• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.411-428
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• 1995

Intercountry adoption, one type of forced migration, has increased significantly in recent decades. The adoption of Korea-born children by Americans has been the strongest intercountry adoption linkage in the world. The intercountry adoption stream was strongly influenced by intercountry adoption policies, and socio-cultural settings in both South Korea and the United States. Socio-cultural factors in South Korea made local adoption undesirable and helped for abandoned children to be adopted by Americans, while socio-cultural factors in the United States had reduced the number of locally available infants for adoption, and increased the demand for infants from abroad. Distribution of Korea-born adoptees shows concentration in the Pacific Northwest, Upper Midwest and Northeast areas which have not attracted Korean immigrants so generally. The trend of concentration shows some increased importances in the outlying states in the northern United States. The location and activity of agencies shaped the spatial distribution of Korea-born adoptees in the United States.

• Proceedings of the Korea Contents Association Conference
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• 2013.05a
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• pp.185-186
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• 2013

2012년 8월 입양아의 인권을 보호하자는 취지에서 "입양특례법"이 개정돼 시행되고 있다. 개정된 "입양특례법"의 주된 핵심은 입양 아동의 인권 보호를 강화하기 위해 아동의 입양 여부를 가정법원이 최종 허가하도록 했다. 또 입양을 원하는 생모에게 숙려 기간을 7일간 갖도록 하고, 입양 기관은 양부모에게 아동 양육 교육을 하고, 아동 학대나 성폭력 등 범죄 경력도 조회하도록 규정하고 있다. 개정된 내용은 출산 전부터 생모의 입양 동의서와 친권포기 각서를 받아 입양을 진행시키는 과거신고제 입양의 단점을 보완하고 입양아의 출생에 관한 알 권리를 보장한다는 측면에서 의의가 크다 할 것이다. 그러나 개정 입양특례법 시행 후 우리 사회에서는 입양아의 권리 보호와 무질서한 해외입양 등을 예방하고자 하는 본래 취지와 다르게 영아 유기를 증가시키고 있고, 입양을 간절히 원하는 양부모들에게도 문제를 초래하고 있다는 문제점이 제기되고 있다. 본고에서는 개정 "입양특례법"의 내용과 문제점을 검토하여, 그 개선방안을 모색해보고자 한다.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Child Welfare
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• no.54
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• pp.45-77
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• 2016

This study is a policy research conducted for the purpose of finding new roles for adoption agencies and suggesting future tasks for effective adoption practice in Korea. To achieve this goal, this study analyzed the characteristics of adoption practices and the roles of adoption agencies in four countries (U.K., Sweden, U.S.A. and Hong Kong) and conducted a survey of the staff members of adoption agencies in Korea. The survey questions included: (1) the real changes and problems they feel in the adoption field after the amendment to the 'Act on special cases concerning adoption' in 2012; (2) the prospects for change in the future; and (3) the new roles they expect in the changing context. Based on the review of foreign cases and the results of the survey, the future direction of adoption practice in Korea and the new roles and tasks of adoption agencies were suggested.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.69-98
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to examine the psychosocial adjustment level of adopted children in non-traditional adoption of Korea and to verify the variables which influence their psychosocial adjustment. Moreover, this study concentrates on the parenting style of an adoptive mother and the openness of communication between the adoptive mother and her adopted child. And, six control variables which are individual characteristics of the adopted child and his(her) adoptive mother were utilized. The participants of the this research consisted of 61 adopted children in non-traditional adoption of Korea aged six and above and their adoptive mothers of 61. Door-to-door surveys for data collection were conducted nationally from December of 2007 to February of 2008. As the results of this study, out of 6 behavior problem variables, the adopted child showed the highest points in immaturely dependence, and their social competence was verified to be good. The psychosocial adjustment of the adopted children in non-traditional adoption of Korea showed meaningful differences according to the warmhearted parenting style of the adoptive mother, the openness of adoptive mother-adoptee's communication on both general and adoption related issues, and control variables. It was also verified that the warm-heartedness and the respect for autonomy of adoptive mother's parenting style, openness of adoptive mother-adoptee's general communication, and five control variables were the important variables influencing the psychosocial adjustment of the adopted child in non-traditional adoption of Korea. Accordingly, the adoptive parents' education of parenting for adopted child should be required more professional and individual approach at the adoption practice of Korea.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.47-68
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to provide information on adoptive families and obtain the basis data for adoption-related programs that are useful to adoptive families by examining their experiences in the adoption process, post-adoption adaptation, and adoption programs. For the study, in-depth interviews were conducted on six mothers who publicly adopted elementary school children and had expressed high satisfaction with adopted families and their willingness to participate in this research voluntarily. The main results exhibited parents' happiness post-adoption along with positive changes, such as internal growth, marital love growth, favorable response from others, and child's unexpected responses to adoption. However, open adoption mothers have coped with efforts to sympathize with and accept their children's feelings as they suffer from adoption, and with active support from their spouses, parents, and their own children. Open adoption mothers participated in various adoption-related programs, support, and voluntary self-help groups provided by adoption agencies or public organizations, and above all, their experience in self-help groups and peer groups of adopted children was found to be very useful. Based on these main results, we suggested strengthening welfare services for open adoption families, implementing education to better understand adoption, education for school teachers, students, and welfare staff, providing practical programs for adoptive families, and promoting self-help groups.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.8 no.12
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• pp.357-365
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• 2008

The Korean Government is enforcing policies to activate domestic adoption in order to guarantee and protect stable family lives of children requiring protection. We surveyed recognitions and attitudes toward adoption and adoption policies of Daejeon citizens. The result will be important information for activating domestic adoption. We could find that motives of adoption centered on adopted children rather than adoptive parents. Especially, the recognition level toward open adoption is high, which shows that the domestic adoption can be activated if multiple political supports are provided for adopted children and adoptive families.

• Korean Journal of Family Social Work
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• no.23
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• pp.71-102
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to understand the meaning of being adopted that adopted children have experienced. To achieve this purpose, researchers contacted adopted children and adoptive parents, collected data through in-depth interview and document, and analysed these data using case study approach. 23 adopted children over three ages and their parents were interviewed for this study. Participants were classified into three groups(3~5 ages, 6 ages, over 7 ages) based on their age. Researchers investigated the changes of the meaning of being adopted by age. The major findings were follows: First, the meaning of being adopted that adopted children have experienced was changed from 6 ages. Second, this study analyzed that the meaning of being adopted was love born by heart at 3~5 ages, inevitable grief at 6 ages and first step of adoptive person over 7 ages. Based on the findings, this study suggested practice guidelines to help adoptive children and their family.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.369-393
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• 2010

This study examines the factors influencing Korean international adoptee's search for their birthparents. Considering that the search for birthparents is general needs for adoptees, Korean government should support their searching activities and, first of all, understand their characteristics. The research model was constructed based on the results of previous studies, and the data set of conducted by ministry of health and welfare was reanalyzed for this study. The subjects of the survey were Korean-born adoptees (who are more than 16 years old) in North America, Europe, and Australia. The research questionnaire was translated to English and French, and the survey was conducted on line. A total of 290 questionnaires were included in the analysis. Since survey was conducted on line, the missing rate of the data was relatively high. So, multiply imputed five data sets were used for analysis. Among the variables included in research model, the age group of adoptees, experience of identity crisis in their life, the first time when they became actively interested in Korean roots, the age at the time of adoption, and the attitudes of adoptive parents toward their search were significantly related to their search for birthparents. Adoptees in the age group of 30~34 had more actively participated in search compared to their reference group (which is the age group of more than 35 years old). The earlier they became actively interested in Korean roots, they tended to be more active in searching activities. Also, the experience of identity crisis in life and the age at the time of adoption were positively related to their search. Although most of adoptive parents have supported their search, the adoptees who reported that they didn't know their adoptive parents' attitude toward search, or their parents deceased had more actively participated in search for their birthparents. Some implications for adoption policy and practice were discussed based on the results of the study.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.1-17
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• 2022

This study provides a critical analysis of the Family Center's programs for adoptive families by interviewing employees at these centers and at Adoption Agencies who have experiences with adoption programs. For this study, nine such workers from three separate Family Centers and three such workers from two separate Adoption Agencies have (voluntarily) engaged in in-depth interviews. Major findings from the interviews are that the Family Centers were initially motivated to carry out adoption family programs for three principal reasons: they located many families (in need of adoption family program); potential adoptees were interested in the program; adoption families participated in the pre-existing programs such as Self-help Group and Co-parenting Space. Workers in the study also reported that they approach to an adoption family and their contemplation on ways to provide better services to the adoption families. They don't have any official and formal manual or guidelines from the Government Ministries and offices such as Korean Institute for Healthy Family; as a result, the workers at Family Centers have endeavored to gain connection with Adoption Agencies in hopes of cooperation with them and to improve the services at Family Centers. For benefits of Family Centers as a delivery system, they mentioned nationwide infrastructure, family professional, and arrangement of integrated program for family. For improvements, they listed awareness education based on a thorough consideration of adoptee's varied characteristics, close cooperation with adoption institutions, provision of basic operational manual from Korean Institute for Healthy Family, and governmental efforts to enlarge the consideration pool for families.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.695-711
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• 2007

Research on intercountry adoption was strongly needed in Korea; however, there were only a few research in geography on the United States. It is hard to find the geographical research on Korea-born adoptees in Europe. This research analyzed spatial distribution of Korea-born adoptees in Europe where adopted the largest number of Koreans after the United States. Since 1956 when Korea-born children were first adopted in Norway, the number of adoptees had increased rapidly until 1978. In the early 1970s, Korean children had adopted more in Europe than the Unites States. Even though the number of intercountry adoptees temporarily decreased after the Seoul Olympic in 1988, Korean children have been still adopted at a settled numbers. In the beginning period (1956$\sim$70) of adoption in Europe, the Korean war orphans and abandoned children were adopted by Sweden, Norway and Belgium. In the second period (1971$\sim$90), the number of Korean adoptees were social orphans as a result of rapid industrialization. The number of adoptees increased rapidly and their destination extended into ten countries including the Western Europe such as France, Germany, Italy and United Kingdom. In the third period after 1991, the adoptees were mainly from unmarried mothers. The number of adoptees decreased as the result of that the Korean government attempted to reduce the intercountry adoption and to increase the domestic adoption. Their destination reduced into Northern European countries, France and Luxemburg. Those countries kept adopting settled number of Korean children. Female Korean adoptees used to outnumber male Korean adoptees; however the sex ratio was reversed recently. The age of adoptees became to lower, so most of Korea-born adoptees were under one-year old.