It used to be said that South Korea's biggest export was babies - Korean children, unwanted in their own land, were adopted by loving new parents outside the country, particularly in the United States.
And then the law was changed. The shame of an increasingly affluent and confident country sending its children abroad to find the love denied at home played on the national conscience so foreign adoption was made much harder.
The changes were made with good intentions. Adopted children might want to trace their birth parents so registering full details seemed like a helpful measure.
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But the good intentions have led to unintended results: South Korean orphanages are now brimming with children who might previously have found a new life in a foreign family.
The problem is that adoption in Korea is taboo, so the gap left by the fall in foreign adoptions has not been filled by adoptive Korean parents.
The couple sit on their sofa in a high-rise apartment near Seoul and say with one voice: We didn't even dare tell our own parents because we knew they would disapprove. They would only say 'Why are you bringing up other people's children'?
Hee Rak Children's Home In Busan, South Korea
But Mr and Mrs Choi persevered and now they are among a band of adoptive parents who testify in meetings and go to schools to preach the worth of the love which adoption brings to estranged and abandoned children.
Hollee McGinnis, a Korean-American who was herself adopted and who now researches how adoption affects personality in later life, told the : Family is everything in Korea. Who you are and your character is based on your family so if you do not have information about your family, you might find yourself having barriers in life.
In Korea, your potential employer can ask for your family registry. Your family registry has all the information about your relatives. If you cannot produce a family registry that might be a reason for them not to hire you.
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When you write a letter applying for a job, in your cover letter in the West we talk about education, our skills, our experiences. In Korea, they talk about your family - what your dad did; what your mum did - so your character is based on your family.
In 1955, an American couple Harry and Bertha Holt moved from Eugene, Oregon and set up an orphanage in South Korea, moved by the plight of orphans after the Korean war, particularly those with black American fathers and Korean mothers who found it particularly hard to be accepted in Korean society.
Six decades on, their daughter, Molly, continues their work. She deplores the effect of the compulsion on women to register their children: If they do, they can't ever marry because no husband wants to marry a woman who has had a baby. So now, so many babies are being abandoned.
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They used to have two babies abandoned a month before the law came into existence and now they have 25 a month. And those babies can't be adopted overseas. They can only be adopted by Koreans, and Koreans don't like to adopt.
Attempts are made to do this. The Mission to Promote Adoption in Korea was founded by a Korean who was adopted as a teenage and brought up in the United States.
Stephen Morrison spent eight years in an orphanage before his new parents transported him across the Pacific and transformed his life. He now thrives in Los Angeles as an engineer but returns to his old orphanage near Seoul.
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I came into this orphanage when I was six years old and I left when I was fourteen years old, and during that time I experienced a lot of hunger to be loved, he says.
I was not a really good student but as soon as I was adopted into a family, I felt that immediate sense of care and love. All of a sudden, it was just magical: I started to excel in school and I want to pass on the blessings I got from adoption to other children that need homes.
They have not thrived: I grew up with my friends, my buddies and I'm still in contact with them. I feel I was so blessed with adoption. And yet my friends were not given that opportunity.Today, partners around the world include fellow organizations, local churches, and courageous individuals who are working and serving in neighborhoods and communities to bring joy and purpose where it is needed most.
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Seoul, the capital of South Korea has an estimated population of 10.29 million people (roughly the population of North Carolina). Surrounding communities raise that number to 25.6 million—making Seoul the second largest metropolitan area in the world.
According to Holt International, during the past 70 years, over 1 million children have grown up in orphanages in Korea, with 6, 000 young adults aging out every year.
In 2012, the South Korean government passed a law making it harder for children to be adopted (and especially to be adopted internationally). So that number continues to grow.
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No doubt, you can remember the fears, insecurities, and unknowns that you felt as a brand new high school graduate with your whole future ahead of you.
In Korea—with the high cost of living (average rent of a one-bedroom apartment in Seoul is roughly $850 USD)—this means a brand new high school graduate must essentially work full-time immediately after leaving the orphanage just to pay for tuition and living expenses.
“Korean orphans go from living in the children’s home with 40–100 kids and workers to suddenly living on their own. The lack of emotional support has led to some students falling into depression and even committing suicide.”
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This is not God’s heart for fatherless children. The Bible tells us repeatedly to, “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute” (Psalm 82:3).
For many students, the rigorous demands of a full-time job right out of high school means they struggle with their school work and/or drop out of university or college classes entirely.
Each student receives $500 a month to help with living expenses. With finances provided, students are able to dedicate time to their studies. This allows them to earn high grades and scholarships for tuition which sets them up for success with school.
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Each student is paired with a caring mentor who is committed to the student until they graduate. Mentors call the students weekly and see them monthly. This relationship puts them on a path for connection and growth.
With this program, many orphan grads are now at the top of their class, and many have gone on to pursue dignified careers and impact their communities. And many of these students are breaking the orphan cycle that brought them so much pain.
This exciting partnership has been in the works for the past year, and we look forward to sharing amazing stories of redemption as God works through you to reach more kids and young adults in Korea for His glory!OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea -- Spc. Yeon Lee, 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade religious services assistant, introduces the brigade chaplain and other volunteers during their visit at Aehyangwon Orphanage October 24, 2015. This event was the first o... (Photo Credit: U.S. ) VIEW ORIGINAL
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OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea -- The sounds of children's laughter could be heard as Soldiers of 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade played games and shared stories with kids at Aehyangwon Orphanage in Songtan October 24.
We want to continue to build relationships within our community, said Maj. Christopher Offen, 35th ADA Brigade chaplain. With each visit to local organizations, we plant a small seed toward the positive perception of U.S. service members that are serving here in Korea.
Orphanages in South Korea differ from those found in the U.S. because they are sanctioned by the government and often provide supplemental support for parents who are unable to physically or financially support their child.
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We are very grateful to U.S. forces that visit with our children, said Soo Yeon Kim, Aehyangwon orphanage volunteer coordinator. The children are delighted to spend time with Americans, to share a meal and learn something about another culture.
It's very therapeutic for Soldiers to interact with members of their community and to make a positive impact on those around them regardless of whether they have children of their own, said 1st Sgt. Julio Hernandez, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 35th ADA Brigade. Too often we highlight the bad decisions of service members when it's really only a small percent of what Soldiers are doing. They have made the decision to serve in a foreign country, to protect the freedoms of others and then to volunteer their time to make a difference in the lives of others.
And no matter how far away from home we are, visits like these show us how similar we all are to one another, Hernandez said.
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It will be a unique experience for Soldiers and Korean children alike, said Spc. Yeon Lee, 35th ADA brigade religious services specialist and former teacher in Korea. The tradition of Thanksgiving is
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