About 200,000 Korean children have been adopted internationally since the end of the Korean War in 1953. Most were taken in by American families, but some were raised in Europe, Australia, and other nations.
As those children have become adults, many have struggled with questions of identity and belonging… and many have come together in online communities and formed real-world groups to share their experiences.
In recent years, a number of Korean adoptees have traveled back to the country of their birth, sometimes for a brief visit and sometimes to stay.
Journalist Kaomi Goetz is documenting the experiences of adoptees who have returned to Korea in a podcast called Adapted. It features a series of fascinating interviews with a group of individuals who have been living in two worlds.
Kaomi is a Korean-American adoptee herself, and in our interview for the LPX podcast, she gives us a little history of international adoption from the country, insight she’s gained from talking to other adoptees, and a bit of her own experience of living in South Korea.
You can find more information and listen to Kaomi’s podcast at the Adapted Podcast website.
And you can find more of Kaomi’s radio reporting at her website.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:21 — 17.6MB)
Another interesting podcast, although the connection to tech is somewhat tenuous.:-) (Not that I mind.)
As your guest alluded to, many of the newer generation of adoptees are Chinese. Growing up in a society where the internet is wide open, I wonder it they will encounter difficulties getting past the Great Firewall of China in attempts to track down their birth relatives. (I assume this is not the case for South Korea.)
As a white Canadian, I admit my knowledge of things Korean is somewhat limited. Luckily the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has been running a new comedy TV show this fall called “Kim’s Convenience”. This presents Korean culture from the point of view of first- and second-generation Korean-Canadians, in a low-key and lighthearted manner. I enjoy the show and I’ve learned a few things along the way.
Happy holidays!
Tony