Rethinking Consent to Adoption

By Jennifer Kwon Dobbs, Jane Jeong Trenka and Tobias Hubinette

While international adoptions to the U.S. hit a 13-year low in 2009,
South Korea stands out as the only country -- besides Ethiopia -- that
increased international adoptions to the U.S. over this past year.

With the international trend clearly turning toward domestic solutions
and family preservation, we may wonder why over 1,080 babies went to
the U.S. from South Korea this year for adoption.

The answer lies in Korea's adoption laws, which have been in the
process of being revised by the Ministry for Health, Welfare and
Family for the past year. On Dec. 29, the ministry held its final
public hearing on its draft bill to revise the Special Adoption Law
that governs international adoptions.

These laws have enabled the world's oldest and longest continuously
running overseas adoption program in the world to send up to 200,000
children overseas.

The fact that 89 percent of children adopted overseas were born to
unwed mothers in 2008 is an indication that the adoption agencies'
system, which the law oversees, targets a certain population to meet
the demand for adoption.

One major point that both the government and activists agree upon is
the need to lengthen the deliberation period during which it is
illegal for a mother to relinquish her child for adoption -- currently,
mothers may relinquish a child while still in the womb.

However, the opinions of activists and the ministry differ greatly on
the amount of time that mothers are required to deliberate before
making a life-altering decision for herself, her baby and future
generations.

While the bill drafted by adoptees and unwed mothers demands 30 days
after birth for deliberation, the ministry proposes 72 hours after
birth for domestic adoption, followed by a court procedure. For
international adoption, no court procedure is necessary.

Activists disagree with the ministry, for two reasons: First, 72 hours
would continue to give the legal base for preferring domestic adoption
over family preservation. Second, there is nothing in the bill that
changes the way overseas adoptions are conducted.

This means that overseas adoptions are again being preferred over
domestic adoption, which is itself being preferred over family
preservation.

This hierarchy is exactly the opposite of recommendations by
international laws on child welfare, which state that family
preservation must come first, followed by domestic adoption, and
finally international adoption as a last resort.

While the ministry is basing its ideas on the American model, even
better models for a small country like Korea are Germany, which allows
mothers a minimum of eight weeks for a single child or 12 weeks for
twins to consent, or Sweden, where mothers may take six weeks to
decide.

In Germany and Sweden, as well as many other developed European
countries and Australia, relinquishing children for domestic adoption
is rare because there are adequate legal and economic protections for
single-parent families.

In the past, the ministry has argued that child should be able to be
relinquished immediately after birth, arguing that the child's safety
may be in jeopardy.

But mothers who care enough about their babies to have stayed in an
unwed mothers' home say that if a medical emergency occurred, they
would do the same thing as any other mother -- call for help.

The children who are being sent for adoption are almost all coming
from unwed mothers' homes, and of these mothers, 766 out of 1,114
mothers in 2008 were at least 20 years old. We can reasonably assume
that mothers who went to shelters or who are over the age of 20 are
capable of making an emergency phone call.

The matter of relinquishing a child for adoption is a grave and
life-altering matter. Mothers must have adequate counseling and time
to deliberate before their legal relationship to their child is
severed. Even 72 hours is not enough.

At a different public hearing on the Special Adoption Law held Nov. 10
at the National Assembly and sponsored by Rep. Choi Young-hee of the
main opposition Democratic Party (DP), Kwon Hee-jung of the Korean
Unwed Mothers Support Network said one mother who came to her group
wanted to get her child back after she quickly consented to adoption.

While she did finally get her baby back, the adoption agency forced
her to pay a large sum of money before giving back the child. The sum
was so large that she didn't have enough money. She asked to pay by
credit card, but the agency demanded cash. A collection was taken up
among friends, and finally the baby could go home.

Unfortunately, stories such as these are all too common in the
adoption community. As long as mothers are not given enough time to
deliberate, or are pressured or coerced by adoption agencies and their
vast networks of hospitals and unwed mothers' homes, it is impossible
for mothers to make fully informed decisions for herself and her baby.

Parental rights should not be severed from a hospital bed, a
privatized adoption agency, or an unwed mothers' home that serves as a
supply source for international adoption agencies.

Korea should write its adoption laws to meet the highest standards,
and it should take as its model not the U.S. -- where the poverty rate
is higher than Korea's according to the latest OECD statistics, and
where one in five children suffer from hunger, according to the most
recent report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Instead, Korea should benchmark smaller European countries that truly
practice just social welfare policy. But as it stands right now,
babies sent for international adoption will not have even the most
basic safeguard of the court. Is it any wonder that Korea has sent so
many children abroad when adoptions can be expedited so easily?

Korea must create just laws domestically if it is ever to raise itself
up to international standards and ethics for adoption and erase its
``stigma'' as an ``orphan-exporting country.''

Korea must finally move beyond its shame and guilt about the
international adoption program and proactively formulate laws that
preserve families and stop targeting unwed mothers when they are at
their most vulnerable.

Jennifer Kwon Dobbs, Ph.D., is assistant professor of English at St.
Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. She can be reached at
www.jkwondobbs.com. Jane Jeong Trenka is president of the Truth and
Reconciliation for the Adoption Community of Korea (TRACK,
www.adoptionjustice.com). Tobias Hubinette, Ph.D., is a researcher at
the Multicultural Centre, Sweden.


http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2009/12/137_58281.html

Outlandish Remarks: a queer korean adoptee talks back

http://outlandishremarks.wordpress.com/

The Journey...

My thoughts about my family's journey through life, focusing mainly on
raising our two children, both adopted from Korea. (Busan)


http://thejourney69.blogspot.com/

"1:48 voices from within the korean diaspora" #2 feat: Kim Park Nelson
"1:48 - voices from within the korean diaspora"
guest: Kim Park Nelson
reporting by: kim thompson
interview conducted by: Steve Hatherly for TBS radio in Seoul

"Kim Park Nelson is an assistant professor of American Multicultural
Studies at the Minnesota State University at Moorhead. Her research
explores the many identities of adult Korean adoptees, as well as the
cultural, social, historical and political significance of over 50
years of Korean adoption to the United States. Her recently completed
Ph.D. research is titled “Korean Looks, American Eyes: Korean American
Adoptees, Race, Culture and Nation.” She is the lead organizer of the
Second International Symposium of Korean Adoption Studies which will
take place in Seoul on August 3, 2010 as part of the International
Korean Adoptee Associations Gathering, a week- long conference for and
about Korean adoptees. She born in Korea and adopted to the United
States in 1971."

LISTEN HERE:


video


ABOUT 1:48

This is a report that will air once every 3 weeks and will feature
korean adoptees who are artists, activists, and philosophers.

I will do the reporting and through the suggestions of others as well
as my own contacts bring on different voices from within the adoptee
community who live both in Seoul and abroad. For the time being it
will air as a regular report that is featured on the "Steve Hatherly
Show"

The reason that I've named the report thus is due to this fact (which
I extracted from an article by Jane Jeong Trenka )

"since 1953 about 200,000 korean children have been sent to the west
for adoption. with korea having a population of approximately 48
million this means one in every 48 korean citizens is affected by
adoption. this show will feature some of those 200,000 who have
returned home."

HOW TO BE A PART OF SUPPORTING THIS SHOW:

It is to our knowledge the first consistent featuring of a report like
this on the radio. Your comments and feedback and listening
participation are vital. PLEASE make sure to email Tim Alper at TBS
radio with your support for the show and tell him how you heard it
(either live or on my blog)

Tim Alper: tda7@...

If you have guest or topic suggestions please email me (Kim Thompson)
at: kimmer_t@...
* The purpose of this show is to feature the voices of Korean adoptees
Posted by kIM at Wednesday, December 30, 2009

http://k-10094.blogspot.com/2009/12/148-voices-from-within-korean-diaspora_30.ht\
ml

Hello Korea !
adoptee repatriation adventure


http://gyopo.wordpress.com/

sarahpark.com

musings on korean diaspora, children's literature, and adoption

http://readingspark.wordpress.com/

kim saebom
korean american adoptee just trying to be okay

http://kimsaebom.wordpress.com/

Hae-Jin - Konsekvensen ved at søge - og finde

05. marts 2007 kl. 20:50 på DR2
Tilrettelæggelse:
Lars Movin

Produktion:
Plagiat Film

   Rejsen starter, når man finder sin biologiske familie. Dette
dokumentarprogram er et portræt af Hae-Jin, der er adopteret fra Korea
og som voksen begynder at undre sig over, hvor og hvad hun kommer fra.

Hvad er konsekvensen ved at søge og finde?
- Jeg hedder Liselotte Hae-Jin Birkmose. Hae-Jin er mit koreanske
mellemnavn. Jeg er født den 4. februar 1970 - troede jeg, indtil jeg
mødte min koreanske familie og fandt ud af, at jeg sandsynligvis er
født omkring den 20. november 1969... Det er ikke helt sikkert …

Liselotte Hae-Jin Birkmose blev født i Korea i 1969 og blev som spæd
bortadopteret til Danmark, hvor hun voksede op hos en familie i
Rungsted.

Årelang proces
I 1997 fik Liselotte de første oplysninger om sin biologiske familie i
Korea, og i 1999 mødte hun første gang sin biologiske mor i Seoul. Det
møde blev starten på en årelang proces, dels med at genetablere de
bånd, der var blevet brudt kort efter fødslen, dels med at
sammenstykke brikkerne til den historie, der lå bag bortadoptionen.

Programmet følger Liselotte over en periode på fem år, fra rejsen til
Korea i 1999 via flere rejser til både Korea og USA, hvor hun lidt
efter lidt finder sine biologiske søstre, sine bedsteforældre og den
onkel og tante, der i sin tid var med til at aflevere hende til
adoptionskontoret Holt i Korea, og frem til 2004, hvor Liselottes mor
indvilger i at fortælle sin side af historien.

Samtidig følger vi Liselottes arbejde som formand for Korea Klubben,
en forening for voksne koreanske adopterede i Danmark.

Et større perspektiv
Fra 1970-2005 er knapt 20.000 udenlandsk fødte børn adopteret af
danske familier. Ud af disse er ca. 9.000 adopterede fra Korea.

Langt de fleste kom til Danmark i 1970'erne på et tidspunkt, hvor det
var den helt almindelige opfattelse, at adoptionen var vellykket, når
børnene voksede op og følte sig udelukkende danske.

De blev voksne i noget, man nærmest kan betegne som et socialt
eksperiment, man ikke var i stand til at forudse konsekvenserne af.
Siden hen er denne opfattelse ændret. I dag er det at være adopteret
nærmere anerkendt som en livslang tilstand, der for nogle er forbundet
med en evig søgen, mens det for andre er et faktum, som de ikke tænker
nærmere over.

Dermed bliver dokumentarprogrammet om Liselotte Hae-Jin også en
historie om identitet, betydningen af at kende sin fortid og om,
hvordan det er at leve med det vilkår, som stadig flere mennesker
deler i dag, nemlig i sin person at forene træk og to eller flere
kulturer.

Liselotte Hae-Jin Birkmose blev født i Korea i 1969 og blev som spæd
bortadopteret til Danmark, hvor hun voksede op hos en familie i
Rungsted. I 1997 fik Liselotte de første oplysninger om sin biologiske
familie i Korea, og i 1999 mødte hun første gang sin biologiske mor i
Seoul.



http://www.dr.dk/Dokumentar/gammel_struktur/tv/DR2/2007/0228090141.htm

Domestic adoption in Korea
Posted by euroasiangirl

It has been known for centuries that South Korea previously has been a
nation unable to take care of their newborn children and babies. The
statistic up until 2006 says that almost 228 00 children has been
accepted for foreign adoption compared to only about 69000 domestic
adoptions. The majority of the foreign adoptions was requested from
Western states. A majority of Swedish adoptions has been through
Korea, China, Sri Lanka and Colombia (but there might be even more).
It is a bit tricky to keep track of them since they are so many…

Last year 79 Korean children were adopted to Sweden out of those 56
were boys. According to scb.se  South Korea and China are the most
common birth country for boy babies that are adopted to Sweden.

  Previously there was almost no option for single mothers to care for
their children or working or middle class families. That is however
about to change but it will take a long time. The current government
has promised to end all foreign adoption in about 3 – 4 years. Single
people has also recently been able to adopt children and the limited
age for domestic adoption has been raised from 50 to 60 in an effort
to increase domestic adoption.

What seems to complicate things generally speaking is that there are
almost no families who accepts a newborn baby into their families. The
most recent celebrity to adopt a Korean baby girl was the actress
Katherine Heigl from Greys Anatomy, Knocked Up, 27 Dresses and the
Ugly Truth.  Recently there was reports about suspicions in the
couples fast  adoption process. Let me just say that the little girl
apparently is a “special needs” child. But why should adoption of
special needs children be faster than ordinary child adoption?

I can understand why the Korean government would like to see a change
in the adoption debate but I also think adoption is great way to make
a change. You give an innocent and helpless child a fresh start and a
change to a better life. Personally though I do not support adoption.
Apparently domestically adopted children are stigmatized since they do
not share their adoptive parents blood… Do you know or believe from
firsthand experience that this claim is valid?

Yet there are some who seems to understand the importance as well as
need for domestic adoption. Celebrity couple Cha In – Pye and Shin Ae
– Ra has adopted two daughters . They are South Korea’s answer to
Brangelina in many ways. They also care for less fortunate and orphan
children.  The couple also has one biological son and their adoptive
daughters are named Ye Eun and Ye Jin. But there are many differences
for instance Cha and Shin considered domestic adoption were as
Brangelina did not. They have also not had any other biological
children after their first-born and only son unlike Brad and Angelina
who at present have 3 biological and younger children and a total of
six children. Do you think it is good to adopt as many children as
Brangelina did while still having biological children?

Along with the raised concern and criticism for foreign adoption comes
concerns about elder adopteés wanting to discover their birth culture
which most of them never has known.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/09/117_30098.html
link to the article.

http://euroasiangirl.wordpress.com/2009/12/13/domestic-adoption-in-korea/

Babies soak up more language than believed

From CSUN

Adults appear to have vestigial memories of language that was spoken
to and around them as infants and this knowledge can be reawakened and
prove advantageous when they seek to master a seemingly new tongue
when they're grownups, say researchers, based on new studies of
Koreans adopted in the United States before the age of 1. Based on
controlled studies of the adoptees in comparison to subjects with no
exposure or familiarity to the language, the adoptees scored higher on
tests and had a clear advantage in correctly identifying key building
block sounds of Korean. More research soon will be under way to let
experts know better how and why the early language exposure gets
retained and how it might or might be beneficial to people as they
mature and seek to re-learn and master a new tongue.

Adults, exposed to tongues as infants, found to tap this info in
re-learning a language

Posted on 12/08/2009 at 10:45 PM

http://www.socalminds.com/2009/12/babies-soak-up-more-language-than-believed.htm\
l

Tore på sporet 25.10.09
Tore Strømøy er tilbake med spennende historier, menneskelig drama og
lykkelige gjenforeninger.


http://www1.nrk.no/nett-tv/klipp/567056

1996: Hannes reise til Korea

http://www1.nrk.no/nett-tv/klipp/125569

Amerasian Unity Foundation

Welcome

  The Amerasian Unity Foundation (AUF) was founded by Frankie and Tia
Legoski in Southern California. This is a Christ Based Mission
Outreach Non-profit Organization.
During and after the Korean War in 1950's, great numbers of the US
servicemen were stationed in South Korea. Thousands of Korean/American
children were born as the result of war-time relationships between
American servicemen and Korean women. Up until then Korea has been
known as a mono cultural and racial society. Since most Koreans never
met different skin and hair colored people, prior to Korean War, they
were extremely discriminatory toward Amerasians.

Many of the Amerasians have lost their father to the Korean or the
Vietnam War. During the Korean War, interracial marriages between
American serviceman and the Korean women were strongly discouraged by
US Military. Due to great difficulties they faced in interracial
marriages, American Servicemen returned back to their homeland. That
is one of many reasons, Korean women were left with Amerasian children
without their father.

South Korea during 1950’s through 1970’s presented very poor and harsh
environment for both mother and Amerasian children. In an act of great
motherly love for their children, mothers had to given up their young
sons and daughters to the adoption agencies and orphanages. They
believed the best option available for their Amerasian children was to
let them be adapted to a new family in USA or in other Western
countries.

Number of years had been passed since thousands of Korean Amerasians
who were adopted. For those adoptees wish to find their mother,
siblings or other family members, we are here to help.

We have been actively involved in many voluntary works such as;

     * � Amerasian Support Group
     * � Family Search
     * � Prison Ministry
     * � Social Networking
     * � Humanitarian Relief Programs

http://amerasianunityfoundation.org/

Adoptee Voice

This is a blog on my experiences as an adoptee and Korean-American. My
goal is to create an open, honest discussion while exploring a wide
range of topics.

Peter Moran

Om mig

Korean-American adoptee. Adopted at seven months old by my parents in
Minneapolis. One of five children, four of whom are adopted--two from
India, two from Korea. Lived in Minnesota, Montana, Colorado,
California and now in New York. BFA in graphic design from Colorado
State, MBA from University of Colorado, and expected MS in Public
Relations & Corporate Communications from NYU in 2010. Married in 2005
to my wonderful wife. Work at our family business.

http://adopteevoice.blogspot.com/

10 Things Not to Say to Adoptive Parents
Especially in front of their kids.
by Tracy Hahn-Burkett
December 10, 2009


A

uthor Tracy Hahn-Burkett has a four-year-old daughter adopted from
Korea and a seven-year-old biological son. Whether well-intentioned,
curious or inappropriate, Hahn-Burkett has had many a question lobbied
in her direction regarding her daughter and their family make-up.
Hahn-Burkett offers you, the curious, some advice before you speak.
Along with ten questions one should not ask an adoptive parent, she
gives her blunt responses.


Is it difficult to love a child who isn’t your own?

My children are my own — both of them. Yes, I know what you mean. And
I repeat: both of my children are "my own."


I could never love someone who doesn’t share my biology.

I’m sorry your heart is so limited. And presumably your spouse doesn’t
share your biology, so I’m sorry for him or her, too.


She/he’s so lucky.

If there are adoptive parents who haven’t heard this one, I don’t know
them. Yes, my adopted child is lucky, just like her brother who was
born to me — just like any kid blessed with a good family. Moreover,
my husband and I are lucky to have her as a daughter. My daughter is
not lucky, however, by virtue of having been adopted or because she’s
been adopted by an American family. Her life story will always be one
that begins with wrenching loss of family, country, language, culture
and all things related to the place and people from whence she came.
She will have to figure out how to incorporate all of this into her
identity at some point, no matter how much we love her.


That’s great you’re adopting; it’s so much easier than having the
child yourself.

Clearly, you have never adopted a child. What, exactly, is easy about
it? Is it the hundreds of questions prospective adoptive parents have
to answer along the path to adoption, questions that go to the heart
of what kind of people they are and dissect every aspect of their
lives? Is it committing to a lifetime of knowing that at anytime from
toddlerhood through adulthood, your child may come to you with
wrenching questions about his or her origins and your answers may be
unsatisfactory? Is it knowing that the very fact that your child is
yours means that somewhere a woman will probably grieve every day of
her life for the child she could not raise? Is it missing the early
months, sometimes years, of your child’s life? Is it telling your
child when he or she asks to see baby pictures, "Sorry, I don’t have
any"? I could go on, but you get the point.


She’s so adorable; she’s just like a little China doll!

Yes, thank you, I think she’s cute, too. But she is not Chinese and
she’s a human being, so please don’t characterize her as an inanimate
stereotype. And if you’re going to gush and coo over her, please
consider that blond-haired, blue-eyed boy standing right next to her.
He’s my kid, too. He’s pretty cute, too. And he can hear you.

http://www.babble.com/parents-adoption-advice/

Her "real" mother was probably a prostitute.

  I’m her "real" mother, and so far as I can recall, I have never been
a prostitute.


What kind of a person would give up such a beautiful, sweet child?
(This comment is often accompanied by a clucking of the tongue.)

In general, the kind of person whose options are limited in ways you
have never even had to imagine. Birthmothers are not bad, immoral
people. Very few, if any, birthmothers who relinquish their children
do so lightly. For most, it is a searing, heartbreaking decision that
will haunt them forever. Also, please understand that when you say
things about my child’s birthmother, you are commenting about the
woman who gave my daughter life and whose genes remain an inseparable
part of her — forever.


People who adopt children from other countries just don’t want black
babies, or People who adopt children from other countries just want an
"exotic" child, or People who adopt children from other countries are
shirking their responsibility to adopt at home.

Very few parents who choose international adoption do so because they
don’t like "dark" kids or because they want an "exotic" child. The
systems of international and domestic adoption differ in fundamental
ways, and most parents who choose to adopt educate themselves
thoroughly and then pick the program that is best for them.


Anything in Chinese addressed to the Asian adopted child.

This happened to me when my daughter was a year old. A woman in an
elevator said something to my daughter in Chinese, and by the time I
figured out what had just taken place, the woman was gone (thereby
robbing me of my opportunity to deliver any sort of snarky reply). My
daughter is American, has lived in this country since infancy, and the
language she understands is English. Why would you assume anything
else?


How much did she cost?

Another one we’ve all heard, generally more than once. But my child is
not a melon; I did not pick her up at the store. She cost me nothing.
I did, however, spend quite a bit on adoption fees to support the
process and travel costs, just as I spent quite a bit on medical care,
etc., in conjunction with the conception and birth of my biological
son. If you truly want to learn more about the financial aspect of
either process, I will be happy to discuss that with you. If you’re
only interested in knowing in order to pass judgment, it’s none of
your business.



Find more:

     *
       Culture Shock: What To Expect From International Adoption
     *
       Preparing For An Adopted Child
     *
       Adoption Boot Camp
     *
       I like my biological kid best.

This article was written by Tracy Hahn-Burkett for Babble.com, the
magazine and community for a new generation of parents.


http://www.babble.com/parents-adoption-advice/index2.aspx

Festival Brings Adoptee Artists Together


Belgian guitarist Denis Sungho Janssens is one of the adoptee artists
who will be performing at Kring Cultural Complex in Daechi-dong,
southern Seoul.
/ Korea Times File
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

A group of leading artists will highlight overseas adoption through an
eclectic art festival in Seoul this weekend.

The 1st Foreign Adoptees' Art Festival will continue through Sunday at
Kring Cultural Complex, Daechi-dong.

Organized by the Global Overseas Adoptees' Link (GOAL), the inaugural
event's opening ceremony Friday featured speeches and greetings by
various adoptee-artists and a performance by American jazz saxophonist
Jonathan Haffner.

An art exhibition will welcome visitors until 7:30 p.m., Sunday. Works
on display include installation pieces such as ``Maps in Flux'' and
``Desert Roaming'' by Swedish adoptee Hanna Alvgren. Local artists Ahn
Yun-mo and Kwon Nam-hee are also presenting their works, ``Dream'' and
``Meet Me at the Train Station,'' respectively.

Visitors can also enjoy video artworks ``The Unwed Mothers'' by Jette
Hye-jin Mortensen and ``Korean War Memorial'' by Jane Jin Kaisen, both
from Denmark.

At 7 p.m. on Saturday, Maja Lee Langvad (Denmark) will give a speech,
which will be followed by a recital by violinist Kim Wha-rim.

At 8 p.m., modern German dancer Lena Soon-hee Meierkord and Haffner
will offer a collaborative performance.

At 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Belgian guitarist Denis Sungho Janssens, who
is also the festival's art director, will appear as soloist with the
Soliall Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor Sung Ki-sun will helm the
ensemble. The program will feature Samuel Barber's ``Adagio,'' Joaquin
Rodrigo's ``Aranjuez'' Concerto and Beethoven's Seventh Symphony.

The festival organizer, GOAL, is a nonprofit organization founded in
1998 by Korean adoptees based in Korea. Its main functions include
helping Korean adoptees search for their birth families and
facilitating their stay in the country.

Admission to the festival events is free of charge. For more
information, visit www.goal.or.kr

hyowlee@...

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2009/12/148_54566.html

"The Adoption Agency" with Entourage star Rex Lee as Kim Jong Il
Kim Jong Il matches wits with the screening committee at an American
adoption agency as he seeks a worthy heir to take control after his
death.


http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/d0437d555d/entourage-star-rex-lee-is-kim-jong-i\
l-in-the-adoption-agency

KOREAN ADOPTEES MINISTRY CENTER
A US registered nonprofit
ROSEVILLE, MN USA
KAM Center is a place to belong for adoptees and their families and to
share the good news of renewal and wholeness in Jesus Christ.

Welcome to Korean Adoptees Ministry Center (KAM Center)!

KAM Center is a place to belong for you.

This ministry exists to hear the voices of adoptees and their families
and to share the good news of healing, renewal and wholeness in Jesus
Christ.

No matter what background you are from, your voices will be heard and
you will find a place for you in our caring and loving community.

One adoptee said, "It has been a long time since I felt so welcomed
and loved. Thank you for sharing your love."

Together we can build a place to belong as well as to build a bridge
between an adoptive community and a Korean community.

Korean Adoptees Ministry Center recently partnered with GiveMN.org, a
new online giving marketplace that connects potential donors with
Minnesota nonprofits. In an effort to increase awareness of the
website, funders are sponsoring Give to the Max Day. For more
information about this wonderful opportunity Give to the Max, see
http://www.startribune.com/local/east/68417687.html?page=1&c=y.

Starting at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, November 17 until 8:00 am Wednesday,
November 18, donations to Korean Adoptees Ministry Center at
GiveMN.org will be eligible for a portion of a $500,000 matching fund.
As an added bonus, credit card and other fees will also be paid by the
site benefactors, so 100 percent of your contribution will go to the
work of the Korean Adoptees Ministry Center.

All you need to do is Just to type GiveMN.org and to click on the
donate button to start your donation.

Please help spread the word about this unique giving opportunity. And
thanks for your support.


http://givemn.razoo.com/organization/Korean-Adoptees-Ministry-Center

Korean War Baby

JOURNEY OF SELF-DISCOVERY


http://www.koreanwarbaby.com/

Det viktiga valet
Publicerad: 21 november 2009, 01:15

Augustpriset 2009
Lena Sundströms Augustnominerade bok om politiken i dagens Danmark
tillhör höstens mer omdiskuterade. Vi mötte henne i Göteborg i ett
samtal om stil och Sverigedemokrater.


Efter hundra minuter bryter vi. Lena Sundström har bråttom. Innan
kvällens första, av två, publika framträdanden i Göteborg måste hon
förbi en databutik för att hämta några sladdar. Hennes två månader
gamla bok om sina upplevelser av dagens danska politiska och
samhälleliga klimat – "Världens lyckligaste folk. En bok om Danmark" –
har väckt stort intresse, och fler bokningar väntar till våren.

Augustnomineringen minskar givetvis inte på detta, men det främsta
skälet ligger i ämnesvalet. Invandring. Integration. Rasism.
Främlingskap. Rädsla. Ämnen som länge varit med på dagordningen, men
som i höst har blivit allt hetare. Aftonbladets publicering av Jimmie
Åkessons hetsartikel mot muslimer, har följts av Vellingedebatten och
den senaste Sifomätningen som visar att Sverigedemokraterna är större
än både Centern och Kristdemokraterna.

Lena Sundström ser både ont och gott med de här debatterna. Mest gott, faktiskt.

– När Åkesson så fort vred upp temperaturen genom sin artikel
tvingades alla att ta ställning. Åsikterna måste nu upp på banan. För
eller emot. Även om jag tycker att Reinfeldt slingrade sig lite, kom
det ett besked också från honom. Och den senaste Vellingedebatten
visar att det, trots allt, inte är ok att säga vad som helst. Det
finns faktiskt en anständighetsgräns.

Humorn som redskap
Lena Sundström minns sin första artikel. Efter att ha läst en bok med
titeln "Hiroshimas blommor" skrev hon en text med ett budskap om att
"siffror måste förvandlas till individer". Det var på mitten av
80-talet, hon gick i sexan eller sjuan, hon är inte riktigt säker
vilket, och fick se den publicerad i sin lokaltidning, det vill säga
den här tidningen.

Sedan tio år tillbaka är hon frilansare, och bland uppdragen ingår en
fast kolumn i Aftonbladet. Hon är också författare, där höstens bok är
den tredje. Hon har gott om åsikter, och framför dem med lätt hand i
en stil där humorn samsas med allvaret och den politiska udden.
Förebilderna finner man i USA. Michael Moore, Al Franken och Chuck
Klosterman, för att nämna tre. Det gemensamma är att deras egna
projekt och upplevelser vävs in i en större berättelse, som både har
innehåll och riktning, lättsamhet och tyngd. "Ett skämt", säger hon,
"ett skämt är aldrig med för skämtets egen skull. Först budskap, sedan
skämt".

– Jag är uppväxt i den ironiska generationen. Det enda som var fulare
än att tycka något, var att dessutom stå för det. Jag passade aldrig
in där. För mig är humorn ett redskap, men det måste finnas nerv i
skrattet. Då tror jag absolut att humorn kan vara ett effektfullt sätt
att hitta fram till fler människor. Givetvis är jag medveten om risken
att inte bli tagen på samma allvar. Det tar också längre tid att koka
ner ett omfattande material till en lättläst och personlig text, än
det tar att förvandla samma material till en tung och
svårgenomtränglig text. Men det är ett val jag gjort.

Delade åsikter
Sundström väcker ofta reaktioner, och oavsett om det är gillande
nickar eller ilska som hon får i retur förenas de båda av engagemang.
Hennes bok om Danmark är inget undantag. Tvärtom.

Recensionerna rörde sig från hyllningar till sågningar. Svenska
Dagbladet och Kristianstadsbladet stod för ytterligheterna. Där
Svenskans recensent utropade den till "en av årets viktigaste böcker"
menade vår recensent att "en bok som denna ställer sig i vägen för en
seriös diskussion".

"Världens lyckligaste folk" är ett reportage, skrivet utifrån tre
månaders lägenhetsboende i Nørrebro i Köpenhamn i början av 2008.
Huvuduppgiften är att undersöka hur invandringsfrågan under 2000-talet
har kunnat växa till den klart dominerande politiska frågan. I fokus
för hennes frågvisa vistelse står Dansk Folkeparti och deras ledare
Pia Kjærsgård. I bakhuvudet har Sundström frågan om den danska
utvecklingen pekar mot en kommande svensk utveckling. Är vi om tio år
där Danmark är i dag? Det är hennes fråga.

– Att se framåt är som att tippa hur det går i en match mellan
Sverige-Brasilien. Man förstår att oddsen pekar till Brasiliens
fördel, men man måste ändå alltid gissa på 3-0, eller något liknande,
till Sverige.

Så, vad tror du?

– Min jätteförhoppning är att det skapas en medvetenhet kring
utvecklingen i samhället, och att vi gör ett aktivt val. Man har
alltid en möjlighet att välja. Fast risken är förstås att det blir
0-3.

Du lyfter fram media som en av syndabockarna i Danmark. Varför?

– För att media har gått före opinionen och gjort frågan större än vad
den är. Trots att det är en komplex fråga med olika nyanser har media
gjort den svartvit. I dagens interaktiva medievärld är det här också
en debatt som media numera vill ha. Det har även inneburit fler aktiva
läsare på webben. Den kamp som Politikens chefredaktör för är ett
positivt undantag, men på nyhetsplats är Politiken som alla andra
danska tidningar.

Utifrån det här perspektivet, vad tror du om den svenska medieutvecklingen?

– Enligt de danska chefredaktörer jag har pratat med har alla
samhällsfrågor, med undantag för miljön, blivit invandrar- och
integrationsfrågor. När svensk media upptäcker hur vansinnigt sexigt
det här området är kommer vi att få se samma utveckling. Vi är inte
mer immuna än vad danska journalister är. Alla kommer att ha en åsikt,
inte bara politiska reportrar utan även modebloggare och
tv-krönikörer. Det funkar som med Anna Anka. Ju mer det skrivs om Anna
Anka, desto mer pratar vi om henne och desto fler följer programmet i
TV3.

Önskar ökad tydlighet
Men finns det då inga problem med integration och invandring? undrar
jag. Är det bara en mediegrej, och en ensam stark och skicklig
politikers verk? Finns här inte kriminalitet, gängbråk och
motsättningar i Köpenhamn där rasism och hat och utanförskap är
framträdande ingredienser? Lena Sundström har hört resonemangen förut,
säger att hon ofta möter synpunkten att hon bara pratat med "snälla
muslimer".

– Dels kan man ifrågasätta detta med invandrargäng. Enligt
Köpenhamnspolisen är majoriteten i de kriminella gängen etniska
danskar. Oavsett vad som gäller, jag ville inte gå för djupt in i
kriminaliteten eller religionen i min bok, jag ville se på människors
och samhällets rädsla för det främmande, säger hon och fortsätter.

– Vi förstår ju att inte Göran Hägglund kan hållas ansvarig för vad Ku
Klux Klan sysslar med. Då är man väldigt fel ute om man diskriminerar
en hel grupp invandrare för vad en liten del människor gör. Vi måste
alltid påminna oss om att döma människor efter deras handlingar. I
detta ligger att all form av extremism och fundamentalism måste
bekämpas, och det bästa sättet att göra det på är med demokrati.

Vad tyder det på att bland annat författaren Mohamed Omar vill bilda
ett islamistiskt parti i Sverige?

– Jag tror att ungdomar som är födda här, andra och tredje
generationens invandrare, har mindre förståelse med ett samhälle som
inte släpper in dem än vad deras utlandsfödda föräldrar hade. För de
unga kan partier av den här typen kännas som ett alternativ.

Du återkommer ofta till hur invandrarfrågan dominerar den danska
politiken, och hur det, enligt dig, bara blir allt hårdare och värre.
Ser du något slut på en sådan utveckling?

– De enda som kan bryta det här är politiker. Från mitt
utifrånperspektiv tycker jag de danska politikerna har varit väldigt
ryggradslösa. Det gick väldigt fort innan de följde efter Dansk
Folkeparti för att vinna fler röster. För att undvika att
Sverigedemokraterna ges samma roll i svensk politik efterlyser jag
mindre strategiskt tänkande från partierna, men en ökad tydlighet över
vad de tycker och vill.


Sune Johannesson
sune.johannesson@...

Lena Sundström
Född: 1972, Korea, uppvuxen i Öllsjö

Bor: Med familj (Bo, sångare i Bo Kaspers, och två döttrar), i Stockholm

Utbildning: Litteraturvetenskap, Roskilde universitet, Poppius journalistskola.

Yrke: Frilansjournalist och författare. Skriver i Aftonbladet. Har
varit programledare för Kalla Fakta i Tv4.

Böcker: "Saker jag inte förstår och personer jag inte gillar" (2005),
"Känns det fint att finnas en dag till" (2007) och höstens "Världens
lyckligaste folk. En bok om Danmark".

Om adoption: "Jag är Lena, och adoptionen är inte jag, men den är en
del av mitt liv. Jag lämnades i en korg på en trappa till ett barnhem.
Den 8 april hittade man mig, och då man bedömde att jag var en månad
gammal sattes 8 mars som min födelsedatum. Det gillar jag, det är ju
den internationella kvinnodagen."

Om relationen till Korea: "Korea intresserar mig inte, det finns många
andra länder jag hellre åker till. Det finns inga dokument som gör att
jag kan spåra mina föräldrar. Det intresserar mig inte heller, har
aldrig gjort."

Favoritfilmer ("Världens lyckligaste folk" är full av filmreferenser):
"Boken är tillägnad Agent HGW XX/7, huvudpersonen i den tyska filmen
"De andras liv", den är nog nummer fem på min filmlista, eller har jag
satt upp den till tredje plats? Jo, jag tror det. Men min absoluta
favorit är för alltid "Kvarteret Korpen", av Bo Widerberg. På andra
plats har jag "Cabaret"."

Livsregel på kylskåpet: "Vi kan inte ha magneter med ordspråk på
kylskåpet, de glider ner. Men jag är ändå allergisk mot dem. Min enda
princip är att jag inte har några principer. Jag tycker det är farligt
när man slutar tänka själv."

Aktuell: "Världens lyckligaste folk" är Augustnominerad i
fackboksklassen. Framträder i eftermiddag på Vittsjö bibliotek.

Om Augustgalan: "Endast svininfluensan kan få mig att inte gå på
galan. Och det är klart jag hoppas att jag vinner, men bara det att
bli nominerad känns otroligt stort."


http://www.kristianstadsbladet.se/article/20091121/KULTUR/711219904/1012/&/Det-v\
iktiga-valet

School performance of international adoptees better than expected from
cognitive test results

Frank Lindblad, MD, PhD
Monica Dalen, PhD
Finn Rasmussen, MD, PhD
Bo Vinnerljung, PhD
Anders Hjern, MD

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry (2009). 18:301–308 DOI 10.1007/s00787-008-0731-7


http://www.isp.uio.no/Utgivelser/school_performance.pdf

Frydman, M., & Lynn, R. (1989). The intelligence of Korean children
adopted in Belgium. Personality and Individual Differences, 12,
1323–1325.

School performance of international adoptees better than expected from
cognitive test results

Authors: Lindblad, Frank1; Dalen, Monica2; Rasmussen, Finn3;
Vinnerljung, Bo4; Hjern, Anders4

Source: European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Volume 18, Number 5,
May 2009 , pp. 301-308(8)

Publisher: Springer




Abstract:
To investigate school performance of international adoptees in
relation to their cognitive competence.

From the population of all male Swedish residents born 1973-1976,
registered in the census 1985 and with complete test scores from
military conscription, the following study groups were identified:
Korean adoptees (n = 320), non-Korean adoptees (n = 1,125), siblings
(children born by adoptive parents, n = 190) and Swedish majority
comparisons (n = 142,024). Global scores from intelligence tests at
conscription were compared with grade points from the last compulsory
school year (year 9). Linear and logistic regression was applied in
statistical analyses.

The mean grade points in theoretical subjects were lower in non-Korean
adoptees than in the majority population, but when global test scores
from military conscription were adjusted for, outcomes were
significantly better, equal for physics, than in the majority
population. The grade points of Korean adoptees were higher than in
the majority population and the same held true after adjusting for
global test scores. When SES was taken into account, the risk of poor
school performance (only completed lower subject levels) increased in
non-Korean adoptees compared to models only adjusted for age and sex.

Male international adoptees generally perform better in school than
expected by their cognitive competence. A cognitive evaluation is
important in the assessment of adoptees with learning difficulties.

Keywords: adoption; cognition; intelligence; school

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1007/s00787-008-0731-7

Affiliations: 1: Department of Neuroscience, Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry, University Hospital of Uppsala, 751 85, Uppsala, Sweden,
Email: frank.lindblad@... 2: Department of Special Needs
Education, University of Oslo, PB 1140, Blindern, 0317, Oslo, Norway
3: Child and Adolescent Public Health Epidemiology Group, Department
of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, 171 76, Stockholm,
Sweden 4: Centre for Epidemiology, National Board of Health and
Welfare, 106 30, Stockholm, Sweden

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/klu/787/2009/00000018/00000005/00000731

A fight to change adoption law

A group of expats in Seoul are driving a movement to create a major
shift in how the country deals with adoptions. With Democratic Party
Representative Choi Young-hee, the coalition presented its bill to
revise the current Special Act Relating to Adoption Promotion and
Procedure law at a National Assembly public hearing on Nov. 10. [Photo
by Marc Champod]

Leveraging the help of a group of lawyers and a Korean unwed mothers'
organization, a group of expats in Seoul are driving a movement to
create a major shift in how the country deals with adoptions.

With the support of Democratic Party Representative Choi Young-hee,
this coalition presented its bill to revise the current Special Act
Relating to Adoption Promotion and Procedure law at a National
Assembly public hearing on Nov. 10.

The coalition has been working together for over a year to draw up a
proposal for a new adoption law. Involved are three adoption-related
groups - Truth and Reconciliation for the Adoptee Community of Korea
(TRACK), Adoptee Solidarity Korea, KoRoot - an unwed mothers group,
Miss Mama Mia, and the Gonggam Public Interest Lawyers Group.

What initially began last year as a request to the Anti-corruption and
Civil Rights Commission for a probe into cases of allegedly inaccurate
or falsified adoption records has expanded into a movement that could
change the course of Korea's adoption program.

So Ra Mi, the Gonggam lawyers' group representative, said that while
the probe failed to "correct the wrongdoings of the past," she wanted
to "help change the present and future" of Korean adoption.

Korea has a long history of international adoption. According to the
Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Family Affairs, since 1958 over
160,000 children have been sent abroad for adoption. Other estimates
put the figure closer to 200,000, due to the many unrecorded adoptions
performed in the years before 1958. Inter-country adoption began in
Korea during the 1950s after the Korean War, initiated as an effort to
help children orphaned by the war and children born to Korean mothers
and U.N. coalition fathers.

The adoption program, however, quickly became what critics now say has
been a substitute for any real government-level social welfare
programs for children.

Adoption rates steadily grew throughout the 1980s, long after war
orphans ceased needing homes. It wasn't until the 1988 Olympics in
Korea that adoption rates fell, due to a wave of international media
dubbing Korea a "baby exporting nation." This stigmatized reputation
still holds today, as does Korea's inter-country adoption program that
last year sent more than 1,000 children overseas.

Now those who were adopted abroad have returned to change the very
program that sent them away.

Although Korea ranks as the fifth-largest "sending" country of
international adoption - behind China, Guatemala, Russia, and Ethiopia
- it has never ratified the Hague Convention on Inter-country
Adoption, nor does it meet the international standards of the U.N.
Convention of the Rights of the Child.

The government has been maneuvering in what seems like steps address
the issue. In recent years, task forces were created to research and
propose revisions to adoption laws. But critics point out that these
government task forces didn't originally include any adoptee
organizations or single mothers groups, the groups that would be
intimately affected by such changes.

TRACK president Jane Jeong Trenka believes that these groups are a
valuable voice in the discussion. "It is significant that our bill has
been written by a coalition of concerned Korean citizens and diasporic
Koreans, international adoptees, and single Korean mothers who will
reap absolutely no economic, professional, or social benefit from
continuing the adoption system as it has been practiced in the past.
Instead, we look forward to meeting international standards of human
rights and justice," said Trenka.

Focus on families, unwed mothers

One of the biggest differences in the new bill that the coalition
hopes to make into law is taking the focus away from promoting
adoption. Instead, more emphasis would be placed on the preservation
and support of original families.

According to Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Family Affairs
statistics on adoption, 90 percent of children who are adopted, both
internationally and domestically, are children of single mothers. This
is indicative of the strong social stigma that unwed mothers face, as
well as the lack of financial support from the government should they
choose to keep their children.

Currently, single mothers who apply for government assistance can
receive only 50,000 won per month ($43), based on whether or not they
meet low-income stipulations. During the open floor portion of this
week's public hearing, a member from the unwed mothers group Miss Mama
Mia questioned the seemingly preferential treatment for adoptive
families over single mothers. She raised the point that families who
adopt domestically within Korea are able to receive 100,000 won per
month in government assistance, with no low-income stipulations,
versus the 50,000 won that is provided to unwed mothers.

The discrepancy points to a clear case of institutionalized
discrimination against unwed mothers, says the group.

The central government's concern over the plummeting birth rate, and
its policies on adoption and social spending for women and children,
seems contradictory. Because Korea's birth rate is the lowest of all
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, the
government has taken great strides to promote an increase in the birth
rate; there are government incentives for families with multiple
children, supporting childcare, and education subsidies.

Skeptics say it seems counterproductive, then, that the government is
doing little to keep children already here, born to single mothers, in
the country. When interviewed about her reasons for spearheading the
adoptee coalition's bill, Rep. Choi told Expat Living that more needs
to be done to support unwed mothers.

"The government is urging people to have children, but on the other
hand, isn't supporting the children of unwed mothers ... it shouldn't
just be about encouraging more babies but to also raise well the
babies already born ... the most important thing is these babies are
not just the children of single mothers, but they are all of our
children," she said.

There is a general consensus that giving more adequate support to
single mothers would go a long way in both stemming the country's low
birth rate and creating a more ethical environment in adoption
procedures.

Park, Min-ji, a representative from Miss Mama Mia, spoke during the
hearing and gave examples of policies in other advanced countries,
such as France, Sweden, Germany and the United States, that have
increased the birthrate and helped single mothers keep their children.
"In reality, unwed mothers are forced to choose adoption, for lack of
another option. Therefore, I think there should be policy measures
created to support single mothers," she said.

Her thoughts were echoed by Yang Jung-ja, director of the Korea Family
Legal Service Center. Yang spoke above France's success in increasing
their birthrate though government support for single mothers or
unmarried couples. "In the past, France had the lowest birthrate in
the world, but now it has the highest rate in Europe ... 52 percent of
its children are born out-of-wedlock but they still get government
support."

Miss Mama Mia representative Park also indicated a need for
government-sponsored counseling for single mothers during and after
their pregnancies. "Adoption agencies pressure you to give up your
child ... they don't offer counseling on how to raise your child ... I
believe that the goal is to get the mother to give up the baby.

"(Adoption) agencies should not be the first and only ones to provide
counseling; there should be a neutral government agency," Park said.

These cases bring up obvious red flags over the questionable ties
between unwed mothers' homes and adoption agencies. All four of the
major adoption agencies in Korea operate their own unwed mothers'
homes, a practice critics have labeled "baby farming."

Park said she was pressured to relinquish her son for adoption within
six hours of giving birth. She later retracted her decision to
relinquish and had to go through great measures to get her son back.
Other mothers like her, she recounted, were forced to pay fees to the
agencies for each day that the child stayed in their facilities in
order to get their children back.

Park says it's not right that agencies ask mothers to make a decision
about adoption so soon after giving birth. "This is not a time when a
mother is able to make an informed decision."

In Korea, there are currently no regulations on the timeline of a
mother's consent to adoption. The coalition's revisions would include
a stipulation that consent from a mother is not valid until 30 days
after the birth of the child, giving the mother ample time to get
counseling about parenting resources and to understand the all of the
implications of such a weighty decision. It also would include an
extension on the time period that mothers are able to retract their
decision.

Bringing the time period to 30 days would bring Korea up to
international standards.

Ethical adoption procedures

International adoption standards aside, there is also a lack of clear
national regulations, which can create questions of ethics in adoption
agencies' procedures. Adoption agencies here run essentially as
private organizations with little to no interference from the
government. It is a troubling fact, given that their line of work
deals with the welfare of the country's most vulnerable citizens -
children.

According to the new bill, agencies would be required to keep accurate
records during the entire adoption process. Some of the most common
complaints of returning adoptees include a lack of access to adoption
records and discrepancies between the adoption records that they are
given and the records that are kept at agencies. In the past, these
discrepancies have occurred due to a lack of administrative standards
or intentional falsification. In her speech, Trenka gave a list of
eight types of these abuses, documented by TRACK in real-life cases.

One of these, for example, is a falsified "orphan hojuk." According to
the adoption laws of many of the countries where children are sent,
the child must be an orphan to be adopted. In order to create the
illusion that the child was in fact an orphan - even in cases where
children did have families and may have even appeared on their family
hojuk (registry) - agencies created "orphan hojuks" to indicate that
the child had no family, which is a falsification of a legal document.
Trenka says her own case shows multiple examples of these abuses by
adoption agencies.

Trenka states that while adoptions may look legal on paper,
falsification of records to facilitate adoptions is what prof. David
Smolin, an academic expert on international adoption, calls, "child
laundering," where children are obtained or sent under false
pretenses, but processed to have "legal" adoption papers.

When adoptees come searching for their personal information, these
fragmented or inaccurate records make it nearly impossible to track
down biological family; the current rate of success is a mere 2.7
percent. Adoption agencies often use the privacy rights of the parent
as a reason why information may not be disclosed, but unethical
practices in the past may be another motivation to keep adoptees in
the dark. The new adoption law proposed by the coalition would require
the agencies to surrender all information, excluding any identifying
personal information of the parent. In order to enforce the accuracy
of adoption records and access to them, the new adoption law proposal
stipulates that a central authority should be run by the government.
This central authority would house all adoption records, give
assistance to adoptees in birth-family searches, and be a watchdog of
adoption agencies.

Other parts of the proposal include lowering the age that a child can
give their consent to an adoption from 15 to 13 years of age, granting
adoptees the right to keep their Korean citizenship, parenting
education for prospective adoptive parents to prevent disrupted
adoptions, and mandatory birth registration regulations to prevent
child trafficking and secret domestic adoptions.

Currently Korea has no law regarding birth registration, so 97 percent
of domestic adoption is done in secret, with adoptive parents listing
the child as their biological child.

In an interview, Eun Sung-ho, the director of the Family Support
Division in the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Family Affairs
emphasized the government's commitment to revamping the country's
adoption laws, stating continued talks and plans for another public
hearing on the subject by the end of this year. He said it was a
priority for his department to promote a bill that makes the adoption
procedures more transparent and fair, while preventing cases of
disrupted adoptions. "We have to make it a priority to raise Korean
children in Korea."

Rep. Choi said that she anticipates some opposition to the bill, which
could hit the floor of the National Assembly next year, from
proponents of international adoption, such as adoption agencies and
prospective adoptive parents, and from those who think that making
birth registration mandatory will discourage domestic adoption.

This is Rep. Choi's first time working with a foreign community group,
but said that she appreciates when foreign groups want to work to make
positive changes in Korean society. She encourages foreign groups who
are compelled to activism. "If there is a problem that can affect the
relationship between Korea and other countries, it's important to work
together to make changes ... not everything can be changed by laws,
but when we change laws, we began to change society."

ASK representative Kim Stoker said it's important that expats speak
up. "As a foreigner, people might wonder why I'd be interested in
changing legislation in Korea. Well, I am a foreigner ... (and) even
though I don't hold Korean citizenship, I have lived in this country
for more than 10 years. Once I heard that the Special Adoption Law in
Korea was going to be revised ... I knew that we as a community living
here in Korea had to be involved. Our voices needed to be heard."

For more information, visit the groups' websites:
www.adoptionjustice.com or www.adopteesolidarity.org

For non-Koreans who are interested in other forms of social activism,
the Seoul Global Center offers free legal counsel Monday, Wednesday,
and Friday from 2-5 p.m. You can also visit the website
http://global.seoul.go.kr or call the hotline at 02-1688-0120.

(shannon.sgc@...)

By Shannon Heit

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/11/13/200911130051.asp

Korean Adoptees Fighting to Reform Adoption Laws in their Homeland



An amazing story out of South Korea the other day: Six Korean
adoptees--adopted in other countries--filed an appeal with the
Anti-corruption and Civil Rights Commission in South Korea last year
to request a probe into irregularities in their adoption documents and
possible illegal procedures at local adoption agencies, according to
the JoongAngDaily in South Korea.


These adult adoptees have returned to their homeland searching for
their roots and in the process discovered that the agencies lied to
their parents--birth and adoptive--about their adoptions, how they
ended up at an agency and why, and what records are available. They
are involved in a full-fledged battle to reform adoption laws and
procedures, and amazingly enough, they’re getting help from some
government heavyweights. If they succeed this would be the first case
in the world we know of where adoptees returned to their original
country and changed adoption practices through legislation.


The National Assembly in South Korea is taking up the issue, and the
sense is that the country is embarrassed by the huge number of
children that left the country during the great Korean baby scoop era:
According to the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs,
161,588 Korean children were sent overseas for adoption from 1958
through 2008. Korea is the world’s fifth-largest exporter of children
behind China, Guatemala, Russia and Ethiopia as of 2007, according to
World Partners Adoption Inc.




Again, if successful, the group of six will drastically change the
landscape of domestic and international adoption in Korea. A lawmaker
added that Korea “still has a stigma attached to it as one of the
major exporters of children.”

There's more to the story, at the Korean newspaper website, and as a
follow up to our report the other day about Korean adoption, we
thought you might be interested. Hell, we thought this was amazingly
interesting to anyone with any sort of adoption connection.

Can China be next? But we already know that six government officials
are on trial there for offering for adoption to wealthy Westerners
healthy girl children who should not have been available at all, who
had parents who wanted to keep them. And then there is adoption
corruption in Nepal, and Guatemala and India...where money is
involved, child trafficking exists. And then there is the rush to have
your children raised by "Christians" in Ethopia....does this give me a
headache? Yes. Does this make me angry? Yes. Can this be stopped? Not
so sure. Money talks. Money always talks. --lorraine
Posted by Lorraine Dusky at 12:52 PM

http://www.firstmotherforum.com/2009/11/korean-adoptees-fighting-to-reform.html

Unwed mothers need aid
November 14, 2009
The New York Times earlier this week carried a feature on the
conflicts and struggles adoptees from South Korea endure while growing
up in American families in a study of trans-racial adoptions. The
study on first-generation children adopted from South Korea showed
most have suffered an identity crisis either from racial
discrimination or coming to terms with their ethnic origin. In fact,
78 percent had considered themselves to be white or had wanted to be
white when they were children.

Some 163,000 children from South Korea have found adopted parents in
other countries, mostly in the United States, between 1953 and last
year. Ethnic South Koreans make up the largest group of trans-racial
adoptees in the U.S.

The country has been trying to shake off the dishonor of being one of
the largest “exporters of orphans.” Yet abandoned babies are still
carried off overseas in search of families that want them. Most of the
babies put up for adoption come from single mothers. Of 1,250 children
adopted by foreign families last year, 90 percent were born to single
women. Children continue to be put up for adoption because our society
does not approve of unmarried women raising a child on their own. The
same paper last month pointed out that most single women give up
babies because Korean society eyes them almost like criminals.
Adoptees and their adoptive parents instead of the Korean government
launched a campaign in Korea to help single mothers keep their
children.

It is a shame Asia’s third largest economy and a member of the G-20
still depends on others to help out an underprivileged group of its
people.

The government has been hesitant on its aid policy for single young
mothers because of social bias against premarital sex. But the
population of teenage mothers has been on the rise as the younger
generation becomes more and more liberal about sex. In 2007, the
number of single mothers below the age of 20 totaled 3,500. At home
and in schools, we need to strengthen awareness on safe and
responsible sex among teenagers. At the same time, the society must
provide safe shelters for young and unprepared single mothers.

It would be most important to give these women the chance to continue
their studies. A recent survey showed that 85 percent of teenage
mothers dropped out of school though most wanted to continue their
studies. We must learn from visiting Chilean President Michelle
Bachelet. She built thousands of state-funded nurseries for low-income
families during her term. Some of them were set up on high school
campuses to help teenage mothers finish their schooling and find
decent jobs needed to raise a family. If teenagers cannot return to
school after pregnancy, they won’t be able to raise their children in
a proper environment. This is a country with the world’s lowest
birthrate. Every child is precious to our future. Aid policy for
single mothers can reduce adoptions to overseas families and at the
same time help more children come into this world.

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2912552

"New Truths: Writing in the 21st Century by Korean Adoptees"

http://www.aapw-la.org/Adoptees_TableOfContents.php

Lee Herrick

http://leeherrick.com/

Harold Mazur, Koren War Veteran
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

story & photo
by Anne Pappalardo
U.S. Army Sergeant Harold Mazur with orphans from Tae Gu, South Korea.
Harold and his army buddies often visited a local orphanage to play
ball and interact with the children during off-time.

U.S. Army Sergeant Harold Mazur with orphans from Tae Gu, South Korea.
Harold and his army buddies often visited a local orphanage to play
ball and interact with the children during off-time.

Harold Mazur, the son of Polish immigrants and one of six sons,
attended Hartford High School and graduated in 1950. After working
with his older brother in a family business, he was drafted into the
U.S. Army and sent to six months of basic training at Fort Dix, NJ. He
was assigned to the Korean Military Advisory Group (KMAG) in Tae Gu,
South Korea, from 1953-54.

The KMAG was one of the first military advisory groups formed and was
responsible for providing support and training to South Korean
soldiers. It helped develop a more efficient Korean military by
helping train Republic of Korea (ROK) soldiers in tactics, use of
weapons, equipment and communications. As a sergeant for the KMAG,
Harold provided office support and maintained records for officers.

He recalls General Maxwell Taylor visiting his base. Gen. Taylor was
the first Allied general to land in France on D-Day and commanded the
101st Airborne Division for the rest WWII. He was Army Chief of Staff
during the Korean War.

While he was on leave he visited Japan and visited the Tosho-gu
Shrine and Gardens in Nikko, Japan, the city of Yokohama, and the
Ginza district of Tokyo. He fondly remembers visiting a local
orphanage on weekends with his buddies, playing ball with the children
and bringing them treats.

Harold Mazur, Koren War Veteran, visits the Korean War Memorial in Hyannis, MA.

Harold Mazur, Koren War Veteran, visits the Korean War Memorial in Hyannis, MA.

After his discharge in 1954, he chose to attend college, taking
advantage of the GI Bill. He graduated from Providence College in
1960, married his wife Janice in 1963, and lived in Hartford for many
years. They raised three daughters, Anne Pappalardo, Mary Ziomek, and
Kathy Carlman, and worked for the Connecticut State Labor Department
Federal Credit Union in Wethersfield for many years. He and Janice
eventually moved to Maine, where they met and where Janice was raised.
Janice passed in 2003 and Harold currently resides in Glastonbury. He
keeps busy and has seven grandchildren.

Harold says, “If you love your country and they need you, you serve if
they call on you. I knew that I was going to do what everyone else did
from our neighborhood that had served in WWII. You served your country
when it needed you.”

Posted on November 11th, 2009 | category: Featured Articles, Military


http://www.theresident.com/2009/11/11/harold-mazur-koren-war-veteran/

Deborah Douglas

Chicago-based journalist and professor of journalism
Posted: November 10, 2009 05:09 PM


About That Piece on Transracial Adoptions in the New York Times...


The Asian-adoptee identity crisis reported in Monday's New York Times
might finally lend credence to what black social workers have been
saying all along: Ethnic and racial identity matters.

In 1972, the National Association of Black Social Workers issued a
statement emphasizing the importance of keeping black families intact
by encouraging black-on-black adoptions. Many took this stance to be
anti-white, racist rhetoric, insisting that all children need is love
to survive childhood healthy and intact.

So now we know -- at least from an Asian-adoptee point of view.

It's too bad so many people have gotten so hung up on the color of the
critic to hear what others have been saying about the trend of white
families adopting black children. Ethnic children reared without any
cultural context can grow up feeling disaffected, like the perennial
"other" if they aren't acculturated to their original family
backgrounds.

In the Times piece by Ron Nixon, Kim Eun Mi Young said she considered
herself white until she reached adulthood and had an identity crisis.
Heidi Weitzman, adopted from Korea, wanted nothing to do with her
Korean heritage. Both women, according to Nixon, had parents who tried
to introduce them to their culture.

But the examples they cited suggested the parents left the real work
of uncovering their children's cultural identity up to them. These
families didn't experience "otherness" as a family. Young didn't
indicate her father read the book to her that he brought from South
Korea. And Weitzman's mom, who wanted to send her to a "culture" camp,
could have benefitted from a culture camp of her own.

Years ago, I read an article in a North Dakota newspaper about parents
who had adopted black girls and didn't know how to comb their hair. A
Chicago transplant, the woman was giving the mothers tips how to groom
their daughters' curly, kinky hair. This hairdresser turned out to be
related to a friend, who told me, "Girl, they were cutting off these
little girls' hair because they didn't know how to comb it. All these
little girls were walking around looking like little boys!"

Imagine what it must feel like feeling all girly and cute and smart on
the inside and seeing media images everywhere that describes
acceptable girlness as having long, flowing hair. Then imagine living
in a sea of hair flippers, feeling something doesn't quite fit -- and
it must be you.

Wisely, transracial adoptions require would-be parents to get
cross-cultural training before following through, thanks to a Hague
Convention ruling. However, antiquated rules in the United States,
according to the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, preclude
agencies from discussing race in any meaningful way that might help
parents understand the prism in which their adoptive children view the
world.

A child needs to know all the wonderful "whys" of how they got here
and why that matters. If she's not destined for hair flippery, she
needs to embrace that wooly raw material atop her head. A boy needs to
appreciate Mother Nature's artistry in crafting his almond-shaped
eyes. Children need to appreciate their permanent tans. An adoptive
parent can't be so naïve to think they can gloss over these facts.

I've often wondered how many would-be white adoptive parents already
have true Asian or black friends. Do they operate in any kind of
cultural context that gives them the support and knowledge they need
to understand the nuances of what it's like living as a minority in
this country?

This doesn't mean love's got nothing to do with it. But validating our
children's life experiences through the prism of their hair, skin and
eyes and all the ways in which they engage with the world is the
ultimate means of expressing that love.

Deborah Douglas is a Chicago-based journalist and professor of journalism.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deborah-douglas/about-that-piece-on-trans_b_352902\
.html