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| Geraldine Dy holds a poster asking for help for Kopinos in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday./Courtesy of Koo Bon-chang |
A Filipina mother staged a protest outside the main gate of the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday, demanding help for Kopinos, children born to Korean fathers and Filipino mothers.
Next to Geraldine Dy was her eight year old son, Jared Keystone Kim, shyly clinging to his mother.
The poster she was holding proclaimed: "I am KOPINO, Half of me is Korean and the other half is Filipino. I waited, am waiting and will be waiting for my father."
Kim is one of approximately 40,000 Kopinos in the Philippines ― which is only an estimate because there's no official count.
Last year, Dy filed for child support from the father, and last week, the two flew to attend a session at a court in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province.
The father didn't initially recognize his son, and insisted that he see the boy in person.
"They (the father and the son) looked so much alike. I was surprised. The mediator was also very surprised," the mother said.
The meeting with the father resulted in a consent and Dy left the court with a promise of at least 200,000 won per month sent to her son by his father until he turns 18.
"I am so thankful for this," the mother said. "With this money, he has a future. I will save this money for him."
Dy and her son's father, Kim, met in Manila in 2008. Kim was a student studying English and Dy was looking for a job.
Kim moved into her flat, and "I thought we were quite serious."
She learned that he wasn't serious enough after she got pregnant.
"One day, I arrived home and found a message that he was leaving me," Dy said.
The baby came in 2009, and in 2010, the mother found the Korean father on Facebook.
"Sorry that I can't take care of you. Please forget me" was his reply.
"I was fine. I said, okay, that's it,' she recalled. Not much later, she wrote him again for help because this time his son fell sick.
"He didn't reply to my message," the mother said.
Asking for child support occurred to her as an option last year after her encounter with We Love Korea (WLK), an NGO helping Kopinos.
"I am now living with my boyfriend who accepts my son as his own and is supportive of everything I do. But, as my child gets older, he needs more things, and I can't ask my boyfriend for everything."
She was among a few lucky Kopino mothers who managed to get the money. Many mothers can't even locate their childrens' fathers, according to Koo Bon-chang, an activist who founded WLK.
WLK has contacts with almost 3,000 Kopino mothers in the Philippines and has assisted those who wished to initiate legal fights against the fathers.
Most Kopino fathers are long-term residents in the Catholic country where abortion is illegal. The narrative is common. The couple meets and starts a relationship; the woman gets pregnant and the man flees the country to escape his obligations.
Koo's Facebook postings of the fathers' photos drew huge public attention in 2015 and early 2016.
Activists have waged campaigns to raise awareness about the issue and to get the Korean government to act to deliver the care the children need, but no meaningful response to that has happened so far.
Dy said she wanted to show solidarity by the protest in front of the National Assembly. "I want to support other Kopinos."
