Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mercury]

Yonhap Feature) Korean adoptees from abroad and birth mothers protest overseas adoption

By Kim Young-gyo
SEOUL, Aug. 5 (Yonhap) - Roh Myung-ja has gotten together with her son every year since 2004, when she was reunited with him after giving him up for adoption about 30 years ago. She is one of thousands of Korean women whose children were adopted overseas.

The 49-year-old Roh believes what she has experienced in the years before her son returned to her should not happen to anyone. Now, she works as a staff member of Mindeulae, (Dandelions), a civic group of South Korean parents whose children were adopted overseas and who oppose the nation's adoption system, which sends thousands of orphaned and abandoned children abroad.





What do they want to do with them, keep them in the orphanges and have them raised in a society that rejects children with no families........



DONT ADOPT US, WE WANT TO BE REJECTS IN OUR OWN COUNTRY!

[taobenli]

Do some research before you post. In the years following the Korean war, until things began to improve economically for the country, many women were tricked into putting their children into orphanages, assured that the orphanages would look after their children until they were economically able to resume care for them themselves. However, as a money-making scheme (since overseas adoption=$) the orphanages sent these children abroad often without families' consent or knowledge. Thus, many foreign adoptees (some of whom were adopted when they were old enough to remember everything about life in Korea and their birth family) and birth mothers protest international adoption. I think I would too...

I'm happy to provide sources later but don't have time right now...

[Alyallen]

[mercury]

[Troll_Bait]

[billybrobby]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Actually conditions at orphanages - at least the Salvation Army ones - seem like they're greatly improved over what one hears from stories of past decades. At the one where I volunteer there's a girl who looks about 17ish who has a little baby at the same orphanage. It looks like someone shaved her head just before she arrived at the orphanage and I have no idea what may be the story with that, but at least she's proof that it is possible for an underage mother and her baby to be taken care of these days, and the other teenagers at the orphanage really seem to love her baby.

It's hard to say what's really the best course of action, given that very few if any Korean parents will adopt someone else's child, but keeping them in country does at least keep open the possiblity that relatives can keep in touch with the children and offer them a home and Korean family somewhere down the line if circumstances improve.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[lastat06513]

"Tiggi-guk-in" children (children born from a Korean woman and a foreign man and who are abandoned by the father [term commonly used for children born from Korean-GI relationships back in the day) have no rights in Korea;

1. They can't be places on the family registry
2. They can't own land or start businesses in their name.
3. They can't register for ordinary school (except under special circumstances with alot of pushing from very influencial people [though this is changing as more people marry and stay in Korea)
4. If they are male, they can't do military service, thus will face massive descrimination when applying for college and trying to get a job (a common question asked on almost ALL job applications is where and when a male employment candidate did their mandatory military service)

It was thought of that the fortunate ones were the children that could be adopted by caring families overseas and many of them turned out to be very successful, more so than if they were to stay and endure the terrible treatment they would certainly get in the Korean orphanage system.

In light of Korea's attitude toward these children, I would have to support the adoption system. It is one way for these children to get out a very bad situation.

[The_Conservative]

[taobenli]

Okay, I'm back. I can't take a lot of time right now, but off the top of my head...

Someone asked: why don't they protest their own nation's welfare system, and not the institution of adoption? Well, if you'd read your own article, you'd see that it says the mothers and children are protesting "their nation's adoption system." I'm sure this includes welfare policies by association. They're not blaming any other countries, and not blaming adoptive parents (who generally have sincere reasons for adopting, and yes, generally improve the child's life if one compares to living in an orphanage).

I've done a lot of research on this topic, and done a lot of thought about it. (I wrote my M.A. thesis on a related topic). I think it's completely possible to support adoptive parents while still realizing that there's something wrong with a (more or less developed) country sending away so many of its children. I too have many adopted friends- most love their birth parents, and most feel they have had good opportunities in their adoptive countries. This doesn't mean that they agree with the INSTITUTION, though, and many have very painful memories of being separated from family and ways of life. Also, just because someone MAY have had a better life because of being adopted abroad, doesn't mean that they should feel "grateful." I don't think any child should have to feel grateful for things that happened outside of their control...

One adoptive mother I know put the ambivalence of the adoption process best: she said she had adopted and does the best job she can in that role, but is also participating in the movement to provide the conditions necessary so that no birth mothers should have to give up their children.

If you want to look at some materials, here are some things to start with:

By a sociologist, mostly about the current China adoption boom: http://www.amazon.com/Transnational-Adoption-Cultural-Economy-Newcomers/dp/0814719724/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-8208063-3413406?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186381865&sr=8-1

A book written mostly (but not entirely) from a white, adoptive parent perspective (but academic): http://www.amazon.com/Cultures-Transnational-Adoption-Elizabeth-Alice/dp/0822335891/ref=sr_1_6/103-8208063-3413406?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186381984&sr=1-6

A recent anthology by mostly adoptees (not as academic, but very thought-provoking): http://www.amazon.com/Outsiders-Within-Writing-Transracial-Adoption/dp/0896087646/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b/103-8208063-3413406?ie=UTF8&qid=1186381984&sr=1-6

A documentary about a woman adopted from Korea who's mother was tricked: http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2000/firstpersonplural/

I'll check back into this post later. I'm not saying that birth mothers are all saints and are never wrong, and I'm not calling people who adopt evil- far from it. However, the system smacks of inequity and needs some changes...

[Troll_Bait]

[mercury]

[mack4289]

Some things did change (or at least were supposed to) for biracial people here in Korea after the Hines Ward thing brought so much attention to their mistreatment:

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2707945

"Partially encouraged by the visit of Hines Ward, the half-Korean half-African-American football hero, the government and the party yesterday agreed to launch measures ranging from guaranteeing educational opportunities to offering citizenships to biracial children of de facto marriages.

The government will require colleges to offer a certain proportion of college admissions to biracial students and impose mandatory military service on biracial men by revising the law as early as December this year.

The government will provide systematic support for foreign parents by setting up help centers for foreigners, offering help to biracial children who have difficulties catching up with studies and running day-care centers for biracial children of low-income earners.

The term Honhyeolin, meaning mixed blood people, will be changed because it has a discriminatory implication regarding skin color or race. Instead, they would rather be called �children of marriage-based immigrants,� the government and the party said.

Noh Wung-rae, representative of Uri Party, said, �The bill will contain aggressive measures to forbid discrimination.� More sensitive issues such as the college admission quota will be pursued as a long-term project, he added."

[jaderedux2]

I call B.S. on the whole matter. My spousal unit and I wanted to adopt a baby in Korea. He is Korean and I am American. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES CAN WE DO THIS. We have contacted agency after agency. We were quite willing to take an older child perhaps 2 to 4 years old. But since I am an American the only way I could adopt a child from Korea is to take the child back to America.

I would have been happy to raise the child here in Korea but no we are not allowed to adopt. So they don't care that much if they are taken out of the country. Yes they are doing more to make adoption more palatable to Koreans but it is still not favored. No family book. No way to prove your ancestry.

Sorry but the entire system sucks arse. Yes there were some pretty shady practices in the past perpetrated by churches and other religious organizations and many sanctioned by the new government. A lot of mothers did not understand the concept of "orphanages" and there were many children adopted out without true consent.

However, one child we were interested in was a young girl and but she had a brother too. But we couldn't adopt the boy cuz the mother said she would be back for him. However, she gave permission to adopt out the girl. But pretty much for naught anyway as since we mixed couple and were planning to stay in Korea we ARE NOT allowed to adopt any Korean child.

Nice work folks.

Jade