Chusok as the Korean Thanksgiving

Chusok as the Korean Thanksgiving
Chu'sok means "fall evening" and is celebrated every 24th of September, which is the 15th day of the eighth lunar moon. This serves as Korea's Harvest Moon festival and at the same time the Thanksgiving for the country. The holiday is said to have originated during the time of the Shilla Kingdom, when the king held a festival of games, entertainment, food, and drinks. Today, it is one of the most important festivals for the Koreans, which is observed by both farmers and the city dwellers. The occassion is the day in the year when family members come together to share lots of special foods. They commemorate their ancestors by visiting the graves and pay respect. Children enjoy playing different games like see-saw, swinging, and other type of dances like Kang-gangsulle. The men played sirum, which a Korean wrestling. They also held races that has animals as a price. And of course, Thanksgiving will not be complete without the special dishes on the table. They serve Songpyon, which is a full-moon rice cakes stuffed with sesame, beans,chestnuts, or Chinese dates. They also have Khaegangjong, YakGwa, and yultanja (made of rice flour, chestnuts and honey) to share together. In general,Korean Thanksgiving is not very different from ours. They still observe the very essence of the occasion, which is about the importance of family.

CKAN will celebrate Thanksgiving together on Sat. Oct. 6, at a Cook and Gather session. Contact us for more information. All welcome!

"Court quashes adoption disclosure law"

CBC's Metro Morning followed up on this story, also covered in the Sept. 19 edition of the Toronto Star, by saying that one of the opponents of Ontario's recently passed adoption disclosure law was an established, Catholic mother of four who did not want a pregnancy at age fifteen revealed. Because this mirrors many birth mother situations in Korea, we thought it worth pursuing the story. The Toronto Star article does not go further into this particular case, but alludes to it by quoting the legal representation against the bill, Toronto lawyer Clayton Ruby, as saying: "What is not good is to take someone who was promised privacy and then unilaterally say, 'Ah, too bad. We've changed our mind, you live with the consequences."'

As Korean adoptees who often don't possess identifying information, the issue of disclosure is often a mute point. But the principle behind disclosure is the same whether in domestic or international adoption. Often the needs of mother and child are at odds, and within patriarchal or religious cultures, the mother often chooses or is forced to forsake the needs of her child. But to assume that this decision is made free of consequence is unrealistic. Sooner or later, the child, now an adult, will have questions about his or her origins. Who has the right to tell an adoptee that he or she cannot access this information? Do the courts have the right? After yesterday's decision, apparently they do. This is an unfortunate step backwards for disclosure advocates, such as former Ontario New Democrat member Marilyn Churley, who fought so long to get this bill passed in the first place. Sooner or later the chickens come home to roost. Can you really have a child and give it up without consequence?

Call for Adult Adoptee Speakers

Here are a couple of calls for adult adoptees to participate in the wider adoption community. If you are interested and going to be in the Toronto area, please contact either CKAN or the agencies themselves. These are challenging gigs but important advocacy opportunities for increasing awareness about race and adoption issues.

Adoption Council of Ontario - Adoption Resource Exchange
need a panel speaker regarding multicultural families. The Adoption Resource Exchange is a two day workshop held by the ACO twice a year. It is often the first stop for many couples thinking of adoption and exploring both domestic and international options. As part of the weekend, they have the opportunity to view domestic children through CAS and hear from transracial adoptees. CKAN members have spoken at AREs in the past and found it an excellent way of reaching a large group of prospective adopting parents. If you are interested, contact:

Kristen Maynard
Program Manager
Adoption Council of Ontario
3216 Yonge Street, 2nd Floor
Toronto, Ontario M4N 2L2
T:416-482-0021
F: 416-482-1586
www.adoptontario.ca
www.adoption.on.ca

Jane Brown Workshops
need helpers for their excellent workshops for young adoptees. Jane Brown is a social worker from the States who has put together a three hour workshop for young transracial adoptees. During the session, adoptees get an opportunity to express concerns and feelings regarding their adoption and foster relationships that empower their sense of self. Most of the participants are from China and Korea and range in age from four to eleven. This is a powerful experience. Helpers are mainly there to be visible rolemodels to these youngsters who may have never met an adult with the same experience as them. This is a rush call so if you're interested and available next weekend, contact Catherine Collinson at Ccollinsonathome@aol.com.

Inspiration of `My Father' Speaks About Family, Love

One last post about the new Daniel Henney movie, "My Father". The real-life adoptee behind the movie, Aaron Bates, was in Seoul recently to attend the premier of the movie and gave the media an excuse to push another "inspirational" adoption story. Had it not been for phrases such as "Love never fails, love conquers all", "adoption works" and "When you love someone so much you don't see what their eyes, skin color are like", this could have been an interesting article about the tribulations of adoption reunion. Take for instance the irony that when going to meet the person he thinks is his father, the real-life adoptee Aaron Bates finds out that he is in fact his stepfather. We wonder if this is included in the movie?

One issue that the article does raise is the role of the media. Is it help or hindrance in adoption reunion? For most adoptees it is the only means of finding birth parents but as a result we endure prying questions and must submit to the hungry eye of the camera during the most private moments. And as with Aaron Bates, the media always has its agenda, whether to feed the division within the adoption community or to play up a one-sided discussion.

Adoptees have worked too long and told too many personal stories of pain and anger, to have the message that love conquers all retold. We are no longer in the 70's and we've come too far to go back to that trite truism that makes transracial adoption sound so simple.

"Fewer children finding homes in Canada; Foreign adoption in decline", Peterborough Examiner Article

Here are some current statistics on international adoption in Canada, as reported by a Sept. 7 post in the Peterborough Examiner. Funny how the title and general slant of the article make this sound like a bad thing. Decide for yourself. Is the reporter happy to report that due to improved conditions, certain countries with a previously long history of inter-country adoption are now following the mandates of the Hague Convention (1993) by serving the best interests of the child, which are: 1) to stay with its biological family; 2) when that not possible, to be adopted domestically; 3) or, as a last resort, be adopted internationally? Or, can the article be read more as evidence of how the chain of supply and demand is breaking down, forcing people looking to adopt internationally to go farther a-field?
We at CKAN do not like to enter into debate over the adoption issue, seeing it as a complex topic that goes beyond a blog post, and not merely something black or white. But...articles that present international adoption as a numbers game, as an issue of supply and demand, don't do justice to all involved in the adoption community. Articles like this need to be addressed for their narrow scope and representation of adopting countries as baby-hungry nations. We would be happy to hear any of your comments.

"Operation Babylift: The Lost Children of Vietnam" Trailer

Here's a great trailer for an up-coming documentary titled "Operation Babylift: The Lost Children of Vietnam". As in the Korean adoptee community, the Vietnamese babies who were airlifted out of Vietnam during the war are now coming of age and looking to tell their stories. Check out the website for the full story behind the airlift. Thanks to MF for the link!

Interview with Tim Holm of IKAA

This interview was taped just prior to the 2007 Gathering in Seoul. Tim explains how IKAA was formed after the first Holt Gathering in Washington in 2004. It was a big step in Korean adoptees doing it for themselves. Ever since then, all subsequent gatherings have been planned and organized by adoptees for adoptees. As an umbrella organization, Tim says their primary role is to bring adoptees together. After being isolated for so long, connecting with each other can be a strong driving force behind many of our searches for identity. These words definitely ring true for Canada's small Korean Canadian adult adoptee community. One of CKAN's primary mission statements is to reach out and find other Korean adoptees in Canada. Obviously, this is a shared mission with adoptees around the world. Thanks to CG for the link!

Promoting Korean Adoption?

Lee Ann Kim is a Korean American anchor and general assignment reporter for KGTV Channel 10 in San Diego. She is currently in Seoul as a jury member for the annual EBS International Documentary Festival. Two English-language Korean newspapers feature articles on her. As always it is interesting to see the angle the media chooses to take when covering issues around adoption and race.

Check out this article first from the Sept. 3 edition of the Korea Times, titled "Kim Pushes For Asian American Cinema". As a first generation Korean American, her experience of racism in the States sounds very similar to many accounts of adoptees growing up in white communities. The Korea Times chooses to omit information about her recent adoption of a Korean boy.

We have to go to the Korea Herald to read about that. In the Aug. 31 interview with Kim, titled "Adopting a child is a beautiful thing",Kim openly derides the social climate in Korea that forces unwed mothers to relinquish their children.

We would be interested to know if these articles are featured in their Korean counterparts (unfortunately our Korean isn't good enough to find out just yet!!). But even if their main readership is English speakers, promoting adoption from Korea amongst Korean North Americans is also an important thing.

Unfortunately MPAK's (Mission to Promote Adoption in Korea) website is outdated, but they feature some profiles of Korean Americans who adopted from Korea. Worth a browse.

Korea Times: "Domestic Adoptions Reach 60 Percent"

Here's an article from the August 30, 2007 edition of the Korea Times.

By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter

About 60 percent of all adoptions were made domestically in the first half of this year, making it the first time for them to surpass overseas adoptions.

The Health and Welfare Ministry reported Thursday that 59.2 percent of adoptions, or 729 of 1,223 children in the January-June period, were by domestic couples, far higher than the 41percent to 42 percent average over the past five years.

A ministry spokesman said the "increase'' is largely attributed to a new law prioritizing domestic adoption to overseas adoption _ rather than changing attitudes towards adoption _ as well as tax incentives and campaigns to encourage domestic adoptions.

But it may take time to assess the full impact of the new law on adoption patterns, a ministry spokesman said.

Over 2,000 Korean children have been adopted by foreign families every year, but a fall in these adoptions has contributed to an overall decrease in total adoptions.

As a result, more children are now housed at childcare centers or with temporary families awaiting adoption.

The Overseas Korean Foundation estimated a total of 157,145 Korean children have been adopted by foreign couples over the past 50 years, the majority being from the U.S., followed by France, Sweden and Denmark.

In 2005, Korea was rated the fourth biggest source for overseas adoptions, behind China, Russia and Guatemala _ 2,101 Korean children were adopted by foreign couples in 2005.

The government has been making efforts to shake off the country's reputation as a ``baby-exporting'' nation but any fruitful results have yet to be observed.

Today's Parent Magazine Covering International Adoption Issues

We're always looking for Korean Canadian adoption issues being covered in the media. That's why we've had to go back into the archives (and will continue to do so) to dig up some old articles. Back in July of 2005, one of our very own CKAN members was profiled in this piece about "Adoption Myths and Truths".

It's interesting to chart the development of adoptee advocacy. Well before protests and gatherings, advocacy started with adoptees telling their stories, often very personal and heartfelt histories. Without the courage of these adult adoptees stepping forward, many "myths" would still be circulating.

You can also take a look at the most recent KCCA Motherland Tour that took place in May 2007, on Today's Parent Caroline Connell's Korea Blog. The photos and posts sum up how amazing and powerful the experience was. If you look closely you might be able to find some more CKAN members there!