• 영어영문학
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• 제55권6호
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• pp.1035-1056
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• 2009

Korean adoptee narratives have proliferated over the last ten years as adopted Koreans have begun to represent their own experiences of violent dislocation, displacement and loss in various forms of literary and artistic works, including poems, autobiographical works, novels, documentaries and films. These narratives by Korean adoptees have intervened in the current diaspora discourse to question further the traditional categories of race, ethnicity, culture and nation by representing the unique experiences of the forced and involuntary migration of adopted Koreans. For a long time, the adoption discourse has been mostly constructed from the perspectives of adoptive parents. Therefore the voice of adoptees as well as that of the birth mothers have not been properly heard or represented in adoption discourse. According to Hosu Kim, the U. S. adoption discourse, feeling pressured to deal with the stigma of the commodification of children, changed from viewing the adoptees as children who had been rescued from poverty and abandonment to considering them as a gift from the birth mothers. With the emergence of the gift rhetoric in transnational adoption, the birth mothers erased from adoption discourse have begun to be acknowledged as one of the central characters in the adoption triad. If Korean adoptees are the "the ghostly children of Korean history," the birth mothers are their "ghostly doubles" who "bear the mark of a repressed national trauma." Somebody's Daughter represents the female experiences of becoming an adopted child and of being a birth mother. In particular, the novel makes a birth mother, the forgotten presence in adoptee narratives, into a central figure in the triangular relationship created by international adoption. The novel historicizes the experiences of a Korean adoptee growing up in America as well as those of a mother who had suffered silently from feelings of unbearable loss, guilt, grief and from unforgettable memories. In addition, narrating the birth mother's story is a way to give humanity back to these forgotten women in Korean adoption history. Revisiting the site of loss both for a mother and a daughter through the novel is an act of collective mourning. The narratives about and by Korean adoptees force Korean intellectuals to reflect seriously upon Korean society and its underlying ideology which prevents a woman from mothering her own baby, and to take an ethical and political stand on this current social and political issue.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• 제52권4호
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• pp.410-416
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• 2009

In Korea, overseas adoption has been practiced for more than 50 years. Initially, overseas adoption began with the objective to provide permanent homes for Korean war orphans, including mixed-blood children. From 1953 to 2007, about 160,000 Korean children were placed worldwide through overseas adoption and approximately 70,000 children were adopted in Korea. During that period, Korea developed into one of leading industrial countries in the world and the family norms changed dramatically. Since 1989, the Korean government has made diverse efforts to increase domestic adoptions and to support adopted families through the revisions to Korea's Child Welfare Law. However, it is not enough to reduce overseas adoptions rapidly because the Korean government's economic support for adopted families is not adequate and Korean sentiments regarding adoption have not changed. Being an international adoptee is a unique experience, involving dissimilarities of race, ethnicity, and culture. Clearly, it is very important for us to focus on placing Korean children in the best possible environment. Therefore, Korea must make diverse efforts to reduce overseas adoptions and to encourage domestic adoption. First, Korean society has to try to reduce the number of children who need out-of-home care. Second, the Korean government and people should make an effort to increase domestic adoptions, including adoptions of disabled and older children. Finally, the Korean government and adoption agencies have to provide professional pre-adoption and post-adoption services for international adoptees and adoptive parents.

• 사회복지연구
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• 제41권4호
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• pp.369-393
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• 2010

본 연구는 국외입양인들의 뿌리찾기에 영향을 미치는 요인을 밝히기 위한 연구이다. 현대적인 의미에서의 입양이 시작된 6·25 전쟁 이후 지난해까지 국외로 입양된 아동은 16만명 이상으로, 같은 기간 국내에서 입양된 아동에 비해 2배 이상 많다. 1980년대 초부터 많은 국외입양인들이 뿌리찾기를 위해 모국을 찾고 있으나, 이들 국외입양인에 대한 우리의 관심과 지원은 매우 낮은 수준이다. 그러나 뿌리찾기가 입양인들이 갖고 있는 보편적 욕구라는 점을 감안할 때, 이들의 뿌리찾기 활동을 지원할 필요가 있으며 그러기 위해서는 우선적으로 뿌리찾기에 참여하는 입양인들의 특성을 파악하는 작업이 이루어져야 할 것이다. 본 연구에서는 국내외 선행연구를 토대로 국외입양인들의 뿌리찾기에 영향을 미치는 요인을 밝히기 위한 연구모형을 구성하고, 이들 영향요인을 실증적으로 규명하고자 시도하였다. 자료는 보건복지가족부에서 2008년에 실시한 <국외입양인 실태조사 및 효율적 입양사후서비스 제공방안> 연구에서 수집한 자료를 이용하여 분석하였으며, 조사대상은 한국에서 출생하여 미국, 유럽, 호주 등의 국가로 입양된 16세 이상 국외입양인들로, 설문지는 영어와 프랑스어로 제작되어 온라인 설문조사 형태로 진행되었다. 총 290사례가 분석에 포함되었으며, 온라인 설문조사의 특성상 응답별 결측치가 다소 높게 나타나 다중삽입한 5개 자료를 이용하여 분석을 진행하였다. 선행연구를 토대로 입양인의 인구학적 특성(성별과 연령집단), 심리적 특성(정체성 위기 경험), 입양 및 입양부모 관련 특성(뿌리찾기 관심 시기, 입양 시 연령, 입양부모의 이혼여부, 뿌리찾기에 대한 입양부모의 태도) 등의 변수가 연구모형에 포함되었으며, 이 중 입양인의 연령, 정체성 위기경험, 뿌리찾기에 처음 관심을 갖기 시작한 시기, 입양 시 연령, 뿌리찾기에 대한 입양부모의 태도가 입양인의 뿌리찾기에 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 즉, 입양인의 연령이 30~34세인 경우, 35세 이상인 경우보다 뿌리찾기를 시도할 확률이 높았으며, 살아오면서 정체성 위기를 여러 차례 경험한 입양인일수록, 입양 시 만 나이가 많을수록, 뿌리찾기에 관심을 갖기 시작한 연령이 어릴수록 뿌리찾기를 시도할 가능성이 높은 것으로 나타났다. 또한 뿌리찾기에 대한 입양부모의 태도가 지지적인 경우보다 입양부모의 태도를 모르는 경우 뿌리찾기를 시도할 확률이 높았다. 마지막으로 본 연구결과에 근거한 국외입양인 지원정책 및 입양실천에서의 실천적 함의가 논의되었다.