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Subject	Baby Exporting Nation, The Two Faces of Inter-country Adoption

This is a video link:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4439761050204972345&hl;=en

Below is the transcript:

Baby Exporting Nation, The Two Faces of Inter-country Adoption

(CHAPTER 1)
In-Depth 60 Minutes KBS (추적 60분) May 25, 2005 11pm Producer: Lee Gun Hyup
Baby Exporting Nation, The Two Faces of Inter-Country Adoption

BABY DISAPPEARED 2 HOURS AFTER HE WAS BORN
Unwed mother: She came in while I was still under anaesthesia and took my baby away

WHERE IS THE MISSING BABY?

KOREAN BABIES ADOPTED ABROAD EVERY YEAR!!

손석춘 (Son Seok-Chun): Guest columnist, Hankyoreh: It is the time to stop exporting our babies abroad…

DEATH OF AN ADOPTEE WHY DID HE KILL HIMSELF?

Kim Stoker (Overseas Korean adoptee): …whenever there’s an exchange of money like that, I mean, you can call it a kind of exporting or selling…

Baby Exporting Nation, The Two Faces of Inter-country Adoption

(Producer: Lee Gun Hyup, MC: Gu Soo-whan)

Gu Soo-whan, MC:
Remember the old national campaign "Give no more than two births and raise well"?
But when a baby is born now, the government supports with raising expenses.
While the low birth rate became a social problem of Korea, an average of 6 children are being adopted abroad everyday. We are going to talk about adoption today.
Producer Lee is going to present. Producer Lee, the audience would have been surprised, why adoption has become the topic of today suddenly. What has happened?

LEE: A month ago, there was an emergent request from an unwed mother to find her baby. She gave a birth a year ago, but the baby was gone when she came out of the anaesthesia after delivery, reportedly.

LOCATION: adoption agency, Sung-Ga-Jung, Domestic Adoption Center, SungBuk-Gu, Seoul

LEE: Our team visited an adoption agency located in Seoul to find out what has happened. There were a lot of babies waiting for their new parents. (CHAPTER 2) The babies here are learning to get used to long waiting from a few days to several years. Lee Soo-Jin comes here every Wednesday looking after the babies. Her yearning for her own child brings her to this place. March, last year age of 19 and unmarried, she went into labor. She gave birth by a Caesarean operation to a healthy daughter. However, the happiness did not last long.

이 수진 Lee Su Jin, unwed mother (20, Pseudonym):
When I woke up from the anaesthesia, my mom said, “Your daughter has gone” I asked “Where is she?” Then she answered “I don’t remember, I don’t remember”
She told me that I signed and stamped the adoption consent form by myself. I said “Don’t tease me, bring her to me please…”

LEE: The person who came to her room after the childbirth was a consultant from an adoption agency. The consultant took the consent form and the newborn baby to the adoption agency without giving Lee Su-Jin a chance to see her daughter’s face.

이수진: It’s awful that I was still under anaesthesia while other mothers come out sooner... it’s awful that I was not clear-headed when I signed the consent form and let them take her away…I didn’t even see her face… that’s the most disappointing thing. I lost my daughter in an instant…I wish I saw her face…

LEE: Is that the whole truth? Our team visited the maternity where Lee Su-Jin gave a birth. We first looked at the medical notes. Su-Jin’s daughter was born at 4:15pm on the 25th of March 2004. She was a healthy baby weighed 1.7Kg. Then a counsellor from an adoption agency took her away on the same day. But how did the counsellor know the birth?

The obstetrician on duty:
The consultant is someone I knew because I worked at OO. (CHAPTER 3) I let them know that there would be childbirth and asked if they can come and get the baby. Then they asked me if I can notify them when the baby is born.

LEE: So the consultant saw the mother and her family for the first time on the day, right?
I guess so… They wouldn’t have had a chance to see each other before the day.

LEE: It was the clinic director of the maternity who informed the adoption agency of Su-Jin. The counsellor visited the maternity clinic and obtained consent from Su-Jin’s mother first then met Su-Jin afterward.

Obstetricion on duty:
She told me to stay outside for a while since she has something to ask Su-Jin. So I stayed outside for about 20 to 30 minutes.
LEE: How many hours after it happened since the baby was born?
I don’t think even an hour had past after the baby was born.

LEE: But the consultant says that Lee Su-Jin signed on the consent by herself.

Written text: The dialogue with the consultant: She argues that she doesn’t remember but I fully explained about it and she was as coherent enough that she could write her name on the paper. I think it was enough.

LEE: What kind of state a mother is in less than 2 hours after giving birth? The obstetrician in charge says there was no significant problem.

LEE: Is there a possibility for a mother still feel dizziness or the effects of anaesthesia 2 hours after childbirth?

Obstetrician on duty:
A mother usually comes out from the anaesthesia within 2 hours time while going up to the ward. But it’s possible to still feel a little dizzy.
A mother expresses about her pain but I don’t think she could be so dizzy as not being able to understand the conversation.

LEE: Why the agency wanted her to sign on the consent so urgently, while the mother was still not fully recovered? We met Lee Su-Jin’s mother.

Lee Su-Jin’s mother:
Evening was approaching and the counselor and she said that it will be difficult to bring the baby to OO if it’s too late. She said that it’s too far to go to OO, so she cannot wait too long.

LEE: Would have been a specific reason for the agency to take a 2 hour old baby from her mother?

Written text: Dialogue with the consultant: I’m a bit sorry because it happened like that but I did my best. I don’t think the procedure was wrong or I made a mistake.

LEE: But the experts say that a mother must be very careful when making a decision such as consenting to adoption.

Kim Hyun-Sik (Obstetrician):
Although you are in a medically stable state, making a decision about giving up your child should be made only after taking enough time for careful consideration. (CHAPTER 4) It’s not something you can do within an hour or two because it’s your baby, your flesh and blood. I think it’s smart to take enough time as necessary before making a decision.

LEE: Foreign countries strictly regulate consent process for adoption.

Written text: Adoption law of Australia (New South Wales):
“Consent to the adoption of a child cannot be given unless it is given: (a) at least 30 days after the child is born”

LEE: Consent to the adoption of a child cannot be given until at least 30 days have passed after the child is born.

Written text: Adoption law of the U.K

LEE: Any consent given by the mother for adoption is void if it is given less than 6 weeks after the child’s birth.

Song Kyung-Tae / Lawyer in Australia:
This provision was made in order to help a mother to not regret her decision. It’s likely for a mother to consent to adoption and then regret it for the rest of her life, especially if she makes a decision while she is emotionally unstable or confused. Therefore the 30 days waiting period allows her to sort out her situation and fully consider the consequences of the decision with support from family, governmental organizations and so on.

LEE: However there is no such a regulation in the adoption law of Korea. Lee Su-Jin tried to bring her child back but she could only hear that her child had already been adopted, after 20 days after her child went to the agency. But Lee Su-Jin brought money into conversation.

Lee Su-Jin:
I couldn’t say much as soon as they begin to talk about money because I knew it was difficult for my mom to pay for my medical bill. The counselor said to me that if I want to get my child back, I must pay 200,000 Won (US $ 200) which they as part of my hospital bill as well as another 200,000 Won (US $ 200) for the expenses they spent for caring my daughter.

LEE: It was true. We found the 200,000 Won from the medical records. The money was given to the clinic for a part of Lee Su-Jin’s bill and the clinic deducted that amount of money from the total bill Lee Su-Jin needed to pay. Although the counselor said that the money was from her own pocket, we investigated some major adoption agencies and found that it’s a common practice.

Adoption agency consultant (on the line)
I’d like to put my child up for adoption…
You’d like to dump out your child? (CHAPTER 5) In case of a normal birth, we can support with from 200,000 Won (US$ 200) to 300,000 Won (US$ 300)

What about caesarean birth? About 300,000 Won…
And a natural birth? About 200,000 Won we support with…If you like to put your child up for adoption, we can help you.

What if I change my mind and don’t want adoption?
Then you must pay the money back.
You will get the difference after deducting the money from the total, right?

LEE: Adoption agencies can’t avoid criticism that they exploit unwed mothers’ by this conditional support.

Su-Jin (20, Pseudonym):
When talking with other unwed mothers at some websites, they proudly say that they saw baby’s faces, touched hands and breastfed even it’s only a few days but I have nothing to say…

Written text:
Dialogue with the consultant of an adoption agency

Is 200,000 Won usually given? No, I helped personally

You brought the baby without giving a chance for the mother to see her baby…
It’s a matter of choice. She did not request to see her.

LEE: Su-Jin wants to see her daughter at least once in her life time. Is there any way to bring her daughter back now a year after it happened?

Written text:
the Great Code of Korea 2005
Special Act on Adoption Promotion and Procedures
Article 9. Restrictions on Adoption Cancellations
Except in cases when a child has been adoption longer than for one year, a person can file to cancel the adoption only if the following circumstances apply.
1. When a child is obtained from a parent/guardian through misleading information or stealing
2. When a COERCION or FRAUD are used to gain a parent permission or consent for adoption

입양촉진 및 절차에 관한 특별법

제 9조 (입양취소청구의 소의 제한) _
입양되어 1년이 경과된 때에는 _ 제외하고는 입양취소청구의 소를 제기할 수 없다.
1.약취 또는 유인에 의하여 보호자로부터 이탈되었던 자가 양자로 된 때
2. 사기 또는 강박으로 인하여 입양의 의사표시를 한 때

LEE: But the lawyers presume that it is negative for her to find her daughter according to the existing law.

Jin Sun-Mee (Lawyer / Duk-Soo Law firm):
It seems like ‘deceit or coercion’. To be illegal, she must have used deceit, cheated or coerced. But it is not clear if the counselor’s behaviour meets those conditions to be considered illegal.

LEE: Lee Su-Jin lost her daughter without seeing her face once. However the adoption agency repeats they did nothing unlawful.

LOCATION: Su-jin’s house (CHAPTER 6)

LEE: She showed us some special things from her drawer.

Su-Jin:
I saved money for this… I asked others to buy me food and saved money to buy these towels and clothes…

LEE: The blankets and the baby wrappers were the first but the last gifts for her child.

Su-Jin:
I have only one wish. I just want to see her only once before I die. Even though I cannot raise her, I just want to see her once…

LEE: Now the only traces of her child are the footprints that remained in the medical records.

MC: You know the saying, “As important as your own child is to you, others’ children are just as important.” I cannot understand how come one could separate a child from her mother. Producer Lee, after all the adoption agency doesn’t want to lose a cent.

LEE: Yes, I could only think they are heartless.

MC: And the 200,000 Won doesn’t seem to be that charitable, right?

LEE: Whereas the counsellor said that she showed sympathy and helped her, the intercountry adoption agencies are found to provide financial support for childbirth to only those who decided to relinquish their child.

MC: O.K, let’s accept the fact that she consented to adoption. However, showing her daughter to her isn’t that difficult, is it?

LEE: No. so we asked the consultant about it and she answered that the mother did not request it. However, other countries’ laws require a period of 3 days up to one and a half months to consider their decision carefully before giving consent to adoption. We inquired why the agency took the child so hastily. In early May, we rushed to a regional obstetrician with information about another birth. (CHAPTER 7) An unwed mother at the age of 23 came to the obstetrician. As her labor began, she became restless from the pain. However there was nobody around her since she could not tell anyone about her pregnancy. The contractions are becoming shorter and shorter. Most unwed mothers are in the same situation of going to an obstetrician and giving birth alone. The labor lasted over 2 hours. Close to midnight, finally a baby was born. He was a healthy boy as he cried loudly. However, unlike other mothers, she cannot keep being happy because she already decided to put the boy up for adoption before she gave birth.

Are you alright since the birth?

Kim, unwed mother: Yes, I am but I am more worried about my future.

Why? Because I am going to put him up (for adoption).

LEE: The next morning we met her again in front of the newborn infants’ room. With only a quick glance yesterday when he was born she’s now able to really see her son. As she sees her son, one could see her maternal love.

Have you thought about raising him up yourself? Not at the beginning but now I feel like it a little… like raising him.

LEE: As returned to her room, she started sobbing away in the silence.

Do you think you’ll regret giving him up for adoption? Even if I do, I have to send him away…

Why you have to put him up for adoption? My family doesn’t know about the birth and I am not in a situation to raise him…

(CHAPTER 8)
LEE: We visited the clinic again 2 days later on the day she leaves. Her eyes never leave her son. Without breastfeeding her son, she has to send him away. She was spending their last moment together.

Where would your child to be adopted to? Overseas.

Overseas adoption… Is that your own idea? Yes

Why abroad? I think inter-country adoption is would be better for him than domestic adoption when he is older…

LEE: On the 16th of this month, we went to the Incheon International Airport .
The infant waiting room was crowded although it was a weekday morning. There were many babies wearing the same clothes and the same socks lying in the bed like twins.

How old is he? 5, 6 months old… maybe 7 months

Isn’t he your child? No, he is from OO

LEE: They were soon to be adoptees leaving for the U.S.A. It’s time for leaving Korea. An average of 6 children leaves Korea everyday to be adopted overseas. According to the statistics of the total number of adoptions from 2001 to 2003, the number of children for inter-country adoption is much higher than that for domestic adoption.

(Year, Domestic, Inter-country)
Domestic Intercountry
2001 1,770 2,436
2002 1,694 2,365
2003 1,564 2,287

LEE: Inter-country adoption makes up 60 % of the total number of Korean adoption.

Lee Jong-Soo (Director of social service division / Holt Children's Service):
In fact, domestic adoption, which means that we take care of our own children, is very good and necessary, right? However, for the children who are not able to find their parents here, finding foreign parents is the necessary way for them.

LEE: There are 22 adoption agencies in Korea but only 4 out of 22 are qualified to practice inter-country adoption. (CHAPTER 9) Each adoption agencies facilitates inter-country adoptions in partnership with receiving agencies abroad. The U.S. is the largest receiving country of the adoption from Korea.

LOCATION: NYC, New Beginnings, Family and Children's Services, Inc.

LEE: This is a receiving agency located in New York. It is said that a large number of Korean children found their adoptive parents though this agency. This agency receives most of its children from Asia and the largest number of children come from Korea.

Catherine Banowsky (Director of New Beginnings):
The Korean adoption program has been one of the international programs that has been in place for probably the longest time of any program right now. Because it really started after the Korean conflict. It has an excellent, excellent… reputation, if you want to say, for healthy children, for process that goes well, for the fact that the children go to foster homes when they’re in Korea so that they’re receiving that individual care and stimulation via family.

LEE: This agency provides even a special space for Korean children.

Catherine Banowsky:
In fact, I think the people of Korea deserve a great deal of credit. Culturally, they knew it would be difficult for these children to have family with in Korea. And they made a very difficult decision and they made it for the benefit of the children. What they said is, ‘We can not have family for these children here. And isn’t it better that they have family.’”

Written text:
Top 10 Sending Nations to the USA (2003)
China Russia GUA KOR KAZ UKR IND VIE COL HAI
3022 2000 12,628 2880 555 1842 555
GDP: U.S. Dollar
Source: Ministry of health and social welfare, 2004
China, Russia, Guatemala, Korea, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, India, Vietnam, Colombia, Haiti

LEE: However, Korea’s GDP per capita ranked the highest.
Korea is a member state of OECD and has experienced a dramatic economic development during the past 30 years. Korea will soon reach $20,000 U.S. Dollars in GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita. (CHAPTER 10) What are the reasons for such a country to send their children abroad?

The experts point out the commission fee. The commission fee is the money that adoptive parents pay adoption agencies when adopting a child.

Written text:
Commission fees (Domestic adoption)
Expenditure 982,900 44.7
Maintenance 551,144 25.1
Medical Service 80,000 3.6
Processing 340,000 15.5
Management 144,000 6.6
Promotion 100,000 4.5
Total 2,198,044 100.0

LEE: The commission fee for domestic adoption is about 2.190$US Million Won but the commission fee for inter-country adoption is 9.600 $US which is over 4 times higher.

ICA
Expenditure 4,275,300 44.5
Maintenance 2,956,863 30.7
Medical Service 385,000 4.0
Processing 1,135,000 11.8
Management 864,000 9.0
Total 9,616,163 100.0

LEE: They said it is natural to be more expensive because inter-country adoption takes a longer time than domestic. The total amount of inter-country adoption commission fee from the 4 major adoption agencies is as much as 1,800 billion won ($1.8 million US) per year.

Written text:
Total Commission Fees of the 4 major adoption agencies received in 2003:
Won 1.8 billion ($1.8 million US)

Ko Kyoung Wha (MP/Grand National Party):
The fee called ‘commission’ increases high. Because of this, there is an aspect that adoption agencies prefer inter-country adoption rather than domestic.

LEE: The commission fee mentioned in the special law on adoption promotion and procedure has been appropriated based on the average expenses reported from the 4 major adoption agencies.

Written text:
Article 8. (The commission fee)
1. Expenditure spent on adoption services
2. Maintenance of child
3. Expenses spent on proceeding
4. Expenses spent on management and promotions of adoption agency
No Hye-Ryun (Helen Noh)/Professor. Soong-Sil University, Social Work Department):
From adoption agency's perspective, inter-country adoption has been an easy alternative. It's more profitable as well.... There aren’t many complaints from receiving agencies abroad. They educate adoptive parents and handle problems themselves when problem occur. Korean agencies don't need to anything else but send children.

LEE: In 1989 the 4 major adoption agencies created a sensation by the overheated competition around securing children for inter-country adoption.

Written texts: newspaper headlines
“Inter-Country Adoption Selling Rice before Harvest”, “Children Booked Before Their Birth”

LEE: We visited an adoption agency to ask their opinion on the commission fee.

이 종수, Lee Jong-Soo, Director, Social Service Div. Holt Children’s Services:
The adoptive parents abroad are very rational people. They won’t pay an unreasonably high price. We think that the commission fee that they pay is reasonable for them and we are not able to charge more than that.”

LOCATION: New York

LEE: Meanwhile, American civil rights groups indicate that strict surveillance is needed in order to prevent agencies from charging excessive amounts.

Marilyn F. , researcher:
And I think that money has come to play far too great a role in international adoption. (CHAPTER 11) I certainly think that there are legitimate costs associate with international adoption, and certainly those should be met, but I think that in far too many instances the amount of money that is changing hands far exceeds the cost of the services that are needed to ensure that that adoption is an appropriate one and takes place well.

LEE: UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has expressed their concerns about Korea’s inter-country adoption twice.

Written text: UN Expostulation
The committee is apprehensive of the high number of children put up for inter-country adoption. Since the Korean government did not yet ratify the Hague treaty on protection of children and cooperation in respect to inter-country adoption, we repeat the apprehension of the previous report in 1996.

Baek Youn-Ok, Hae Song Children’s Rights Research Center
(Inter-country) adoption has to be the last alternative to diverse services for children, but Korea has practiced this as the only way of social welfare as if there is no other way or that it is a cure-all. So who would have cared about it? Because people say, “Who would look after all these children if they didn’t go abroad?” People simply think that inter-country adoption guarantees a good life so send them abroad. It’s an easy solution.

LOCATION: Pusan, Kim Ji-Youn/ unwed mother (17, pseudonym)

LEE: Our team went to Pusan to meet an unwed mother last week. This woman at the age of 17 brought her child back after sending him to an adoption agency. Seeing the photographs of her child at an early age, she anguished over the painful memory that she tried to give him up for adoption. And she revealed that there were a lot of struggles to get him back. The agency did not want to give up the child because she didn’t have the money to pay back the childbirth, maintenance and fostering expenses that they had spent on him. She inflicted self-injuries on her wrist.

Lee: It’s not even a scar, but so many… Ji-Youn: Yes, I cut over and over.

Why did you do this? It became worse. It’s overseas if it’s the U.S.A. We would not even stand on the same ground then. If I am not able to see my child while living under the same sky, (CHAPTER 12) I would rather watch over him from heaven. I was not even drunk when I cut myself.

LEE: She said that she will be able to survive as long as the government gives support for childcare even if she lives with her child in a room of a motel.

Ji-Youn:
Honestly speaking, the government doesn’t do anything even if a single mother want to keep her child. Then it’s just killing the children. How can a single mother make a living as well as keep a child without any support? It’s even worse for a minor like me

MC: It must have been a very difficult decision for her to get her child back prepared to risk her life. Producer Lee, how many unwed mothers are in Korea?

LEE: Yes, according to the statistics, the number of unwed mothers was 4,457 in 2003 and
over 2,000 children out of them are relinquished for inter-country adoption.

MC: It’s a lot. Then how much money do the adoption agencies earn from inter-country adoption a year?

LEE: Yes, let’s find out with a report we obtained from an inter-country adoption agency.

Among the total income 1,700 million won ($1.7 million) adoption makes up 1,000 million won ($1 million US). The government subsidy is only 25 million ($25,000 US). After all, those adoption agencies are running their adoption agencies as a business.

MC: Then how much money comes from inter-country adoption out of the total income?

LEE: As you see in the diagram, inter-country adoption makes up to 53% of the total income.

Experts say that the reason why the revenue structure of the adoption agencies depends too much on inter-country adoption is not only because of the high income but also the early post adoption services of inter-country adoption.

Written text:
Details of Incomes
Units: $US, 2003, Adoption Agency A
Adoption Services 1 million Others 1.7 million
Government Subsidies 25,000
Inter-country Adoption Others 100%
Domestic Adoption 7%
LEE: Overseas Korean adoptees however are repulsed that they were exported for money.

LOCATION: KoRoot, Seoul, Scott Kim Callahan memorial service, August 28, 2004

LEE: Scott Kim Callahan, who was adopted abroad, returned to his homeland but committee suicide last August, 2004 at the age of 31. (CHAPTER 13) Other Korean adoptees, which are under the same situation, shared the last moment with Scott.

(video clip from memorial service: I want to know what he wanted to say before he committed suicide. Was he too lonely? Didn’t he have a reason to live any more or a word to say before his death?)

LEE: What did he want to say through his death? Last march almost a year after his death, we visited the place where his memorial service was held. KoRoot is an organization that offers lodging for Korean adoptees who visit their homeland without a place to stay. For Ann who brought her daughter along, this is her second visit to Korea. She said that she misses her family.

Ann Anderson, 37, Denmark:
They have education and they have a high standard but it’s not the only thing because all the --- from the emotional thing of being an adoptee. You don’t see this. And maybe the Korean population don’t see all this that adoptees discover how they have a lot of problems a lot of, how can I say, a lot of holes in their soul, a lot of things that they miss that’s because of adoption . So I cannot say that I would be happier if I had been in Korea but I could not say I’d be happier if I was in Denmark.

LEE: Every corner of KoRoot is covered with large pieces of art. All of the different works have a single theme that is “Against inter-country adoption”. Cho Mi-Hee, an overseas Korean adoptee who is an artist strictly says that inter-country adoption is exportation of children for money.

Nathalie Lemoine (Cho Mi-Hee), Belgium
Because it was export, its like when you decide to have paper made like a contract that is made and written, and signed by an organization, whatever, it’s a factory organization that is sent overseas. What is it? It’s not because we are human beings.

LOCATION: Sinchon 신촌, Seoul (CHAPTER 14)

LEE: Last weekend, we met another group of overseas Korean adoptees in Sinchon. Like us, they like Jokbal, DoenJang and Kimchi. Park Seol-Ran likes SMSing in Korean dialect but often found herself confused in identity.

Kim Sung Ho, 31, France
…between Korea and France I was always picking them. My adaptation in France was very well. I speak French in 3 months and behaved like French. But I was really Korean inside. And there was always fights.

Vincent Kuneen (Park Yong-Min) 31, America
The person from France, if he’s white, he gets paid more than me. Because he’s white.

LEE: Park Seol-Ran appeared on a TV show to find her birth family in 2002. Her Korean name was Bae In-Sook when appearing on that show. She finally met her family she had wanted to meet for a long time. She was the youngest daughter of 6 siblings. She also met her father. However, she was not able to meet her mother. Her mother had passed away as soon as she was born. She could only see her mother in a picture after 26 years.

Ingvild R. Myrestrand (Park Seol-Ran, 29, Norway):
When someone asks me would you like to grow up in Norway or to grow up in Korea in an orphanage. And I said that’s only two options. I have more options. The third option is to grow up with my family in Korea. And that’s what I would chose.

LOCATION: New Jersey, USA, James Rudi, brother of Jeremy

LEE: Early May our team met a special person in New Jersey. James is an adoptee. He lost the only brother of his 2 years ago. Jeremy committed suicide with a gun. (CHAPTER 15) His brother Jeremy was Korean.

Written text: Jeremy Rudi (33)/ adopted at the age of 19 months April 11, 2003 committed suicide with a handgun.

LEE: He was raised in a relatively harmonious family. We heard that he did not have trouble with his family. He also had a girlfriend whom he had promised to marry.

James Rudi:
…often made, often left him at odds with the fact that a Korean body, but a very American heart and mind. Because he had no background, he had no family, he had no direct connection to his Korean past. And so I think that might have made him feel a bit estranged.

LEE: Jeremy visited Korea once as an adult. After the visit, he agonized about his identity and he was found dead in a hotel room of a Korea town.

James Rudi:
And we thought maybe it was the only place where he felt like he was going home. Maybe it would have been, maybe, it’s a maybe because it was his mind, and it was his pain, but, um, perhaps that was the only place he thought he was going to be accepted.

LEE: Sweden, the haven for adoptees, the Swedish government conducted research on the suicide rate of second generation immigrants and adoptees. The result showed that the suicide rate of overseas adoptees in Sweden is 5 times higher than non-adopted Swedes.

This is the last trace that Fredrick, an overseas Korean adoptee has left before his death.

(Fredrick Ostrem, adopted at the age of 6 months
Committed suicide August 2001)

Written text: I am ending my pain. My loneliness kills me

LEE: Fredrick started agonizing over his identity since his University days. He came to Korea to find his birth mother but he failed. He was adopted when he was 6 months. Although he was quiet, he got along well with friends. However, in Sweden where the majority population is white, he stood out as a foreigner. Despite the efforts of Fredrick’s adoptive mother to help him find his birth mother, Fredrick fell into deeper anguish since he visited Korea. He was not Korean but an overseas Korean adoptee even in Korea.

Marian Ostrem, Fredrick’s mother
Even when he was in Korea, he still had problems. (CHAPTER 16) He looked the same as other Koreans but he didn’t speak Korean. Again, he was an alien in Korea.

LEE: Fredrick strived to study Korean in order to become more Korean. Fredrick’s adoptive parents say that they feel sorry because they were not able to heal his inner pain in spite of raising him with love and care. He finished his short life of 26 years in an alien land.

Son Seok-Choon, guest columnist, Hankyoreh:
Korean people refer to the reality of stagnant domestic adoption, poor social welfare systems and lack of policies for unwed mothers. Of course, these are true. However, I don’t think these can be our excuses. In contrast to such excuses, we must strengthen our social welfare systems and develop measures for unwed mothers if we lack them. I think it is time to stop exporting our children abroad because of that reality.

LEE: Recently, some Korean adoptees who’ve returned to Korea have started raising their voices. ASK is a group of overseas Korean adoptees who are against inter-country adoption. Adoptees standing up and speaking for themselves to stop inter-country adoption. They offer sharp criticism of the Korean government in their struggle over adoption.

Ross Oke (Park Soo-Woong) USA:
…it shouldn’t be seen as a business, it should be seen as trying to help out children finding homes. And it should be a last resort, as I mentioned, but I think the adoption system in Korea has developed so far it’s become a business so children are seen I think more as more secondary. It’s more like, well, there’s a lot of money to be made in this and seriously you have to question…

Tammy Chu (Chu Dong-Soo, 30, USA):
If you believe what the agencies are saying, like, well, if there’s no adoption then they’re be all these orphans. Look at western countries. I mean, do they have orphanages? Developed countries, that are as developed as Korea, economically, do they have orphanages? Do they have orphans? How do they deal with these problems?

(CHAPTER 17)
MC: They say that they are exported products. How painful it must be to say that?
Producer Lee, what do you think of that?

LEE: Yes, they say that they could not accept the fact that a lot of money was involved in their adoption and the reality of the discrimination pained them.

MC: I feel very sorry to hear of those adoptees that ended their lives without knowing who their birth parents were. Producer Lee, should we continue inter-country adoption in spite of this pain?

LEE: The overseas Korean adoptees we met while collecting materials voiced to stop inter-country adoption now. They were in a tough position because there is no way to find their birth parents since there are no accurate records about their birth. We investigated if there is an alternative to inter-country adoption.

LOCATION: City Hall, Seoul, May 11, Adoption Day Seoul (입양 은 사 랑 을 나누는 기쁘입니다)

LEE: 11th of May, there was a large even organized by an adoption agency at the park of Seoul city hall. This ceremony in which the minister of health and welfare participated was to celebrate the establishment of Adoption Day by the government. While a strong commitment to boost domestic adoption was made, there was no mention of inter-country adoption.

김근태 Kim Geun-Tae, Minister of Health and Welfare:
(Inter-country adoption) is not best choice or the second best choice but a kind of emergency exit. We know the problem is serious but we have no plans to stop it.

LEE: The government’s position was that they know there’s a problem, but they cannot stop inter-country adoption.

LOCATION: The Middle House, a facility for unwed mothers

LEE: We visited a special house in Seoul. Here is a facility where unwed mothers and their children live together. This facility is run with funding from the government. (CHAPTER 18) 5 mothers and 5 children are living here together. Although it’s not a large house, it’s a home for the mothers who decide to raise their children.

Unwed mother (29):
Because basic costs of food, clothing and shelter and other things that support us to live are more or less provided for…And if we want to prepare for a job here, rather than living alone, opportunities for education are also offered. So we are in a relatively comfortable environment.

LEE: Considering over 4,000 unwed mothers appear every year, the number of this kind of facility is far too low. Moreover, since they cannot stay here longer than a year, mothers are learning diverse skills to survive with their children. The mothers say that they would have inevitably chosen adoption if they had not found this house. They say that the number of unwed mothers who raise their children will increase if these kinds of facilities increase.

Unwed mother (32):
Because there are not enough facilities like this and the environment is not good for those who want to keep their children many mothers chose adoption. So I think the government must put more effort into supporting unwed mothers then mothers will be able to smile as they went through all the difficult times with their children.

LOCATION: Frankfurt, Germany, Wieshaden Johannes Foundation’s Unwed Mother’s Center

LEE: Germany has similar circumstances with regards to the problem of unwed mothers.

This center for mothers and children was established by the government to help single mothers. The unwed mothers and their children in Germany are provided with an independent house to live in and of course the rent is paid by the government. This unwed mother is 19 years old.

Maryke Schoelfler (19, unwed mother):
I couldn’t afford this house. The government pays for my rent instead. The government pays about 6,000 Euro per 2 months which is about 100 Euro per day. (CHAPTER 19) I also receive 75 Euro as allowance, 350 Euro for food, 150 Euro for milk, and 300 Euro for education. But I set aside a portion of the money for the time when I’ll need to leave.

LEE: The government support the parents if the parents are unable to raise their child. But as soon as the father gets a job, the government makes him responsible for supporting the child. It reflects the German government’s policy that concerns single mothers and children.

LOCATION: Sung-Ga-Sung Domestic Adoption Center, Sung buk-Gu, Seoul

LEE: This is an adoption agency that is specialized in domestic adoption. Besides the problem of single mothers, promotion of domestic adoption is an issue that we need to work on. Various ways and aspects of possible solutions need to be considered in order to solve the problem of inter-country adoption. This adoption agency says that the number of Korean families that want to adopt children steadily increases every year. And fortunately, the number of adoptive parents who adopt children in secret or those who are concerned about bloodline is also decreasing in comparison to the past, they say.

We were able to meet potential adoptive parents who had decided after careful consideration. They filled out the final document to bring a child home with them. The foster mother who had been looking after the child brought him here. The child lands into her arms. A couple who has 2 elementary school aged children did not hide their happiness of having another child after 10 years. They had checked out every detail of the child thoroughly. The father, who already made 50 different names for him, says there would be no better reward than seeing him grow up healthy.

Jang-Ki Bok, domestic adoptive father
If we could raise him until he grows up what could be more worthwhile? I thought about saving a human being is more worthwhile than having many other things…

(CHAPTER 20)
LEE: An average of 120 children find their home in Korea every year. The reason why we promote domestic adoption is that it has a significant influence on the happiness and human rights of the children. The world already agreed on the importance of domestic adoption and The Hague treaty is what was adopted as a concrete resolution in 1993. The Hague treaty is an international resolution that contains the most concrete regulations on inter-country adoption.

Written text:
The Hague Treat on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Inter-country Adoption.

“…due regard shall be paid to the desirability of continuity in a child’s upbringing and to the child’s ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic background...
(b) Recognize that inter-country adoption may be considered as an alternative means of child’s care, if the child cannot be placed in a foster or an adoptive family or cannot in any suitable manner be cared for in the child’s country of origin.
(d) Take all appropriate measures to ensure that, in inter-country adoption, the placement does not result in improper financial gain for those involved in it;”

LEE: However, most receiving countries of Korean children have signed on the treaty, but Korea has refrained from joining the treaty.

Oh You-Jin, National Human Rights Commission, Human Rights Policy Division:
Regarding Korea’s inter-country adoption policy, first we need to reconsider if the policy that gives priority to domestic adoption actually works and if the government has put enough effort into promoting domestic adoption.

Baek Youn-Ok (HaeDong Children’s Rights Research Center:
(Inter-country adoption) demotes reliability of a country. It’s common sense. How can one believe in its country when it does not protect its own people?
MC: Producer Lee, why doesn’t Korea ratify the treaty that all other countries have joined already?

LEE: Yes, this document is a recommendation that the National Human Rights Commission submitted to the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It recommended the government to join the Hague treaty. However, it contains a sentence that reveals the Korean government’s standpoint. The reason for not joining the treaty is that joining the treaty may cause misunderstanding that the Korean government promotes inter-country adoption.

MC: Is our record of inter-country adoption closed to the international community because we did not join the treaty?

LEE: No, it is hard to understand why the Korean government is withholding to join the treaty despite the fact that the UN has expressed their concerns (CHAPTER 21) to Korea regarding inter-country adoption. According to this document, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade agreed on joining the treaty but the Ministry of Health and Welfare which is the competent authority ordered an external review to figure out what the treaty would mean for Korea.

MC: I don’t understand what meaning the ministry wants to figure out since the treaty is to protect the human rights of overseas adoptees. Thank you Producer Lee.

A large number of overseas Korean adoptees return to Korea to find their roots every year. Even a newborn baby has human rights as long as he is a living being. Children are sent to foreign countries by one sided decisions of adults and they are struggling to find their identities as they grow up. It is an appalling and sad story. How long will Korean children need to be sent abroad for money? The government officials need to remember what overseas Korean adoptees said, that they were exported for money.

See you next week. Thank you.

Korean-English translated and subtitled by Film n’ TV Seoul (www.filmntv.co.kr) email:

[email protected]

DATE: 2007.07.24 - 12:43

LAST UPDATE: 2007.08.26 - 06:53

Dandelions Birthparents group - protest video link 2007.08.04