Announcements

~Workshop on Unwed Mothers~
Thursday, February 26 from 10am - 5pm
This week, there is a workshop on unwed mothers co-hosted by Korea Unwed Mothers' Support Network and Aearnwon. Hope to see you there!
DATE: Feb 26 from 10am-5pm
WHAT: Day-long symposium titled Supporting Unwed Mothers and Thier Children: Challenges, Strategies and Benefits to Mother, Child and Community with Dr. Cheryl Mitchell (Ph.D. Social Poilcy, Research Professor at University of Vermont)
WHERE: Community Chest of Korea auditorium
DIRECTIONS: Gwanghwamun Station Line 5 Exit 6 (3-minute walk) / City Hall Station Line 1 Exit 3 (12-minute walk) / City Hall Station Line 2 Exit 12 (15-minute walk)

~KWDI Forum on Unwed Mothers~
Wednesday, February 25 from 3-5pm
This week, there is a forum on unwed mothers organized by the Korea Women's Development Institute. Hope to see you there!
DATE Feb 25 at 3-5pm
WHAT: Family policy forum. titled Building Support for Unwed Mothers and Their Children -- Reducing Stigma-Increasing Services: Relfections on U.S. and Vermont Policies and Programs with Dr. Cheryl Mitchell (Ph.D. Social Poilcy, Research Professor at University of Vermont)
WHERE: Korea Women's Development Institute, 3rd Floor Seminar Room
DIRECTIONS: Bulgwang Station Line 3 and 6. Take exit 2 and walk 300m in the direction of Gugi Tunnel. KWDI is on the left.

ASK Monthly Forum
Screening of We Can Do Better: Part Two of the documentary film Adopted
Saturday, February 21 beginning at 4:30 p.m. at KoRoot
ASK will screen Adopted: We Can Do Better, which is the DVD-only educational series of interviews and commentary about intercountry adoption that accompanies the documentary Adopted, a film by Korean American adoptee Barb Lee. Numerous members of the Korean adoptee community appear in this 5-part series of discussions about adoption.
The screening will start at 4:30 p.m. sharp. The film is 2 hours and 12 minutes long and we are planning for a 30-minute discussion directly following the screening.
About the film
http://www.adoptedthemovie.com/

ASK Monthly Forum
Korean premiere of the documentary film "Adopted"
Saturday, January 10 from 3:00-5:00 p.m. at KoRoot
Happy New Year!
Welcome to 2009. We at ASK hope that this year will bring brightness, hope, and healing to everyone in our community. We would like to begin the new year with a special screening of the documentary "Adopted," a film by Korean American adoptee Barb Lee. This screening will be the Korean premiere of this film. We are showing this as the first part of a two-part special ASK Forum.
Part I: ASK will screen "Adopted" in its entirety at KoRoot this Saturday, January 10 starting at 3:00 p.m. sharp. We will have a Q&A directly following the screening. The film is 80 minutes long and we are planning for a 30-minute discussion.
Part II: We will follow up the screening of the film "Adopted" with a screening of "We Can Do Better," the DVD-only educational series of interviews and commentary about intercountry adoption that accompanies "Adopted." Numerous members of the Korean adoptee community appear in this 5-part series of discussions about adoption. This screening will be scheduled for February.

ASK Book Discussion
Saturday, October 25 from 3:00-5:00 p.m. at KoRoot
The purpose of this discussion group is to create space for adoptees to talk about areas of adoption that are not often discussed and learn from one another in reference to the text. For this session, please read Chapter 17 of Outsiders Within (Edited by Jane Jeong Trenka, Julia Chinyere Oparah and Sun Yung Shin) and feel free to bring any questions, passages, or points that are interesting to you. We will also have some prepared questions for discussion.
Please note that this event is open to adoptees only.
Selected chapter: Please read Chapter 17 of Outsiders Within before coming to the discussion.
Contact: For questions about the group, please contact Joo Ae: Shinjooae@gmail.com
Date/Time: Saturday, October 25 from 3:00-5:00 p.m.

Hello ASKers!
Don't forget about the Member Dinner this Saturday at 7pm - details below.
Hope to see you there!
ASK MEMBER DINNER
We're having a social gathering for adoptee members on September 27 and hope that you will join us - whether you are thinking about becoming a member or are just curious to know more about ASK and what we've been up to! Mostly, we hope that this will give us all a chance to get to know one another a little better over some very good food and drink at Agra, which was a generous contributor to our benefit last month.
Date & Time: September 27 at 7:00 pm
Location: Agra Indian Dining & Bar

Thank you to everyone for coming out to make ASK's Bingo Bar Fundraiser such a success!
We raised over 1,300,000 won that will be used for print, media, conferences, donating to support organizations ASK supports, website costs, etc.
Congrats to all the winners!
1.  Kate Faherty,   2 pitchers of beer donated by Jane's Groove
2.  Lee Rose,       2 movie tickets + a salad at My Thai in Itaewon
3.  Lee Rose,       2 steaks at Hollywood Grill in Itaewon
4.  Murry,            a haircut at Zen by Ewha

The next Big Group Discussion will be on Friday August 29th from 10 a.m. to Noon
Call: Adoptees
If you are interested in being participating in a Big Group Discussion, please contact Su-Yoon/suzanne at suyoon. ask@gmail.com or call 019-430-7995.
Please see below for more information on Big Group Discussions.
BIG GROUP DISCUSSIONS
Adoptee Solidarity Korea (ASK) coordinates monthly discussions between adoptees and single mothers. There are two types of discussions, Big Group Discussions and Small Group Discussions.
The main purpose of the Big Group Discussions is to facilitate dialog between adoptees and birthmothers in a safe environment. Adoptees are encouraged to share their stories about growing up in their respective countries. Birthmothers ask many questions about adoptees’ experiences, and the adoptees are also encouraged to ask the birthmothers questions. Two or three adoptees speak per discussion. Most of the birthmothers are in the decision-making stage about whether they are going to keep their baby, or give them up for adoption, domestic or international.

47th publc policy forum of KWDI (Korean Women's Development Institute)
Time: 14. Aug at 13:30
Venue: Koreana Hotel State room (7th floor)
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It will be covering the current status of Korean unwed mothers as well as trying to figure out the appropriate direction of Korean social policy.
This forum will include a panel with the Ministry of Social Welfare and Health, Mrs. Han of AeRanWon, WomenLink, Dr. Richard Boas, and Ellen Furnari of Give2Asia.
This event if FREE and open to the public. It will be simultaneously translated.

*NEW PRIZES include gift certificates for some tasty restaurants in Itaewon and around the city.*
JUST ADDED: Coupon for FREE Chicken shahi corma curry (16,000 won value) from Agra Indian Dining & Bar with the price of admission and additional coupons for every bingo card purchased.