Shin was born in Seoul, South Korea, and was adopted when she was 13 months during the second big wave of the adoption of Asian children. She was adopted by a white couple and was raised and grew up in Chicago. A week after her arrival to Chicago, her new brother asked,"When is she going back?".During her childhood, she saw many African Americans being subjected to prejudice and even though they were not of the same race they were both minorities. In a way, she felt a sort of kinship with them and this led her down the path of becoming an equal rights activist.