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What do Koreans generally think about returning adoptees?

 
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madeinkorea



Joined: 13 Jun 2018

PostPosted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 12:45 pm    Post subject: What do Koreans generally think about returning adoptees? Reply with quote

I wonder... Question
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itiswhatitis



Joined: 08 Aug 2011

PostPosted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 5:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If someone is born in Korea, leaves as an infant/child and comes back as an adult then that person can expect to be a nobody upon returning to Korea.

If someone was born in say America, grew up in another country and then returned to America as an adult would Americans say "welcome to America" and embrace the person into their social circle? No. Same deal in Korea or pretty much anywhere else.
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madeinkorea



Joined: 13 Jun 2018

PostPosted: Sat Jun 30, 2018 7:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I see what you mean, yes I encountered that... The only Koreans which were quite welcoming were the ones at Holt (the guy in the main building as well as the social workers in charge of the post adoption services), other than that I didn't get a lot of positive vibes from the locals. At some point I even got the impression I was being mistaken for a Japanese tourist or some other Asian even though I look Korean.
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PRagic



Joined: 24 Feb 2006

PostPosted: Mon Sep 03, 2018 9:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Koreans in general tend to be non-confrontational and to avoid embarrassment, especially publicly. Face saving and all that.

Most Koreans, especially the older generations, are well aware that Korea was one of the largest sources of adoptive children in the world, particularly in the period starting from the end of the Korean war and running into the 1980s. This was and is embarrassing to them, because publicly there is so much emphasis placed on female chastity and the sanctity of the family. Also, this continued to be the case despite an economy that was growing by leaps and bounds.

So what do they think of returning adoptees? I think their collective heart goes out to them on the one hand as the kids were separated from the motherland by no fault of their own, and that they're considered walking, talking evidence of problems in society brewing under a carefully constructed cover story on the other. Tough nut to crack, so this is the only insight I can venture. Take it for what it is.
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ATM SPIDERTAO



Joined: 05 Jul 2009
Location: seoul, south korea

PostPosted: Thu Nov 15, 2018 6:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've met a bunch of Korean adoptees and being a Chinese-Canadian person myself, when I interact with Chinese people from China, they just think I'm ethnically Chinese but mentally not. Both parts are important to be considered Korean I think. I also think it's more important to be mentally and culturally Korean. Since I am accepted as a Canadian person and not Chinese (Thankfully) by the general Korean population, I think the mentality is more important. However, there's still some Koreans here and there who refuse to treat me with the respect they give a white Canadian and instead treat me like an inferior race of being Chinese but the ratio seems to be much less than I would get back in even Canada or especially the United States when I visit.

I wanna make up my own words but culturalism and economicalism is a thing here. You're judged less by your ethnic race but more by your culture and economic standing. Since I'm from a rich country, look rich and can merge well with Korean culture, I am generally viewed very positively here. Whereas in a lot of places I've been to, just being a small eyed chinaman gets me nowhere. Lots of rich Chinese folks around Vancouver.
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