Hey, welcome to The Chameleon Club! A podcast for people who belong everywhere and nowhere—TCKs, MKs, Global Nomads, Expats, etc. I'm your host, Tae Levi Um, a Third Culture Kid with a Korean passport but without a sense of belonging. If you're not a fan of the "Where are you from?" question, or are still processing your multi-cultural upbringing experience, just join the club. It's free.
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If you enjoyed the show—save it, share it, and comment on it.
If you want to give feedback or connect with me, find me on Instagram: @thechameleonclubpod for more!
Ep.9: TCK - NOW and FUTURE (feat. Jay) | Building Communities, Career prospects, and Fighting Gatekeeping
Ready for the LAST interview of Season One? I have just the right guest for it: meet Jay, founder of @tckglobal, one of the largest online communities for Third Culture Kids!
In this special finale episode(we’re even trying out video podcasting!), I am honored to interview this community-builder who’s been a pioneer in the world of Third Culture Content for more than a decade. And it especially means a great deal to me, because she was the person whose TED Talk inspired me to share about my Third Culture journey with the world! (Brace yourself for some fanboying moments at the beginning of the episode.)
Tune in to WATCH & hear Jay’s thoughts on:
The “Third Culture Kid” label and how isolating it can be
Career prospectives as Third Culture Kids (are we employable?!)
Dating as Third Culture Kids
Big friend group vs. small friend group
Want to connect with Jay or join TCKGlobal community?
https://www.instagram.com/tckglobal (https://www.instagram.com/tckglobal)
Enjoyed the show? Suggestions? Connect with me on Instagram!
https://www.instagram.com/thechameleonclubpod (https://www.instagram.com/thechameleonclubpod)
“Am I copying my parents or do I really want to live this way?”
Imagine being born in one country, and being taken away to another. You take one nap as a baby—and voilà: your parents have moved you across the globe 🌎 and they say it's GOD's PLAN.
Sarah, my guest for this episode, shares similar sentiments—but then, I guess every child could relate: that you don’t get to choose where you’re born, and what environment you grow up in!
Only that in Sarah’s case, she was born under (former) missionary parents. Join this episode tomorrow to hear what her experience was like, and how she had a full circle-back moment to the same field that she believed was her parents’ thing.
Want to connect with Sarah?
Find her Instagram @sarah.blankie
Enjoyed the show? Suggestions? Connect with me on Instagram!
https://www.instagram.com/thechameleonclubpod (https://www.instagram.com/thechameleonclubpod)
19 Aug 2025
Ep.8: Forming Shapes and Cultures (feat. Zoë) | Storytelling, Home Food, Making Music
Meet Zoë Grace Wang—a British-Chinese singer-songwriter from London and Singapore with a passion for storytelling through music. "I am in AWE when I engage with music. I'm making songs because I want to share this very awe with whoever listens."
Maybe our complex cultural upbringing doesn't have to stay a "trauma" or "crisis". Maybe we can see it as a unique soil on which plants of empathy can grow.
My guest Zoë has been doing that—mixing colors of different culture on a pallet, painting a picture only she can think of.
Join this episode as Zoë and I discuss what it means to be a Third Culture Kid, and what it looks like to channel our complex background into a unique form of storytelling.
Want to find more of Zoë's work?
https://www.instagram.com/zoegracewang
Enjoyed the show? Suggestions? Connect with me on Instagram!
https://www.instagram.com/thechameleonclubpod (https://www.instagram.com/thechameleonclubpod)
5 Aug 2025
Ep.7: Aren't We All Restless Wanderers? (feat. Elijah) | Cultural Analysis, Traveling, Spoken Word
Ever cried over a sunset? Ever shouted “LET’S GO!” as you spotted a whale jump out of the water? Two guys who have done both sit down to discuss beauty. Because we love it. And time is limited when you keep on traveling.
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Elijah's poetry doesn’t come out of shallow “good vibes”—it is birthed through anger & pain turned into humility. The kind of humility that isn’t manufactured, but is simply gushed out—at the sight of the glory of the Creator.
Don’t miss the last part of the episode, where you’ll hear Elijah’s Spoken Word recital that captures the awe.
Come join us. Let’s chat about life.
Want to find more of Elijah's work?
https://www.instagram.com/elijahdoespoetry (https://www.instagram.com/elijahdoespoetry)
Enjoyed the show? Suggestions? Connect with me on Instagram!
https://www.instagram.com/thechameleonclubpod (https://www.instagram.com/thechameleonclubpod)
29 Jul 2025
Ep.6: Can TCKs Fall in Love? (feat. Kano) | National Identity, Situationship, and Marriage
Can TCKs Fall in Love… ever? Welcome back to the club, chameleons! Today, I’m talking with someone I met on Instagram—it’s Kano(@ganmokan) another TCK storyteller I ran into!
It’s not very typical of me to talk about love with someone I literally just met—yet here we are, being a couple of Third Culture Kids, diving straight into the deepest topics.
Join this episode as Kano frankly tells us her stories of being stuck between cultures, navigating dating life, and moving on!
One disclaimer I think we all know already: whatever you hear on the podcast is someone’s own journey and thoughts… so always listen to it with a grain of salt.
Also, make sure to check out Kano’s instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/ganmokan (https://www.instagram.com/ganmokan)
Enjoyed the show? Suggestions? Connect with me on Instagram!
https://www.instagram.com/thechameleonclubpod (https://www.instagram.com/thechameleonclubpod)
22 Jul 2025
Ep.5: TCK Life on Steroids (feat. Aidan) | Life on a Ship, Grief, and Making Movies
Today, I’m calling a dear friend I miss very much. Meet Aidan—a “domestic” TCK in Malaysia, a filmmaker, and a fellow volunteer who lived and sailed with me on a humanitarian ship in Africa.
Aidan and I like to call our ship experience as “a TCK life on steroids”, and you’ll figure out why we call that as you listen to our stories!
In this episode, we also talk about a short film Aidan directed, based on the feeling of grief he felt as he left the beloved ship. I think many TCKs could relate to the movie, so make sure to check out his short film below:
Short Film “Sentiments from a Stepper”
https://youtu.be/R87v2QfbQiY?si=tnwlcLAjFc0JZOXq (https://youtu.be/R87v2QfbQiY?si=tnwlcLAjFc0JZOXq)
Enjoyed the show? Suggestions? Connect with me on Instagram!
https://www.instagram.com/thechameleonclubpod (https://www.instagram.com/thechameleonclubpod)
15 Jul 2025
Ep.4: To My Parents Who Sent Me To That International School In Niger (feat. Yun In Jung) | Korean Hierarchy, Repatriation, and International School
This episode is especially for International School students & their parents. Brace yourself for some REAL TALK, that begins with a question many parents may prefer NOT to ask their Third Culture Children: "Would you do what we did to you... to your future children?"
Yun In was well in his teenage years(!) when his parents broke him the news—that they're leaving everything behind to move to Africa. He was told to prepare for the trip—to say goodbye to his friends and everything he had made home in. Then, a few flights later, he lands in Niger, and stpes into a peculiar cultural bubble called "International School".
Join us as two Korean-born Third Culture Kids discuss life after Third Culture events—from Korean repatriation to his golden advice for kids & parents at the end of the episode!
Want to connect with Yun In? → archjeung@gmail.com
Enjoyed the show? Suggestions? Connect with me on Instagram!
https://www.instagram.com/thechameleonclubpod (https://www.instagram.com/thechameleonclubpod)
8 Jul 2025
Ep.3: How Do You Make Friends As TCK? (feat. Julie) | Code-switching, Absorbing Cultures, Friendship
Host interviews Julie about how Third Culture Kids build friendships while navigating cultural differences, revealing insights for enhancing cross-cultural connections.
1 Jul 2025
Ep.2: "You Will Never Do Well in Korea" | Living Between Cultural Tension
The host shares personal experiences of cultural tension and feeling like they don't belong in the culture they were born into, highlighting the need for TCK care.
1 Jul 2025
Ep.1: What Is This About Anyway? | Introduction
The host introduces the podcast, defining terms like Cultural Chameleon, Global Nomad, and TCK, while sharing their personal story and recording from inside a wardrobe.
Podcast Authority Score: 16 / 100
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