Forums

ASK is pleased to invite to you attend an evening Forum with Dr. Helen Noh. Dr. Noh is a Professor of Social Work at Soongsil University, where she regularly covers the subject of intercountry adoption in her undergraduate social work courses. Dr. Noh was also invterviewed in two documentary specials about the issue of intercountry adoption this past year. We expect to have an informal discussion with Professor Noh.

This month, Yoo Kyung Hee of Korea Womenlink will talk with us about the current women's movement in Korea, the status of abolishing the hojuje (family registry system), and other issues.
Ms. Yoo has been actively involved with Womenlink since 1992. Before becoming a representative of Womenlink this year, she participated in regional activism, co-op, and counseling activities. Ms. Yoo is currently the association representative of the Solidarity Network, a network of Korean NGOs, and the director of the Korea Women’s Associations United, a network of women’s organizations. She is also serving on policy advisory commissions for the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Ministry of Justice, and the Korean National Police Agency. She’s very interested in the issues faced by single parent families and most of her activities have invovled addressing issues of gender, family, and the human rights of women.

This month's Forum features demographer Dr. Peter Selman, Reader in Social Policy at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK. He is an expert on intercountry adoption and his paper, "The 'quiet migration' in the new millennium: Trends in Intercountry Adoption 1998-2003," can be found on this website in our ARCHIVE.

This month, we will screen an edition of the KBS news show, ChooJeok 60 Boon (In-depth 60 minutes).  For more about the program, read the excerpt from KBS, below.
■ WATCH THE VIDEO on our website by going to the VIDEO section of our ARCHJIVE. ■
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Title:  In-Depth 60 Minutes
Topic:  The Nation Exporting Babies - Two Faces of Overseas Adoption
Channel:  KBS2
Original Broadcast:  Wednesday, May 25th at 11pm

ASK is very happy to present the Director of Aeranwon, Han Sang Soon. Aeranwon is a home for single mothers which provides services such as housing, vocational training, and education in parenting skills. Prior to her involvement at Aeranwon, she worked for 7 years with Korean Christian Adoption Association, an organization that later merged with Holt Children's Services. Mrs. Han received her bachelor's and master's degrees in social work from Ewha Womens University.

Mrs. Lee presented us with a lot of information about several topics that included sex education in the schools, teenage pregnancy and the few options presented to single mothers, and an overview of PPFK.

ASK was very happy to have the opportunity to listen to Mrs. Youngsook Park. Mrs. Park is the President and founder of the Korean Foster Care Association. She is also the director of public diplomacy at the Australian Embassy in Seoul. Her many civic involvements include serving on the boards of the Kyunggi Province Social Welfare Committee, the Korean Consumers Union and the Korean Volunteers Forum. Last year, Mrs. Park was appointed by the Prime Minister as the Korean Child Government Policy Coordinator.
Korean Foster Care Association

Kwok Sa Jin is an activist from the U.S. who has lived in Korea since 2000. He has worked with various human rights organizations throughout East Asia, including Durebang Women's Services in Uijeongbu. He represented Korea at the first Amerasian Solidarity Summit in Angeles City in 2003, in addition to participating in the Okinawan Amerasian Leadership Summit of 2004.
Kwok Sa Jin gave us a presentation about Amerasians in Korea. His presentation challenged some of the established notions about US military occupation, racism in Korea, and international adoption.

Mr. Hong is an adoptive father and the creator of a net-based cybercafe called AntiBaby Export at http://cafe.daum.net/AntiBabyExport. Currently, the cafe has over 300 members. Along with his openly adopted 5 year old daughter, he has two sons 25 and 15 years old. He believes that adoption out of Korea needs to be discontinued, and the way he is working towards this end is to raise public awareness and demand better policies and solutions. He also believes that it's important to work with adoptees.
Mr. Hong will be joined by the operator of AntiBaby Export Cafe, Im Hye-Young. She is a 3rd year student at Yonsei.