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August 06, 2007
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| Katie Balcom, 24, knew how to write her Korean name, “Kim Young-sin,” in rough Korean script, but she never expected that it could look so pretty until she learned calligraphy on Saturday in Seoul. A participant in the 2007 International Korean Adoptees Association (IKAA) gathering, which wrapped up its five-day schedule yesterday in Seoul, Balcom said calligraphy was the best workshop she found among the 23offerings during the gathering, which was attended by more than 510 Korean adoptees from 17 countries. “This is my first time doing anything on a large scale in the adoptee community,” said Balcom, who was adopted from Daegu as a three-month-old. “This has helped me to know better who I am. It’s nice to know that I am not isolated.” As the conference was underway, another adoptee, Jane Trenka, was waging a campaign to have foreign adoptions halted. She organized a group of adoptees to press the case and they staged a small demonstration Saturday near the gathering at Dongguk University. She says Koreans need to embrace domestic adoption and stop stigmatizing unwed mothers. Korea is a rich country, Trenka said Friday, and it “can afford to take care of its own children.” While the gathering was as much a cultural event as anything, the workshops also addressed the issues Trenka raised ― the appropriateness of foreign adoption in what is now a wealthy country and the emotional impact of transracial adoption. Participants also attended various cultural programs, temple visits, friendly football matches and an adoptee poker tournament. Ko Tai-jeong, the principal of a Korean language school in Denmark, accompanied around 50 adoptees to the gathering. He said it helps them relate to their mother country. “Many of them are saying they feel closer to Korea by attending the workshops and cultural events,” said Ko, 60. “I think more and more [adoptees] are making an effort to network with each other. That is very encouraging.” According to Sarah Park, one of the presenters at a symposium on the literature of adoption, the gathering is a powerful emotional experience. “I heard a lot of intense stories,” said Park, 27, who was raised by her Korean parents in Los Angeles. She focuses on transracial adoption in her doctoral studies. “I talked to a lot of adoptees for whom it was the first time both to meet other adoptees and to visit Korea,” said Park. “It seems to be a profound experience.” Park said not all adoptees regard adoption as negative, despite controversy around the issue in Korea. “I think there is tension between feeling grateful and happy with a life they have been given and wondering why it has to be that way,” Park said. “I don’t think we can say all adoptees feel one way or another.” Balcom said the adoption issue “has always been a part” of her life, but she never felt ashamed of it. About 230,000 Koreans have ben adopted abroad since the Korean War. By Moon Gwang-lip Staff Writer [joe@joongang.co.kr] |
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