http://www.fpif.org/articles/ending_south_koreas_child_export_shame
i just read this article titled “Ending South Korea’s Child Export Shame” (click on the link above) on the Foreign Policy in Focus website. It talks about the history of international korean adoptions but focusing on the new bill being proposed to the korean government. this bill will allow for revision to the antiquated and illegal/appalling processes of adoption (forcing birth mothers to sign illegal documents while the child is still in their womb, allowing adoptive parents to adopt without a criminal background check, etc). Also, it will include “a court process for adoption, a cooling off period for child surrender without duress, and the documentation of identities, among other provisions.” I am particularly interested in the documentation of identities since I am still unclear the background of my true identity.
here are some key quotes that i found to be extremely poignant:
Turning a child into a paper orphan violates her/his basic right to identity as outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Despite promoting domestic adoption since 2005, South Korea remains a top five sending country to the United States accounting for almost 13 percent of all 2010 overseas adoptions. Adoptions from South Korea generate $35 million annually with a single overseas adoption today averaging $15,000. By contrast, the Korean government provided an unwed mother in 2009 with only 50,000 won (about $48) per month to care for her child. The money from one overseas adoption would pay an unwed mother’s family subsidy for 25 years of her child’s life.
When birth mothers have asked for information about their children, agencies have refused, claiming that doing so violates the adoptive family’s privacy and telling birth mothers to wait until adoptees turn 18. However, there are no laws sealing or regulating adoption files, which are technically agency private property. The agencies could burn the records if they wanted.
it is quite tough at times to read facts like these and know that i am part of this ongoing social struggle. but reading something like this also makes me proud to be part of a pioneering generation for south korea. to create some sort of reform so that the future children and mothers of this country can have a choice and the basic liberty of human rights.
Seoul time lapse
There is Starbucks ALL OVER in Korea, especially Seoul.
But it’s expensive… And they only have two sizes. Small and extra-small.