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sojusucks
Joined: 31 May 2008
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 Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 9:12 pm Post subject: Mother discovers son lost in Itaewon 16 years ago |
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http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2953457&cloc=joongangdaily|home|newslist1
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The tragedy began in early afternoon on Aug. 10, 1996, when Hong�s husband went to a restaurant in Itaewon, central Seoul, to meet a friend for drinks. He took his son, then 3 years old, with him.
The toddler wandered off and his father didn�t notice. When he finally noticed the boy was gone, he made a panicked call to his wife.
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Father of the year?
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For some reason, the couple didn�t have a good photo of their son so they couldn�t produce missing child leaflets.
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Not one?
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Hong asked for help in March at a police station in Wonju, Gangwon, where she currently resides, only to be hit with the shocking revelation that her son had never been reported missing with the police. She assumed her husband had reported him missing.
Hong filed a belated missing child report three months ago.
The case was transferred to the Yongsan Police Precinct since the boy disappeared in the district. The police tracked down a Seoul orphanage that the son had stayed in and finally found the son, surnamed Park, who lives in Mokpo, South Jeolla. A DNA test confirmed he was indeed her son.
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Nismo
Joined: 31 Aug 2005
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| Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 10:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Bizarre. And the adopting family are pricks. You don't adopt a child at the age of four and "return him" at the age of ten. He's not a defective product. And are the parents really that dense? She scoured Itaewon for her missing child and didn't once personally contact the police? Sounds more like a case of abandonment and, later, guilt. |
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luckylady
Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Location: u.s. of occupied territories
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 12:17 am Post subject: |
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maybe because the police weren't known for being that helpful ?
as well as the general culture that "blames the victim" people would just accuse her of being a bad mother and that it's her fault her son went missing? even if maybe it was, that shouldn't take away from the fact he needed to be found but I can see where that would be an excuse not to even try.
just a sad story all the way around, unfortunately. |
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Julius
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 12:38 am Post subject: |
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| What is even more ridiculous is that the mother says she is desperate to see her son before she dies....but wants to wait a month until she looks better before doing so. |
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yodanole
Joined: 02 Mar 2003
Location: La Florida
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 2:21 am Post subject: |
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Well, at least all that effort   finally paid off
and only 3 months after notifying the authorities....as opposed to wandering around Seoul in search of a needle in a field of haystacks....but as previous posters noted, she had valid excuses  |
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rkc76sf
Joined: 02 Nov 2008
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 2:22 am Post subject: |
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| This just about equals the family that put the toddler in the laundromat washing machine. |
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yodanole
Joined: 02 Mar 2003
Location: La Florida
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 2:23 am Post subject: |
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Probably a good thing they didn't have a microwave
| rkc76sf wrote: |
| This just about equals the family that put the toddler in the laundromat washing machine. |
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radcon
Joined: 23 May 2011
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 6:07 am Post subject: |
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| So transparent. Father "lost' the kid on purpose and the mom may have been in cahoots. It never occured to her to search orphanages looking for a recent new comer instead of knocking door to door (which she didnt do any way). This is a common MO in Korea.This has Toby Dawson written all over it. |
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Joe Boxer
Joined: 25 Dec 2007
Location: Bundang, South Korea
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 6:15 am Post subject: |
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| radcon wrote: |
| So transparent. Father "lost' the kid on purpose and the mom may have been in cahoots. It never occured to her to search orphanages looking for a recent new comer instead of knocking door to door (which she didnt do any way). This is a common MO in Korea.This has Toby Dawson written all over it. |
Exactly what I was thinking. |
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Julius
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 7:02 am Post subject: |
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| radcon wrote: |
| This is a common MO in Korea.This has Toby Dawson written all over it. |
I guess the stigma of single parenthood has a lot to do with it - be it unmarried mothers...or divorcees.
I met an American Korean over here looking for his parents. He was staying in a hostel while he basically looked through phone directories and did internet searches (not easy considering he barely spoke korean).
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In 1986, South Korea had 18,700 orphaned or abandoned children. Almost half were sent abroad for adoption
it was the case until recently that Korean citizenship was directly tied to family bloodline. Children not a part of a Korean family (i.e., orphans) were not legal citizens of Korea.
in recent years, roughly 1 of 250 Korean births are adopted by American families alone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_adoption_of_South_Korean_children |
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cdninkorea
Joined: 27 Jan 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 7:16 am Post subject: |
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| So some of you think the parents intentionally abandoned their son? Motive? |
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nukeday
Joined: 13 May 2010
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 7:52 am Post subject: |
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| cdninkorea wrote: |
| So some of you think the parents intentionally abandoned their son? Motive? |
Rational self-interest
but, seriously, did you read the thread? Some people have already laid out speculation for motives. And how long have you lived in Korea? Are you blind?
Have you ever met anyone with divorced parents? How long did it take them to admit it to you?
Last edited by nukeday on Sat May 26, 2012 8:03 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Julius
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 8:03 am Post subject: |
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| cdninkorea wrote: |
| So some of you think the parents intentionally abandoned their son? Motive? |
The article says they had recently gotten divorced.
Single parents are heavily stigmatized in this society.
Also the financial burden of childrearing is oppressive. Single mothers also face a difficult task to find new husbands. Koreans usually do not want to raise someone elses kids.
What I thought was odd was that the kid was with the father when he got "lost". Its unusual for korean fathers to spend much time with infants. |
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nukeday
Joined: 13 May 2010
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 8:06 am Post subject: |
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^
Doesn't surprise me if their marriage was on the rocks. I think the kids get left with the fathers fairly often. |
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Nismo
Joined: 31 Aug 2005
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 8:47 am Post subject: |
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| cdninkorea wrote: |
| So some of you think the parents intentionally abandoned their son? Motive? |
Seen it before in South Korea. The age of CCTV made it transparent. As I cradled my second child in the maternity ward in 2010, I remember seeing a news bit on a young couple caught on camera, with the father basically leaving his son with a backpack in the courtyard of an apartment complex, then running away. The kid runs out frantically screaming looking for his father, and passersby stop to help him look for his father who had since bolted.
Back in 1996 we didn't have that kind of coverage. This particular story seems to hint at a case of abandonment, and the mother is now trying to make amends for her transgressions as she stares death in the face. It's the exact opposite of a heart-warming story. It should make people sick to their stomachs. The poor kid has had a rough life, and the old hag is loading up the drama with her dying breath.
Last edited by Nismo on Sat May 26, 2012 4:38 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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