Export Powerhouse Korea in Semiconductors and More... "Do Not Forget the History of Becoming a Baby Export Nation"

US NYT Highlights Korean Adoption Industry
Targeting Mixed-Race and Single Mother Babies
Adoption Agencies Also Collect Fees

The American daily newspaper The New York Times (NYT) draws attention by highlighting the voices of adoptees demanding a thorough investigation into South Korea's past, which has been stigmatized as the world's largest exporter of babies.

Starting from Xenophobia and Prejudice Against Mixed-Race Children... "Continued Under the Pretext of Promoting Private Diplomacy"

On the 17th (local time), the NYT pointed out that since 1953, 200,000 Korean babies have been sent overseas, stating, "South Korea has the world's largest overseas adoption diaspora (Diaspora: communities living abroad away from their homeland)."

It explained that South Korea's "baby export business" originally began rooted in deep-seated xenophobia and prejudice against mixed-race children.

After the Korean War, President Syngman Rhee's ideology of Ilminism encouraged sending mixed-race children born to U.S. military personnel and Korean women to the United States. It is said that the first task undertaken by Mr. Bu Cheong-ha of Holt, South Korea's largest adoption agency, was persuading sex workers near U.S. military bases to give up their mixed-race children for overseas adoption.

From the late 1960s, there were many cases of children born to single mothers being adopted overseas, with the media pointing out that single mothers "became another target of Korean prejudice."

Mr. Bu, who was in charge of adoption-related work until 1978, said that every Friday, up to 20 babies from across the country were brought to Holt.

He recalled, "For some children, there was no information, so doctors had to estimate their age by looking at their teeth."

The media explained that South Korea considered halting overseas adoption in the 1970s but restored the overseas adoption industry in the 1980s under the pretext of promoting immigration and private diplomacy, noting, "International media began referring to South Korea as a 'baby export country' and 'mail-order baby,' terms that persist to this day."

Targeting Babies of Single Mothers Amid the Boom of the 'Adoption Industry'

Childhood photo of Holly Olson (Park Mi-soon, 40), a Korean American adoptee in the U.S. searching for her biological parents. [Photo by Adoption Support Center, Child Rights Protection Agency]

According to internal South Korean government documents, in 1985, 8,837 Korean babies were adopted overseas, with adoption agencies charging $1,450 per baby for adoption fees, plus airfare and commissions ranging from $3,000 to $4,000.

The NYT also reported contents from a National Human Rights Commission report stating that adoption agencies operated shelters for single mothers and required them to sign agreements to give up their babies to sustain this "boom."

In particular, the article added that until the birth notification system passed the National Assembly in June, South Korea had long left birth registration to parents, which often resulted in newborns being easily recorded as orphans and becoming prey for adoption agencies.

"Failed to Acknowledge the History of Adoption"... Beginning of an Investigation into the 'Adoption Industry'

Members of the Danish Korean Rights Group (DKRG) and domestic adoption-related organizations, including the Domestic Adoptee Solidarity, visited the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Past Affairs in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the morning of November 15 last year to submit an application for the investigation of human rights violations against overseas adoptees, followed by a press conference.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Some adoptees requested the South Korean government in 2005 to investigate corruption in the past adoption industry, but it failed to gain attention and was ultimately frustrated.

However, last August, the "Denmark Korean Truth-Seeking Group" (DKRG) requested an investigation from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Past Affairs (TRCP), leading to the start of an inquiry.

DKRG stated, "Our case is a universal human rights issue," and expressed hope that "South Korea will set a pioneering example for other countries where human rights violations in overseas adoption have occurred through this investigation."

The media also mentioned this, saying, "South Korea has launched its first-ever official government investigation into the adoption industry," and "The investigation team plans to announce the results by spring (next year)."

Korean-American adoptee Jin Meyerson pointed out, "South Korea is obsessed with correcting historical wrongs but has failed to acknowledge the painful history of adoption."

The media further noted, "South Korea focuses only on the success stories of overseas adopted Koreans, but in recent years, returnees (adoptees) have been struggling with questions about their identity and sense of belonging."

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