[ripples]

Actually, I'd be interested to hear what others know of other countries' societal views on adoption. I'd heard that apparently soon after the Boxing Day Tsunami, when people from countries not hit by the Tsunami (eg. Australia, America) had kindly offered to adopt the orphaned children, the locals indignantly replied something to the effect and tone of, "we can take care of our own children, thank-you
very much!".

In other words, does the existence of intercountry adoption and adoptees somehow 'haunt' the people from the birth countries of the circumstances (eg. war, poverty, natural disasters) that led to this collective loss of their own people?

I do recall that in some cultures, local women marrying men from other cultures/countries were frowned upon since they were regarded as a
loss/betrayal. Whereas local men marrying women from overseas was seen as a gain. Somewhat reminiscent of the whole patriarchial familial practices in some cultures whereby brides are sent away as chattel - one family's loss is another one's gain.

As this relates to intercountry adoptees, do our birth cultures conceptually see adoptees as a loss to their wider community? I know that one can't generalise, but the reason I'm curious is that as some of us approaches our own birth cultures, we may encounter varying degrees of responses by locals from collective embarrassment to envy to empathy and welcoming.

I welcome your comments!

[Mee Sook]

this is a very interesting topic. i know Koreans including the former first lady of Korea felt a lot of shame due to Korea not being able to take care of "their own".

that said, there are Koreans who believe Korea should do a better job at caring for "their own", however you will find in the minority, Koreans adopting Koreans, due to a stigma attached to it.

[InionGrinn]

This looks like an interesting topic, just bumping it in case anyone wants to chime in, with all that's been going on with Madonna, UNICEF Halloween time, etc...

[JessicaJooae]

Dear Mee Sook,
this is a really good topic. i have been reacted to by other Koreans with sadness and embarressment and acceptance depending on who i was talking to and how well the korean individual knew me. The better they knew me the more empathy and compassion they showed me and sadness of the political situation surrounding korean adoption.
peace
jooae

[Mee Sook]

Hey lady. Me too. Some Koreans I know show sadness and acceptance toward Korean adoptees and have been very understanding of my situation. On the other hand, my parents were insulted by Korean nationals when visiting our home, because they adopted a Korean baby... Me. They told my parents that I should have been raised by Korean parents in Korea. I think you hit the nail on the head though, once we get past the differences of our origins, upbringing, and history, those people who care will look past all of that to realize that we too are Koreans, who have suffered just as much as they due to the situation surrounding the economic and political state of the country.

Hope you are well.

[ripples]

Greetings from Taiwan! Tomorrow I'll go and see the Women Make Waves Film Festival's section on "Voices of the Marginalized". They'll screen several films from Australia, USA and Korea on inter-country adoption, including a film about Operation Babylift in Vietnam. I'm so thrilled I stumbled across this film info and will attend all 3.5 hours of films plus the discussion afterwards. Apparently some of the non-Aussie directors will be there to talk about the films. It'll be interesting to see what is shown/discussed (too bad that my Chinese language skills are so poor but I'll do my best to understand). Hey, maybe I'll even have the guts to contribute to the discussion in my rather broken Chinese language.
Program List：：：2006 Women Make Waves Film Festival

[InionGrinn]

Originally Posted by ripples

Greetings from Taiwan! Tomorrow I'll go and see the Women Make Waves Film Festival's section on "Voices of the Marginalized". They'll screen several films from Australia, USA and Korea on inter-country adoption, including a film about Operation Babylift in Vietnam. I'm so thrilled I stumbled across this film info and will attend all 3.5 hours of films plus the discussion afterwards.

Wow! How cool, ripples! Be sure to come back and report on what you saw & participated in!

[ripples]

I truly enjoyed the film festival and did end up speaking up during the Q & A session. Here's a link to the director of one of the films called "45% Korean" - well recommended documentary, particuarly inspirational is the director's activism in pushing the Korean government to change their laws/practice regarding visas for Korean adoptees' return visits to Korea Korean Quartely Home More news later - it's 11:30pm and I'm pretty pooped.

[ripples]

I found a web site that mentions the experiences of overseas adopted Koreans that are very similar to Mee Sook and Jessica's comments (see above).

"Overseas Adopted Koreans (OAKs) appear to be a source of shame and pain for native Koreans, some of whom, in turn, place the burden of those negative feelings back upon the OAKs. Out of prejudice and pride, many native Koreans treat OAKs as if they don't belong in Korea and have no right to claim Korea as their own. They should make an effort to understand these children who have been displaced."
¢Æ¢Æ G.O.A.L - Global Overseas Adoptees' Link ¢Æ¢Æ

[Mee Sook]

Originally Posted by ripples

I found a web site that mentions the experiences of overseas adopted Koreans that are very similar to Mee Sook and Jessica's comments (see above).

"Overseas Adopted Koreans (OAKs) appear to be a source of shame and pain for native Koreans, some of whom, in turn, place the burden of those negative feelings back upon the OAKs. Out of prejudice and pride, many native Koreans treat OAKs as if they don't belong in Korea and have no right to claim Korea as their own. They should make an effort to understand these children who have been displaced."
¢Æ¢Æ G.O.A.L - Global Overseas Adoptees' Link ¢Æ¢Æ

ahhh. OAKs is great! i was fortunate to go on a cultural tour to Korea through the OAKs foundation. highly encourage others to go.

[Mee Sook]

the 45% Korean documentary sounds very interesting. i'll have to some research into how i can get my hands on a copy. glad you were able to speak up and provide input into the Q & A session.