 languages.

We talk about the deep comfort of the sounds and smells of our shared motherland, a truth that seems to reverberate within our very cells. We swap some outrageous stories including being misidentified, renamed, and asked if we are from North or South Korea.

Axie shares her journey to becoming a published author, from the inspired guidance of teachers through racist feedback and rejections, to ultimately maintaining patience and perserverence and not letting the no’s stop you. I love Axie’s joy for Asian pop culture — K-pop, K-drama, and Pokemon — and we talk about how when touchpoints from various cultures are mixed into and immersed into everyone’s day to day life, the result is true inclusion, and more space to understand experiences that are different to yours.

Please enjoy the magical — Axie Oh.

You can follow Axie on Instagram ⁠@axieoh and you can also find Leah on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@leahsoojinkim⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This podcast was produced by Just Breathe, find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠justbreatheproject.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ our intro and outro music is from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠purple-planet.com