Archive

The JoongAng Daily
Abortion laws most often ignored
By Kim Chang-gyu, Kim Eun-ha JoongAng Ilbo
April 25, 2008
Jeong Ji-hyun, a 37-year-old housewife in Seoul, has had three abortions. She had two while she was dating her boyfriend for five years. The couple didn’t feel financially ready to raise a child.
After they married in 1999, she had another abortion because she had been taking cold medicine while she was unaware of her pregnancy and feared its effects on the fetus.
Later, she and her husband tried to conceive a child. It didn’t work.

The Korea Times
01-21-2008 18:46
Korean-American Adoptees Searching for Roots
By Jeremy Chew
Contributing Writer
LOS ANGELES ― A number of Koreans have been adopted into American families in the United States. Traditionally, from a cultural standpoint, Koreans rarely adopt children, even children of their own ethnicity. Apart from the war, many of these children come from significantly disadvantaged backgrounds: born into poverty or born out of wedlock.
Surprisingly, many adoptees have become rather successful. Some like Playboy model, Nicole Oring, have gained notoriety (a feat less likely had she grown up in a conservative Korean household). But for the most part, many continue to lead successful lives among Asian-Americans as the model minority.

The Korea Times
04-18-2008 17:26
Civic Groups Campaign for Single Moms’ Education

/ Courtesy of Social Welfare Society>
By Bae Ji-sook

The Korea Times
04-29-2008 18:08
Ethnic Koreans Shun English Teaching Posts
By Kang Shin-who
Korea Times Correspondent
NEW YORK ― Many ethnic Koreans in the United States reacted negatively to the Lee Myung-bak government's plan to use a pool of young Korean Americans for the promotion of English education at public schools in rural areas.
On top of pay levels that are far from appealing, they said they see little merit in taking part in the program of volunteering to teach students in rural areas who have few chances to learn English from native English speakers. To attract Korean American students studying at U.S. colleges to the program, the government needs a program to instill a Korean identity into them before asking them to help rural students improve their English, according to the leader of an association of young ethnic Koreans.

The Korean Times
04-15-2008 15:56
Tragedy of Korean Adoptees
Dear editor,
A tragic story recently broke about an American father who killed his American wife, bludgeoned his four adopted Korean children and then finally killed himself.
The story was framed in a context that highlighted both the man's insanity and the victimization of the family, particularly the children.
I fear, however, the effect such framing might have upon readers. The message I heard while reading was that all Americans treat Korean adoptees poorly. Is this fair? Is it accurate? Is it the belief of The Korea Times?

The Korea Times
Opinion
04-11-2008 17:33
No Country for Children
By Kim Heung-sook
What I liked most about spring was the noise of children, especially those who just entered elementary school. And those carrying brand new bags on their backs, the young know-it-all freshmen would fill the air with their definition of the world and events. I think I would never get bored if I trailed them all day long.
Another spring scene I liked watching were the pregnant women strolling around, sniffing at flowers and touching the trees on the street, and young mothers wheeling baby carriages. The children with their young mothers were like commas in long, rushing sentences and I couldn't resist looking at them with a smile. I see the young freshmen and mothers again these days; they no longer bring peace of mind but sadness and pain. ``It would have been better if you were not born," I would tell the children silently. ``Don't be born if you can help it," I would even dare telling the fetuses, ``There is no country for children at least on this planet."

The Korea Times
03-27-2008 11:50
Dad Kills Four Korean-Born Children

This undated photo provided Tuesday, March 24, 2008 by the Lensing Funeral Service shows Steven and Sheryl Sueppel with their children, from left: Eleanor, Ethan, Mira and Seth. An embattled former bank executive whose body was found in a burning van on a freeway killed his wife, then failed at attempts to kill their four children and himself before finally succeeding at both, authorities said Tuesday.
/ AP-Yonhap
An embattled former bank executive committed suicide by crashing his van after killing his wife, failing to asphyxiate their four children in a garage then slaying them individually, authorities in Iowa said.

AsianWeek
2008.3.22
How I Came To Accept My Adoption
By: Emma Carew, Mar 22, 2008 PrintEmailShare
When celebrities like Madonna and Angelina Jolie adopted their children from other countries, transnational and interracial adoption became instant buzzwords around the world. Suddenly the concept of the only family structure I had ever known — having been adopted as an infant — was being dissected in gossip magazines. People made adoption out to be something of a trend or passing fad.
In reality, international adoption dates back to the Korean War, when white American families (mostly from Minnesota) began taking war orphans into their homes and raising them.
Two years ago, I enrolled in the first known college course about international adoption called “Cultures of Korean Adoption.” About half the class was made up of Korean adoptees, and the class was taught by a Korean adoptee who was doing her Ph.D. work in the area of Korean adoption.

THE WORLD
The Madonna Effect
Written by KILEY HUMPHRIES
April 17, 2008 4 Comments
Researchers from the University of Liverpool last week labeled the findings of their psychological study “The Madonna Effect,” referencing the apparent increase in third-world parents “dumping” their children into orphanages with the hope that they might be adopted by celebrities.
Late April Madonna is scheduled to appear at court in the southeast African country of Malawi over publicized controversy relating to her adoption of David Banda, a two-year-old boy she met while visiting a Malawian orphanage a year and a half ago. Critics say that Madonna is using her fame to by-pass usual legal processes for non-resident adoption. Earlier this month the Malawi government recommended to the high court that they approve her adoption. David is currently living with Madonna and her husband in London.
Author of the Liverpool study and child psychologist, Professor Kevin Browne, asserts that there has been an increase in international adoption due to media attention surrounding Madonna’s fight for David. He and his associates believe this effect has harmful results. “Some argue that international adoption is a solution to a large number of children in institutional care but we have found the opposite is true.” They report that children are better off in foster care systems in their native countries and that this increased publicity is encouraging parents, even ones who might be able to keep their own children, to give them up in the hope of a “Western” future.

Audrey Magazine
Feb/Mar 08
Ninety Days in South Korea
An extended visit to her adopted children's homeland opens up one woman's eyes.
That would bring a stay-at-home mother of five and her two small boys halfway across the world to South Korea? The one word answer is: commitment. I am one of the many dedicated adoptive mothers of Korean-born children. My sons joined our family after many months of paperwork, which followed several years of infertility treatments. To say that the anticipation of their arrivals was almost unbearable is an understatement. This was a second marriage for me but a first for my husband, John, who sincerely wanted children of his own. The diagnosis of "secondary infertility," when you are unable to carry a pregnancy to term, though you have in the past, was a blow to both of us. Looking back, we wish we had pursued adoption sooner rather than spending so much time and money in the pursuit of biological children.
The decision to adopt from South Korea came easily. Not only does Korea have what is known as the "Cadillac" of international adoption programs, John is half Korean. He is very proud of his father who came to the United States in 1964 and made a successful life for himself and his family. Once the decision was made everything fell into place and we adopted two sons exactly two years apart. Now came the exciting part of integrating Korean culture into our lives. Although I am not of Korean descent, having Kim as a last name has opened a lot of doors, especially here in Anchorage, Alaska, which has a large Korean population.
With the goal of providing our sons the tools that would enable them to keep one foot in the culture of their birth, we steadily increased their exposure to as much of the language, people and culture as were available. Finally the day came when an opportunity to travel to South Korea opened up. We were able to arrange a stay for 90 days in a small apartment in the Itaewon section of Seoul.