[Correspondent Column] Human Rights Issues of US Adoptees in Disarray... Korea Must Also Play a Role

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] A representative example of the United States attacking China is the human rights issue of ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur region. Ahead of the recently held Summit for Democracy, the U.S. even declared a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, citing China's human rights repression. China appears full of dissatisfaction. It vowed retaliation, claiming that the U.S. also has problems with democracy and human rights.

China's claim is not entirely wrong. Stories of racial discrimination and oppression are still heard throughout the United States. Korean Americans are no exception in this situation.

The most shocking situation concerns the citizenship of adoptees. Even now, many Korean adoptees are treated as foreigners in the U.S. because they lack citizenship.

It is unimaginable now, but in the past, Korea was a representative child-exporting country. Tens of thousands of children left their parents due to being orphans or poverty and moved across the Pacific to a foreign land to start anew.

Why did Americans adopt Korean children? Behind adoption was the ugly reality of the U.S. Many adoptive parents claimed to be the parents of Korean children to receive government subsidies. U.S. adoption agencies also only fattened their own interests by taking children from Korea, with poor aftercare.

It is estimated that up to 49,000 adoptees did not acquire citizenship because their adoptive parents did not complete the adoption process. Among them, about 20,000 are Korean.

Adoptive parents who do not even handle the paperwork for their child's U.S. citizenship are unlikely to respect human rights. One Korean adoptee confessed that they had to fight with the family dog in front of their parents, shocking those involved.

Of course, the U.S. did not neglect them. The U.S. Congress passed the Child Citizenship Act in 2000, which automatically grants citizenship to children adopted by U.S. citizens. The problem arose because it only applied to adoptees under 18 years old as of the enactment date (February 27, 2001). Adoptees who became adults before the enactment date fell into deep despair.

The Korean American Grassroots Coalition (KAGC, President Kim Dong-seok), which led the passage of the U.S. Congress resolution on comfort women in the past, has taken the lead in resolving the adoptee citizenship issue out of desperation that only political efforts can solve this problem.

President Kim recently met with New York correspondents and emphasized, "Granting citizenship to Korean adoptees abandoned without citizenship in the U.S. is a human rights issue," appealing for unified efforts from the Korean community.

This is not something that can be resolved overnight. Related bills have already failed three times in Congress. The adoptee citizenship bill jointly introduced in March by Democratic Representative Adam Smith (Washington) and Republican Representative John Curtis (Utah) is the fourth attempt.

Still, hope is emerging. Currently, 58 lawmakers from both parties (28 Democrats and 30 Republicans) have signed in support. The Senate bill introduced by Republican Senator Roy Blunt (Missouri) has 11 co-sponsors (6 Democrats and 5 Republicans) who readily joined.

President Kim pointed out that the darkest side of the Korea-U.S. alliance, symbolized by batteries and semiconductors, is the adoptee citizenship issue. If China begins to point out this issue, the U.S. position could become difficult. Swift response from U.S. political circles is necessary. Even Republicans who oppose immigration reform must recognize that human rights are an invaluable value that cannot be exchanged for anything. Since this concerns our compatriots, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government bodies must also recognize that they are not free from responsibility.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.