South Korean adoption system systematically violated human rights: 'Children were made adoptable'

South Korean adoption system systematically violated human rights: 'Children were made adoptable'

A new week, a new generation of the Goed Ingelichte Kring . Adoption is often seen as a noble act: a chance for orphaned children to find a loving home. Yet international adoption brings with it a complex and painful story. A truth commission from South Korea has now determined that the country systematically violated human rights. Host Sam Hagens spoke about it with radio host Mischa Blok and Alice Flikweert of the foundation Netherlands Korean Rights Group. Both were adopted from South Korea.

Fraud exposed

After a lengthy and in-depth investigation, a South Korean truth commission has found that the country committed decades of systematic human rights violations in intercountry adoptions. The investigation, which lasted two years and seven months, focused on adoptions to 11 Western countries and included a detailed analysis of 367 files. It covers the period from 1954 to 1999, a time when South Korea sent large numbers of children to the West.

"You read in black and white that fraud was committed on a large scale, and that children were made adoptable. That is a term that you actually loathe," says Mischa. Many files were falsified so that adoptees could no longer find their parents. "Instead of putting the name of the father and mother in it, they noted that you were foundling. Taking that away from a child - the basic information that you are entitled to, such as who your parents are and where you come from - is of course terrible."

Unexpected departure

Alice's mother was quite young when she married her father. "Eventually, when I was very young, she left my brother and sister with my father. She left me with my father and took me to my grandparents. She went to work in the city and kept coming back to check on me." At one point, Alice's grandparents no longer wanted to care for her. "Then my mother told her boss that she couldn't work with a child, but that he had an excellent solution for that." The boss knew a wealthy family that wanted to raise Alice. "Eventually my mother took me there because she saw that she could offer me fewer opportunities. When my mother came back to check on me, she couldn't find that family anymore. And therefore she couldn't find me either."

 

At some point the wish was sent, so the wish and demand from the West had to be fulfilled.

Alice Flikweert

South Korea was always the example of a country where adoption was well-regulated. Alice tells how it went so wrong. "The adoption system was invented there in 1955 by Harry Holt. He had a mission from God, and that was to save children from Korea. That brought so many people to their feet who also wanted a child. At a certain point, the wish was sent, so the wish and the demand from the West had to be met."

Recognition and sadness

For Mischa, it was strange to read the report of the truth commission. "You read in black and white that fraud has been committed on a large scale. (...) On the one hand, it is healing, because you get a kind of recognition. On the other hand, it is also so sad, because you now know that it has taken place on a large scale." Alice had tears running down her cheeks after hearing the news. "It was a recognition for the science that we have always had, and also felt. They were tears of joy and at the same time of sadness. The recognition is the part of joy, and sadness that it is really true."