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Black, Korean, stateless: A 'slickyboy’s' American dream, part 1

An outcast from birth, the child of a Korean sex worker and a Black GI, Milton was a sometime ‘Slickyboy’, or thief, by the age of seven. All he really wanted was to find his dad.

Growing up as the son of a sex worker and a Black US soldier in South Korea in the 70s, Milton Washington was seen as an outcast, and "not Korean." He couldn't even get a birth certificate. Still, he was loved and protected by his mum, the two of them against the world. She told him his dad was in America, a land of flying cars and ice cream mountains — and that was where Milton wanted to be, too. (This episode is Part 1 of Milton's story, catch up with Part 2 /programmes/w3ct34nx)

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Laura Thomas

(Photo: Young Milton Washington. Credit: Milton Washington)

Available now

41 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Mon 17 Oct 2022 11:06GMT
  • Mon 17 Oct 2022 17:06GMT
  • Mon 17 Oct 2022 21:06GMT
  • Tue 18 Oct 2022 02:06GMT

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Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected