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Title: (In-Depth 60 Minutes.)
Topic: (The Nation Exporting Babies - Two Faces of Overseas Adoption)
Channel: KBS2
Time: May 25th. Wed. 11pm
Language: Korean
* Objectives
A 20-year-old unwed mother asked the In-depth 60 minutes team to help her find her baby.
According to her, the baby was taken by an adoption agency without her consent, as soon as
she gave birth at an Ob& Gyn Clinic. The transaction of money in the background was traced
between the clinic and the adoption agency related to this. Why is money involved to secure
babies for adoption?
2300 children are adopted abroad among a total of 3800 adoptions annually. Human rights
organizations criticize the government's encouragement of exporting babies. Especially,
overseas adoptions have a lot of problems due to the lack of a proper system to provide post
adoption services. This is a shameful portrait of Korea, the 12th biggest economy and a
member of OECD. In-depth 60 minutes is investigating the truth of rumours regarding
overseas adoption through shocking stories of unwed mothers who were robbed of their name
of "mother" and through the voices of adoptees who are returning to Korea.
■ "Please give my baby back" An unwed mother's cry
A 20 year-old unwed mother was told that her newborn baby was taken by an adoption
agency. Although she did not want to give up on her baby, she could not even see her baby's
face. The baby was taken away by a counselor of an adoption agency before the young
mother woke up after a Caesarean operation. However, in the process, the counselor offered
200,000 won to the hospital as subsidy for the birth. Our team found out that the baby was
already adopted to another family. We investigated the truth about the baby's disappearance.
■ A tragedy of 21st century. " A day of separation for unwed mothers and their babies"
Currently 99.9% of babies who were sent abroad for adoption are unwed mothers. In-depth 60
Minutes recorded heartbreaking stories of the mothers who are relinquishing their babies at an
unwed mothers' home. They have to separate from their children without having enough time
to hold them. Was overseas adoption their last choice? One out of four mothers have to give
up her baby due to the lack of supporting systems. The cry of unwed mothers, who have to
carry the life-long pain, will be heard.
■ Overseas adoptees raise their voice, "We were exported products."
Last August, after the successful adoptees' gathering for searching their roots, an adoptee
threw himself out of a building. Why did he kill himself? An investigation process was the
responsibility of the American embassy because he had American citizenship, and the reason
of his death was kept unrevealed. Recently, adult adoptees are returning to Korea and raising
their voice for anti-international adoption. They argue that their mother country sold them as
exported products.
■ The nation exporting babies - Philanthropy or Business?
As enacting adoption day (May 11th) for encouraging domestic adoption, the Korean
government reconfirmed a "domestic adoption first, overseas adoption second" policy.
However, we are still sending out babies three times more than in the 60s. Finally, the UN
warned Korea about its overseas adoption. The Korean government says there are not many
things that they can do, even though they are criticized for exporting babies. We are pointing
out the problems and alternatives of our adoption policy.