Our Korean Adoption Story

Catholic Charities of Hampton Roads

2004-09-10T14:39:00.000-05:00

Because we are located 3 hours south of our adoption agency ASIA we needed to find a second agency to complete our home study. We used Catholic Charities of Hampton Roads.

Catholic Charities provides many services including child welfare and adoption services. They are also a state-licensed child-placing agency.

The agency's services include:
Pregnancy counseling and support
Adoption and post-legal adoption services, and
Temporary foster care

A full range of services meets the needs of children whose birthparents who are making some difficult decisions about their future. Adoption is always offered as an option during pregnancy counseling.

Home studies are completed on prospective adoptive parents. The agency participates in international adoptions as well as parental placement adoptions.

Adoption services do not cease after placement; many adoptive children have been helped to search for non-identifying information concerning their birthparents.

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Adoption Service Information Agency (ASIA)

2004-09-10T14:27:00.000-05:00

A.S.I.A. is the adoption agency we are using in the USA. We have found them very helpful and friendly. If you are a Virginia resident and are looking to adopt from Korea, Adoption Service Information Agency (A.S.I.A.)is one of three agencies that have the ability to perform korean adoptions on Virginia.

Liscensed agents for Korean adoptions in Virginia:

Adoption Service Information Agency (ASIA)

Welcome House of Pearl S Buck Foundation

Barker Foundation

Since 1981, they have been committed to serving parents and children during the adoption process, as well as after the adoption is complete.

Adoption Service Information Agency (A.S.I.A.) is a licensed, private nonprofit organization dedicated to finding permanent, nurturing homes for children from around the world and right here at home in the United States. To date, more than 2,000 children have been placed with loving families.

They place close to 200 children in stable and nurturing adoptive homes every year.

While providing medical supplies, clothing, and other life essentials to orphanages in our program countries, they also provide humanitarian services for especially needy children.

Adoption Service Information Agency (A.S.I.A.) regularly contribute financial aid to HIV-infected children in Northern Thailand, and in 1994, they opened the ASIA-Tuyen Quang Children's Center, which cares for orphaned Vietnamese children who are awaiting families. In Korea, Adoption Service Information Agency (A.S.I.A.) supports the Eastern Children's Center where children with special-needs are cared for and educated.

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Eastern Social Welfare Society, E.S.W.S.

2004-09-10T14:08:00.000-05:00

Eastern Social Welfare Society, E.S.W.S. is a partner agency to A.S.I.A. based in Souel, Korea.

Eastern Social Welfare Society was founded in 1972 by Dr. Duk Whang Kim, a lifelong Christian and an elder of a church. For twenty eight years, ESWS has helped needy children find families, provides places and education for the disabled children and strives to make children's dreams come true through sponsorship. Thus, the purpose of our agency is to make a contribution to our society by providing various welfare services to the less fortunate.

Eastern's History
-July 1972 Obtained approval of social welfare juridical person by the government.
Dr. Kim, Duk Whang was appointed as the first president.

-1973 ESWS's first adoptee, LeeAnne Revell, departed for USA

-March 1977 Established Eastern Child Welfare Society, approved by Ministry of Social Welfare

-March 1977 Opened Eastern Babies' Home.
Opened first branch office in Sung nam, Kyonggi province (presently, ten branch offices under operation)

-May 1981 Moved to the present location

-May 1985 Opened Eastern Child Welfare Center in Pyongtaek (Rehabilitation Center, Jacob's Home, Esther's Home)

-January 1986 Opened affiliated hospital and Eastern Babies' Home at the present ocation

-September 1986 Established Eastern special school (preschool and elementary course)

-November 1986 Built Anyang Social Welfare Service Complex

-1988 First Homeland Tour Group visited ESWS

-February 1989 Opened guest house for adoptive families

-September 1991 Expanded Eastern school(Middle and high school course) '98 December: made occupational training courses

-October 1992 Opened Seodaemun District Community Social Service Center. Then enlarged and started services for mentally impaired in 1999.

-April 1997 Opened Eastern Church at Eastern Child Welfare Center in Pyongtaek

-1997 Changed logo and name of agency

-June 1997 Held the Benefit Dinner Commemorating the 25th Anniversary

-July 1997 Opened a Vocational Training Center

-1999-2000 Held street campaign for promoting domestic adoption from 1999 to 2000. Held a walk to promote domestic adoption in April, 2000

-January 2000 Renovated headquarter building and guest house

-March 2001 Expanded and renovated Esther's Home

-April 2001 Began aiding children in North Korea and refugee children from North Korea.

-December 2001 Held the first gathering of Korean adoptive families in Anyang city.

Child Welfare Services

1. Counseling Service
Eastern Social Welfare Society runs ten counseling offices in various regions of the country. Each of these centers, staffed with professional counselors, provides counseling services designed to alleviate and prevent various problems faced by children who have lost the love and protection of their families and unwed mothers who are suffering from the anguish of an unplanned pregnancy.

2. Child Care Service
* Eastern Babies' Home: Located in Seoul and Anyang city. Each facility provides residence for one hundred children who have been relinquished by their parents. They are taken care of here before being placed in a foster home or transferred to another facility.
* Family Foster Care: Approximately 350 babies are cared for in 300 selected foster homes until they are adopted.
* Jacob's Home: Children under the age of three years are cared for at Jacob's Home in the Eastern Child Welfare Center in Pyongtaek city.

3. Domestic Adoption
Adoption makes it possible for all families to experience the special joy of raising children and for children to grow up happily with love and care. ESWS is especially committed to the idea that children of our society should be taken care of by our own efforts.

4. Overseas adoption
For those children who cannot find adoptive parents in their birth country, ESWS arranges their adoption through private adoption agencies in the United States and through government agencies in Australia.

Post_Adoption Services

1. Post-Adoption Service
We conduct follow-up services for many adoptees wishing to learn their heritage by helping them visit the motherland and find their birth and foster parents. We also provide full scholarships for high school graduates who hope to learn Korean language and culture in Korea. The 17-room Guest House was built to provide adoptive families who visit Korea with a comfortable place to stay during their trip.

2. Adoption Information Center
A project of the four licensed agencies in Korea Eastern Social Welfare Society is playing a significant role in the foundation and operation of the Adoption Information Center, which was launched to centralize all information required when adoptees search for their birth families. The Center is expected to meet various needs of adoptees, and birth and adoptive families by providing quality post-adoption services.

Services For Women

1. Esther's Home
"Esther's Home" is a residence for fifty unwed mothers who have nowhere to turn because of prejudice. We provide medical care, and help them give birth safely. We provide a home-like atmosphere so that they can plan their future and we help them return to society by providing them with professional counseling and vocational education. Visit website at www.esther.or.kr

Rehabilitation Services

Eastern Child Rehabilitation Center
Equipped with modern convenience and an excellent educational system, the Center provides one hundred special needs children with a home-like atmosphere where they can receive quality care. The Center operates diverse rehabilitative programs, specially tailored to the age and condition of each child.

Eastern Vocational Training Center
Mentally and physically disabled children are able to learn to work independently in the Eastern Vocational Training Center. Additionally, the Center provides students with appropriate work opportunities and guarantees each worker a minimum wage pay of approximately US $400 per month. The Center also recommends appropriate workers from the Center for job opportunities at facilities outside the Center.

Community Welfare Services

1. Seodaemun District Community Social Service Center
The Seodaemun District Community Social Service Center is entrusted by the Community Ward Office. To meet the needs of the residents of the Seodaemun area, the Center provides efficient and integrated services for the purpose of improving the quality of life of the community. The Center operates diverse programs such as in-home services, child and youth welfare services, vocational skill-instruction services and welfare services for the mentally-ill and seniors. Approximately one thousand people take advantage of the SDCSSC's programs.

2. Rehabilitation Center for the Mentally-Impaired
Seodaemun District Community Social Service Center provides various programs for the mentally-impaired, such as life training and vocational training to help them get adjusted to independent living.
* Life-adjustment Program: Acquiring social and vocational education to adjust to the residential area
* Vocational training
* Independent work room

3. Welfare Services for the Seniors
*The Elder's Home: Many homeless aged people live in a stable and home-like place provided by the Center. Senior citizens with physical disabilities are cared for at the Elder's Home during the day.
* Educational programs for the aged: We operate useful classes, such as health and hobby classes. A cafeteria for seniors is ready for those who may be unable to cook for themselves.

4. Daycare Center
ESWS operates daycare centers in the Seodaemun area for children from low income families.

Educational Services

Eastern School for Special Needs Children
1. The Eastern School provides three hundred disabled students with quality education. In order for our children to have a more well-rounded education, we offer band, cycling, swimming, and pingpong classes. In addition, a wide variety of equipment used for therapy is available, and bus transportation is provided for those children who commute. Preschool Course-Elementary School Course-Middleschool Course-High School Course -Occupational Training Course

Medical Services

Love the Children Hospital
Love the Children Hospital is affiliated with Eastern Babies' Home in Seoul. Our medical team gives babies quality care, including physical check-ups, vaccinations and medical treatments on a regular basis. Children who need specialized care are transferred to a designated general hospital and children of families under public assistance are provided with free medical services.

Sponsorship Programs

General Program
We match approximately three thousand sponsors with three hundred students in need, disabled children in facilities and Korean students in difficult situations in China.

Medical Support Program
When children or single mothers have medical problems, we provide financial support for their hospitalization.

Emergency Assistance
We provide emergency services to families faced with sudden misfortunes.

Aid for the Children of North Korea
ESWS also extends a helping hand to North Korean children. ESWS sends donations in kind to several hospitals which have difficulty functioning due to a lack of medicine and medical apparatus and to orphanages that are short of bottles for feeding.

Missionary Work

Eastern Church
ESWS also runs a church for the Eastern staff and residents of the Eastern Child Welfare Center and its neighborhood. It contributes greatly to their spiritual and religious life.

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The Birth of Intercountry Adoptions by Susan Cox

2004-09-10T13:50:00.000-05:00

The Birth of Intercountry Adoptions by Susan Cox

In 1956 Harry Holt was in Seoul, Korea tenaciously working to save the lives of Korean children. Children who were abandoned. Orphans. Many of these children were of mixed races.

One day an orphanage director from Inchon called Mr. Holt. "I have more babies than I have beds. Can you help me?" Mr. Holt replied, "I can take five". He drove to Inchon to bring the five children back with him to Seoul.

When Mr. Holt took that little girl with him, he didn't do anything that was important enough to change the entire world. But he certainly did change mine. That little girl was Hong Soon Keum, she became Susan Gourley, and today--I am Susan Cox.

I can still remember how scared I was of Mr. Holt. He had bushy black eyebrows that went from one side of his forehead to the other. And when I was looking up at him, and he was looking down at me, he looked very fierce. It didn't take long for this little four-year-old girl to know that underneath all the eyebrows was a very kind and loving heart.

When I first arrived at the orphanage I would wake up in the night from bad dreams. It was Mr. Holt who personally came in and comforted me. Rocked me, sang songs to me, and when I wasn't frightened anymore, he took me into the kitchen and made us jelly sandwiches. He was my "Grandfather," even before I had a mother and father of my own.

I left Korea for my new life on October 9, 1956. I remember very little about that trip. I do remember looking out this small round window, sitting next to a woman I could not understand, and feeling very, very scared.

I was the 167th child to be adopted from Korea. More than 50,000 Korean children in the last 40 years have made the same journey. That trip across the ocean is much more than a journey of several thousand miles. For those of us who are adopted, it is the birth into our family.

I grew up in a small rural community in Oregon. I was my parents' first child. A year later they adopted a son from Korea. We were followed by three biological siblings, so I am the oldest of five. Although we didn't look the same, I always knew I was very much my parents' daughter.

When I came to my parents, intercountry adoption was considered as foreign an idea as the children who were being adopted.

People were concerned.

My parents were pioneers to this process. They were told, "Your daughter is American now." But they also knew I was Korean. In my community, I grew up knowing little about Korea, or my heritage. I rarely had an opportunity to see other Korean people. I did not eat Korean food, see beautiful Korean fan dancing, hear Korean music, or hold celedon pottery in my hands.

What my parents did give me, was the essence of how they felt about Korea. It was unwavering and unconditional. I always knew they thought Korea was a most important place. That the people, history and everything about it was treasured by them. For the simple reason that Korea was where I was from. And I was their daughter.

My adoption experience was very positive. I consider myself to have had a typical, normal childhood. I did not consider being Korean, or being adopted as the most important thing in my life. I have always understood how different my life might have been. I acknowledged and accepted my early life circumstances were difficult. the reality that I could not stay with the mother that gave birth to me was a sadness that I shared with my parents. They never spoke of my life in Korea, or of my birth mother with anything other than respect and dignity.

I was in the first grade when I became a U.S. citizen. At six years old, I didn't truly understand the importance of that day, but later I became aware of being Korean American and what it meant to be a part of two countries. That has always been intense and significant to me.

I was 26 years old when I returned to Korea for the first time. It was exciting--but also frightening. The last time I traveled that far it was with a Korean passport. Twenty-two years later I was returning with my husband to visit this place I did not remember.

Would it be familiar? Would I remember how to speak the first language I had known, but since forgotten? I expected it might feel like an echo of an earlier time. It did not feel familiar. It did feel welcoming. I was filled with enormous pride by the wonderful spirit and graciousness of Korean people. I loved knowing this was also my heritage. I cannot adequately describe how it felt to visit an orphanage for the very first time. It was 1978 and Korea was a very different place than it is today. I was not prepared for how it would feel to see those children.

As I looked in their faces, I remembered, "I was one of those children." Waiting, needing to be loved, deserving a family. I thought of how it must have been for Harry Holt.

It was the first time I had seen Molly Holt, Mr. Holt's daughter, since I was a little girl, but I recognized her immediately. We went through old spiral notebooks of adoption records her father had carried around in the bib of his overalls. As I turned the pages in the twilight of that spring evening, I found my four-year-old face looking back at me soberly from one of the books. At the bottom of the page in Mr. Holt's handwriting it said, "Went to America, October 1956."

I realized an adoptee's unique experience. The melting together of being Korean-American. American by osmosis and experience. Korean by birth and ethnicity. Shared by both. This was the first of many visits to Korea. I have returned with my husband, my mother, my son and my daughter. All of us are connected to each other, and through me--connected to Korea. It makes me very proud.

It is an incredible responsibility to attempt to represent four decades of Korean adoptees by describing my own experience. There are not enough words to adequately express appreciation to the many people who believed in us. Who thought we were important enough to be given attention, to be valued.

I once asked, David Kim, director of Holt's International Children's Services, what he believed was the most important contribution of adoption in Korea. Without hesitation he said, "Elevating the importance of homeless and orphaned children."

There are a million moments, big and small that describe the unique and complicated tapestry of families. It is the shared history of those moments woven together that make each of our experiences distinctive. These experiences include school, music lessons, summer camp, sports activities, family vacations, proms, grandparents, college, marriage, and children.

While my experience cannot be exactly the same as anyone else's, I do believe the feelings are the same. We know we are loved and cherished by our families. That we are truly sons and daughters as if we had been born to them. I know how much my parents love me, because I know how much I love my children.

If you are adopted, you are an adoptee forever. It doesn't stop when you leave high school or college, get married, have your own children. There are moments in your life that adoption is more significant and relevant, but it is always a part of who you are--your history that you bring with you throughout your life.

I have completed the full cycle of families. As a daughter, sister, grandchild to wife and mother. Two years ago I completed the full cycle of adoption. I did not see my birth mother again. But I did find her. She died in 1978. Her last words were to my younger Korean brother, "You have an older sister. She went to America." I cannot tell you what that meant to me. To know I was my mother's last thought as she was dying. I have met my Korean brothers. My family is extended now.

When Harry and Bertha Holt, from Creswell, Oregon, adopted eight Amerasian children from Korea in 1955, they did not intend to change history. But their burden for the homeless children of Korea was echoed by thousands of families who came forward to do what they had done, and Holt International Children's Services, and intercountry adoption was born.

When the Holts first began helping families adopt from Korea, they did not have expertise in child welfare or adoption, but what they did have was tremendous conviction that God had called them forward to do this work for homeless children in Korea. In the four decades since, that work has expanded to more than ten countries and touched the lives of more than 100,000 children who have been united with permanent loving families around the world through adoption.

Adoption has evolved dramatically in the last four decades--much of it in response to the adoptees themselves. We have learned that you cannot forget your beginnings, no matter how difficult or hurtful they may have been. It is more appropriate to understand and accept those circumstances and find the balance with the rest of your life to be at peace with who you are.

By living in families around the world, but remaining proudly and significantly connected to the country of their birth makes adoption global in a human and personal way. By living our individual lives as fully and successfully as possible we are a proud legacy for birth countries, wherever we are in the world.

Susan Soon Keum Cox, Director of Development, Holt International Children's Services , 1195 City View, P.O. Box 2880, Eugene, Oregon 97402; (541) 687-2202 (voice); (541) 683-6175 (fax). Ms. Cox serves as President, Joint Council on International Children's Services of North America, and Board Member, North American Council on Adoptable Children (Chair, International Adoption Committee).

Reprinted with permission from Focal Point ©1996 Regional Research Institute for Human Services

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The History of Adoption from Korea

2004-09-10T13:48:00.000-05:00

This article answered many questions I had about cultural beliefs and reasons for adoption in Korea.

The History of Adoption from Korea

An adoptee myself, I began researching the history of Korean adoption purely out of personal interest. However, I soon realized that the this history pertains also to Koreans, Korean-Americans, and adoptees; Korean adoption has root s that extend far back into the cultural history of the nation, entwined with and based upon deeply entrenched societal traditions and values. The basis for, and the meaningful implications of, Korean adoption are simultaneously a reflection of past, pres ent, and future Korean national identity. Transracial adoption crosses geographic, cultural, and societal boundaries to bring new families together.

The Korean War ravaged the peninsula, tearing apart land, resources, and families. Upon the close of the war, foreign soldiers withdrew from the country; they left their mark not only on the war-torn land, but also through the thousands of Amerasian children left behind. The products of brief war-time unions of US soldiers and Korean women during times of chaos, these children remained as tragic symbols of a lingering and lasting American influence on Korea. These mixed and fatherless c hildren faced extreme prejudice and scorn.

Harry Holt, a farmer from Oregon, traveled to Korea in 1955 to help these children; he returned to the US with eight Amerasian children. His actions prompted thousands of other American families to come forward and adopt as well. Th us, Holt International Children’s Services began. Pearl S. Buck joined Holt in his mission and founded Welcome House, another adoption agency. At the time, there were few laws and little structure in the US for intercountry adoption; Holt helped to define adoption legislation and policy, while simultaneously reshaping societal norms of family and race. Today, Holt International Children’s Services is one of the largest agencies of international adoption. Since the start of Holt’s mission, over 130,000 Kor ean-born children have been adopted in the world, mostly to the United States, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands [Lee ONLINE].

The Seoul Olympics brought both Korea and Korean adoptees to the international public eye. Adoptive families from all over the world traveled with their children to Korea to watch the Olympics and learn about their birth-country. It became evident to Korea and to the world the large number of children adopted from Korea. The joking, yet critical summation was that "Korea’s largest export was babies." The people and government of Korea took this as a direct criticism and a source of national shame-- the sign of a weak and underdeveloped nation that was unable to care for its own children. In response, the government set quotas in 1987 for the number of children allowed to leave the country each year, and the number of foreign adoptio ns dropped drastically. The quota system reduced the number of children permitted for overseas adoption by 3 to 5 percent each year; the ultimate objective of the plan was to completely eliminate foreign adoptions by 2015. In 1987, about 8,000 children we re adopted overseas; the quota system gradually reduced that number to about 2,057 children by 1997 [Shin, ONLINE]. However, cognatic adoption [adoption of non-relatives] in Korea was, and is still, not in accordance with traditional values and practices. Therefore, the decreased number of children permitted to be adopted by foreigners directly correlated with an increased number of children in orphanages.

This trend of decreasing foreign adoption continued steadily until 1998, when economic problems in Korea led to a sudden increase in foreign adoptions for the first time in eleven years. The Korean Health and Welfare Ministry report ed that the year 1998 brought a 9.3 percent increase in the number of Korean children adopted by foreigners, as compared to statistics from the year before [Shin, ONLINE]. This rise is attributed to the "IMF" economic crisis of 1997, which impoverished an d crippled many families. As a result of these economic conditions and the consequential increase of abandoned children, the government of Korea temporarily permitted the quota restrictions to be lifted in 1998.

The basis and structure of both modern and traditional Korean society indicate the causes and need for foreign adoption. The majority of children adopted from Korea are the children of unmarried parents, or orphans whose parents hav e died. The social milieu throughout Korean societal history has been decidedly against the adoption of non-relatives. The importance of family name and bloodlines date back to the earliest times of Korean history. Also, the influx of Confucian culture an d ideals, and thus the subsequent "Confucianization" of Korea dictates specific roles and relationships for families and gender. Sheila Miyoshi Jager emphasizes the specific role for women in society and in the family, described as: "a traditional canon o f Confucian morality tales about womanly virtue and female chastity" [Jager, Coursenotes 248]. Based on this traditional viewpoint, a woman who is both unmarried and pregnant directly violates morality. Jager recognizes "this nationalistic preoccupation w ith feminine virtue, and the traditional Confucian polarization and fixity of masculine and feminine identities" to be an integral factor in life and society on many levels [Jager, Coursenotes 248]. As a result, even in modern day society, illegitimate ch ildren and orphans are looked down upon and single parenthood is rare.

In order to fully understand the attitudes and traditions in Korea that have created the "need" for foreign adoption, it is important to trace the history of lineage of kinship throughout history. Mark A. Peterson describes: "Korean society has been characterized as a classic patriarchal, patrilineal, patrilocal society" [3]. This importance of lineage and bloodlines is the very reason why illegitimate or orphaned children are abandoned and why there are so few domestic adoptions in Korea. Also, women traditionally hold a lower role in society than do men, which is why single parenthood is so rare. Peterson further describes: "The Korean patrilineage can be described as ‘men related to men through men.’ Women are incidental" [Peters on 3]. The chokpo, or genealogical tables of Korean families list only the men of the lineage; these tables are of utmost importance to the family history and culture. Therefore, the adoption of non-relatives in Korea is highly uncommon. The import ance of bloodlines is evident in the system of inheritance and kinship. According to patrilineal organization of the family, the only true heir must be within the patrilineage. In addition, Neo-Confucian ideology calls for an heir to be of the same "mind- matter", or ki, which can only be achieved through shared bloodlines.

Before the seventeenth century, the kinship system of Korea was a cognatic, or bilateral kinship system, meaning that kinship was determined by both parents’ sides of the family. During and after the seventeenth century, a classic p atrilineal lineage system formed. As the kinship system changed from a equilateral to patrilineal, the system of inheritance changed as well. Many people mistakenly believe that the tradition of the eldest son receiving the largest inheritance originated in the earliest times of Korean history. However, during the early Choson period, the inheritance was shared equally among sons and daughters. If a couple had no children, they would often adopt a relative of the husband or wife, or even a non-relative to be the heir. This child could be either male or female. In addition, at this time women held a higher role in society and in the family, they were even recorded in genealogies equally with men. After Confucianism was adopted during later Choson, Koreans changed the system so that the eldest son became the principle heir, a system known as primogeniture that was stipulated by the Confucian classics. With the change to a patrilineal kinship system and primogeniture came the popularity of intralineage, agna tic adoption. When a man who was childless or had only daughters needed an heir, he would adopt a nephew from his father’s side of the family. This ensured an heir from within the patrilineage. Thus, the only acceptable form of adoption in Korean history was agnatic adoption: adoption in which the goal was to obtain a suitable heir from within the patrilineal bloodline.

Many misconceptions and prejudices towards adoption exist in Korea today. An editorial in The Korea Herald contends: "A leader in baby exports, Korea has discarded numerous babies abroad, mainly into the western culture, wher e they are stamped as aliens with their yellow skin and slit-eyed faces.... never-meant and never-welcome babies" [Chung, ONLINE]. This editorial ignorantly and mistakenly assumes that all children who are adopted by Caucasian families are usually abused and discriminated against, and that they never learn about their Korean heritage. This stance could not be farther from the truth; the procedure for adoption is proof of the genuine desire and love that adoptive families have for the children. In order to adopt, families must go through rigorous paperwork and screening, as well as fees that begin around $13,000. Families choose to adopt because they truly want these children in their lives. Many adoption agencies and adoptive families in the US have creat ed support groups, forums, and culture camps for both adoptees and their families to learn about their adoption and incorporate their Korean culture into their lives. In addition, the editorial makes seriously jaded assumptions and allegations about racia l conditions and multiculturalism in the US.

This history of faith in bloodlines and family is deeply ingrained in Korean tradition, and has guided the country through centuries of experience. However, not all agree that this tradition can coexist with a progressive, changing nation. As John Sullivan, a staff reporter for The Korean Herald describes, "According to traditional Korean beliefs, identity is based on primogeniture, passing all family and national identity to the first born son. Children whose parents abandon them a re thus deprived of an identity and became social outcasts" [Sullivan, "Overseas Korean," ONLINE]. From the perspective of many modern Koreans, the concept of family is situated above all else in life. While this viewpoint does possess merit, some feel th at "Korea’s Confucian concept of blood lineage is obstructing its survival in the global economy" [Sullivan, "Overseas Korean," ONLINE]. The contention of this argument is that Koreans’ myopic focus on the lineage and family precludes both individual init iative and international development. In addition, it is possible that Korean preoccupation with the roles of the family directly corresponds to apathy towards the welfare of society and community [Sullivan, "Overseas Korean," ONLINE]. Professor Lee Kwang -kyu, a professor of Anthropology at Seoul National University, believes that the acceptance and integration of differences [Koreans who have gone abroad by means of either emigration or adoption] is vital. Professor Lee says, "’Overseas Koreans are our n ational treasure. We need to understand them, and figure out how to utilize them in our international development’" [Sullivan, "Overseas Korean," ONLINE]. Lee is a strong advocate of acceptance of adoptees into Korean national identity, as well as the mov ement towards social welfare reforms in Korea.

Lee’s tenacious stance in his contemporary perspective is not a solitary one. In recent years, more and more Koreans have begun to broaden their cultural ideals and norms and acknowledge Korean adoptees. The recent implementation of a n ew visa law in Korea demonstrates this change. Past legislation did not entitle overseas or adopted Koreans to many rights and privileges, such as buying property and applying for jobs. The new law, in effect as of December 3, 1999, grants these privilege s to "all overseas Koreans with and without Korean citizenship who went abroad after...1948," including adoptees (Sullivan, "New visa law," ONLINE). With this special F4 visa, overseas Koreans can stay in Korea for up to two years. In order to receive the visa, proof of birth in Korea is required. For some adoptees, this stipulation could potentially present difficulties; thus, the Justice Ministry is formulating alternatives for adoptees, such as traveling to Korea on a 90-day tourists visa to search for birth registry, or obtaining adoption verification from adoption agencies (Sullivan, "New visa law," ONLINE).

Korean legislation is finally beginning to recognize the validity and entitlements of Korea-born adoptees. My personal hope is that individuals like Professor Lee will become more than just individuals- that their open-minded spirit wil l become that of the nation as well. I hope that both the people and government of Korea can someday openly and warmly accept adoptees, who rightfully deserve this acceptance. In doing so, they would also open their minds, embracing the comprehensiveness that is vital to Korea’s internationalization.

Back to Our Korean Adoption Story

Works Cited

Boublil, Alain and Richard Maltby, Jr., "Bui Doi," Miss Saigon lyrics, compact disc, original London cast recording, Geffen Records, 2064-24621-2, 1989.

Chung, Young-soo. "In My View (Readers’ Forum); Book Review: ‘Seeds from a Silent Tree.’" The Korea Herald [Online]. 18 November 1998 issue. . Cited 26 December 1999.

Cox, Susan. "The Birth of Intercountry Adoptions." . Cited 10 Janua ry 2000.

Holt, Bertha. "Bertha ‘Grandma’ Holt." . Cited 10 January 2000.

Jager, Sheila Miyoshi. "Women, Resistance and the Divided Nation: The Romantic Rhetoric of Korean Reunification." Journal of Asian Studies, (Vol. 55, No. 1): 3-21. Copyright (c) February 1996. Reproduced with the permission of Associatio n for Asian Studies, Inc. via the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. Rpt. In FC-80 Coursenotes, Fall 1999. Harvard University. 247-256.

Lee, Prumeh. "Korean Adoptees... Past, Present, and the Future." . Cited 10 January 2000.

Peterson, Mark A. Korean Adoption and Inheritance. USA: Cornell University East Asia x Program, 1996.

Shin, Hye-son. "Foreign adoptions increase for first time in 11 years." The Korea Herald [Online]. 5 May 1999 issue. . Cited 26 December 1999.

Sullivan, John. "New visa law still open to adjustments for overseas Korean adoptee." The Korea Herald [Online]. 7 December 1999 issue. . Cited 26 December 1999.

Sullivan, John. "Overseas Korean adoptees help address issues of national identity." The Korea Herald [Online]. 6 July 1998 issue. < http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/cgi-, bin/sear...path=/news/1998/07/_02/19980706_0212.htm >. Cited 26 December 1999.

Casey Daum ’03 is a Social Studies concentrator who will live in Adams House. This article was originally written for Foreign Cultures 80, taught by David McCann.

Adoption Journal

2004-09-02T08:15:00.000-05:00

How Did We Decide to Adopt?
First we wanted a larger family & Second we had multiple problems with expanding our family after the birth of our third child in 2000. After a couple of miscarriages and difficulty with conceiving, we decided we weren't gettting any younger and had to make a choice to give up our dream of having 4 or 5 children or do something about it. We wanted our kids closer in age than our first two children, so we revisited an idea we researched between the two of them. This idea was adoption. The reason we abandond the idea 8 years ago was cost. Adoption is very expensive and we were not as commited then as we are know.

Why International Adoption?
Many people will argue this point, but we felt an international adoption was safer as far as the birth parents persuing the return of the baby. This would be devistating for us, but unimaginable to explain to our three biological kids, why their brother or sister had to leave. So we like the idea of an ocean between us and the birth parents. With that being said, on the other hand I support our childs desire to find his birth parents if this is the case.

Why Korea?
Korea has a 50 year history with international adoption and has one of the most stable adoption programs in the world. We desire a healthy infant and Korea usually refers their children at 4-6 weeks of age and the child is ready to travel 3-6 months after referral. Usually the children are 4-8 months of age when they arrive in the U.S.

September 9, 2004
We finished our 4th and final interview for our homestudy. Which means the social worker assigned to our case will right up a completed homestudy for our adoption agency ASIA. After ASIA receives a completed homestudy they will put us on their referral list.

A referral usually takes 4 months and then it is an additional 4 months before the child is ready to travel with proper visa and approved U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, I-600 which is the form for the immigration of an orphan.

Infants are usually 4-6 weeks at time of referral and 4-8 months when they are ready to travel.

October 7, 2004
Catholic Charities called today to advise us we had a completed and approved home study. Our agency will place us on a referral list after recieving a copy of the approved homestudy. Now we owe the final payment to Catholic Charities and the second payment to ASIA.

December 4, 2004
Today we met with the staff at ASIA to get to know Megan our new social worker & Mr. Ted Kim. We are moving up the list for a referral and Mr. Kim said we would probably hear something in January 2005. Mr. Kim will be retiring at the end of this month. We were assured all will goes as planned and the personnel changes will not affect our adoptions.

December 22, 2004
Today at 2pm ASIA called to offer us a baby boy born on October 27, 2004. He is beautiful and healthy! We accepted immediately and will work on the formal papers the day after Christmas.

December 26, 2004
We sent our accepted papers to ASIA and are hoping have them logged-in in Korea before they take thier winter holiday.

January 11, 2005
Eastern Social Welfare Society, ESWS logged in our acceptance papers today, so hopefully we will travel in May to get our little boy.

February 09, 2005
Since my last entry we discovered that our wait will probably be a month longer. This increase is due to the restriction on passports and travel visas issued by the Korean government. Each of the 4 orphanges that handle international adoptions is limited to 50 visas per month. We pray that somehow we will get a call early and we will be on the next plane to Korea.

March 13, 2005
We received a picture of our new son a few days ago and the agency is still telling us it will be June before we travel. I hope they are wrong and we go sooner. The reason is not that the government has limited the number of visas per month, but there is a new gentleman in Korea that is tasked with reveiwing all papers and applications for passports. He has only been in the position for 9-10 weeks so he is slowing the process and is still learning his job.

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