Korean adoptee artists have garnered attention in the western countries where they live, but their works remain relatively unfamiliar to people in their country of origin. This obscurity isn't due to a lack of effort on the part of the adoptees. Despite their attempts to engage with Korean society, Koreans have yet to reciprocate in kind.

Therefore, the artistic endeavors brought to Korea represent more than the creative expressions of the individual artist's experience. They additionally serve as part of the collective discourse of adoptees and their attempts to cultivate a dialogue with Korean society. Whether through performances, paintings, or written words, these artists raise questions that often confront and challenge the dominant adoption narratives in Korea.

One such prevalent belief among people in Korea insists that if a person enjoys comfortable conditions in the present, then there's little need to broach questions about the past, including inquiries about one's roots.

This notion remains prominent in adoption representation, having been historically constructed first by adoption agencies and now reproduced by overly sentimental media portrayals of adoptees. However, the recent work of Sara Sejin Chang (Sara van der Heide) counters such accounts by employing art that unravels persistent untruths that adoptees are orphans, and she critically examines the colonial narratives around adoption. Her long-term project, "The Mother Mountain Institute," centers on the mothers who have been dehumanized and silenced by the lucrative transnational and transracial adoption industry.

In this installation, the audience listens to the testimonies of women whose children were stolen and trafficked. The film, "Brussels, 2016," shows a video letter from the artist to her mother in Korea and speaks about the processes of racialization towards citizens of color, including the experiences of racism experienced by adoptees in their predominantly white adoptive countries.

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TOKYO -- The word is spreading in Japan that becoming a foster parent is an option for members of sexual minorities including LGBT people who wish to raise children. The Mainichi Shimbun spoke with a lesbian couple who are considering fostering children.

Foster parents take children in who cannot live with their biological parents and need social care due to abuse, poverty, or other circumstances. The main requirements to become foster parents are that they complete foster parent training, and must not be in financial distress. There is no requirement to be legally married, and same-sex couples are not excluded.

Mari and Ayako (both pseudonyms), a female couple in their 50s living together in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, met in their late 30s and have been together for about 15 years. Mari, who is older than Ayako, loves children, but considering her age and other factors she did not think she would ever have any. Ayako, on the other hand, had a strong desire to have children.

Same-sex marriage is not legal in Japan, but Mari and Ayako decided they wanted to spend their lives together as partners, and a few years ago had a wedding ceremony with close family. They learned about the foster parent system in late 2020, when they happened to come across some information in a local government magazine.

They realized that they might be able to have a child after all. They immediately contacted the local government's child consultation center. They went in to hear about the system, and told the staff there that they were a couple. They did not feel being a same-sex couple was any hinderance at the foster parenting course they took at a local children's home.

Last year, 22 Czech children found a new home with a foreign adoptive family.

Roman Suda witnessed one of the stories about the adoption. He is the head of the children's home in Nepomuk, West Bohemia. In the domestic broadcasts of Czech Radio, he tells about two preschool-aged siblings. After nine months in the children's home, they found a new home in Italy. The foreign language was not an obstacle.

Illustration photo: Mabel Amber, Pixabay, Pixabay License Illustration photo: Mabel Amber, Pixabay, Pixabay License

“The children have an impressive ability to learn very quickly. They showed us that too. After just a few weeks in the Czech Republic, they understood Italian relatively well. An interpreter also helped. In the beginning she mediated between the two languages.”

According to Zden?k Kapitán, the story of the boy and the girl is a great success:

Last year, 22 Czech children found a new home with a foreign adoptive family.

Roman Suda experienced one of the adoption stories. He is the director of the children's home in the West Bohemian town of Nepomuk. In the Czech Radio's domestic broadcasts, he tells the story of two siblings of preschool age. After nine months in the children's home, a new home was found for them in Italy. The foreign language was no obstacle

"The children have an impressive ability to learn very quickly. They showed us that. After just a few weeks in the Czech Republic, they were able to understand Italian relatively well. An interpreter helped with that. She mediated between the two languages ​​at the beginning."

According to Zdeněk Kapitán, the story of the boy and the girl is a great success:

"We are proud that we found a new home abroad for many siblings in 2021. Organizing the adoption of two or three children is very time-consuming - for the children as well as for the applicants. This requires a lot of personnel from us and a lot of patience and enthusiasm for the children on the part of the adoptive parents."

Last year, 22 Czech children found a new home with a foreign adoptive family.

Roman Suda experienced one of the adoption stories. He is the director of the children's home in the West Bohemian town of Nepomuk. In the Czech Radio's domestic broadcasts, he tells the story of two siblings of preschool age. After nine months in the children's home, a new home was found for them in Italy. The foreign language was no obstacle.

"The children have an impressive ability to learn very quickly. They showed us that. After just a few weeks in the Czech Republic, they were able to understand Italian relatively well. An interpreter helped with that. She mediated between the two languages ​​at the beginning."

According to Zdeněk Kapitán, the story of the boy and the girl is a great success:

Lee Kyung-eun to meet Korean adoptees during Europe book tour next month

By Jung Min-ho

If inter-country adoption truly was intended "for the best" of children born in poor countries, why doesn't anyone listen to them when they finally have a voice to say that it wasn't what they wanted?

Inter-country adoptees' access to knowledge of their origins is still denied over their biological parents' right to privacy in Korea, a nation that remains as one of the leading "baby exporters" despite being the world's 10th-largest economy today.

Lee Kyung-eun, 53, one of the most famous, indefatigable defenders of adoptees' rights and author of "The Global Orphan Adoption System," will listen to the voices of Korean adoptees in person next month during her book tour in four European cities ? Amsterdam, The Hague, Copenhagen and Stockholm.

The accused nurse, identified as Jayamala Patil, gave custody of two children to two different households on last week, bypassing the procedures laid out by the government and with an intention of trafficking them, police said.

Vijayapura police have arrested a nurse for her alleged involvement in child trafficking, officials said on Tuesday.

The accused nurse, identified as Jayamala Patil, gave custody of two children to two different households on last week, bypassing the procedures laid out by the government and with an intention of trafficking them, police said.

Superintendent of Police, Vijayapura, HD Anand Kumar said that the arrest was made based on a complaint lodged by Childline, a child protection helpline.

“During the investigation, we found that she (the nurse) was raising young children illegally and giving them to people without due process. We found that she was to get orphaned children and give their custody to people,” he said.

Jaymala was found raising young children illegally and giving them to people without due process. She gave two children to two different households last week, bypassing the procedures laid out by the government.

The Vijayapura police have arrested a nurse for abducting children from hospitals and supplying them to childless parents. The accused has been identified as Jayamala Patil, who was working as a contract nurse at the primary health centre in Gigajivani village in Chatana taluk. Raising Children Illegally Jaymala is a resident of Athani Galli in Vijayapur city of Karnataka and was found raising young children illegally and giving them to people without due process, reported The Times of India. She gave two children to two different households last week, bypassing the procedures laid out by the government with the intention of trafficking them. Officers and staff of the city's women's police station arrested the convict and rescued two children from her home.

Child Trafficking Child trafficking is linked to the demand for cheap labour, especially where the working conditions are poor. Jayamala has taken advantage of the poor people and has started child trafficking. The action taken was based on a complaint by Childline, a child protection helpline. The police found that Jayamala employed two women in two separate houses in Athani Galli and Darbar Galli to take care of a three-year-old child and an 11-month-old baby. After searching these houses, they found the children, who were taken care of by women appointed by Jayamala for a monthly payment of ?3,000, The Hindustan Times reported. During the investigation of the matter, the Vijayapura police suspect that the accused has kept many such kids in different places as part of her child trafficking business. Government Efforts According to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), trafficking is one of the worst forms of violation of human rights where a woman or a child is treated as a commodity and not as a human being. It has a vast network across the country that procure women and children from deep rural areas with low awareness of the issue or backbreaking poverty. Many NGOs working on Anti Trafficking have also reported that in many instances of recovered and rescued victims of trafficking, they can trace the missing person's report at the local police station level. The government is also taking the necessary actions against the trafficking that has been happening. Under the Child Protection Act, the government tracks every missing child.

Gerda Cole, 98, knew little about her only child apart from the name she gave her at birth. She wasn’t even sure if “Sonya” stuck.

In 1942, when she was just 18, Cole was brokenhearted as she gave her newborn daughter up for adoption to a German couple living in England. Cole had recently escaped Austria and the Nazis, and was living as a Jewish refugee in England.

“I felt it was only fair to her,” said Cole, explaining that she was in a miserable marriage that was falling apart and couldn’t afford to care for a child on her own. Cole is an only child, and though her mother managed to survive World War II, her father was killed by the Nazis.

As a teenage refugee, Cole had no money, no job, and was still adjusting to a new country. She didn’t think she had the means to give her daughter the life she deserved.

“It was hard,” Cole said from her retirement home in Toronto, where she has lived since 1990. “If I had been in a better position, I would have tried.”