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By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
An increasing number of Korean parents have their children adopted by Americans working for the U.S. military to enroll them at American schools on army bases, according to parents and school staff.
They say the number of adopted Korean students has recently risen at the Seoul American High School (SAHS), a Department of Defense (DoD) Dependent School at Yongsan Army Garrison in Seoul.
``Recently, I saw a sharp rise in the number of adopted Korean students coming to this school. Korean people are very clever, so they do whatever is necessary for the education of their children,'' said a 40-year-old mother of two children in the 9th and 10th grades at the school. ``If you visit immigration agencies in Itaewon, you can find many Koreans trying to have their children adopted by foreigners for education,'' added the woman, who declined to be named.
The school's students and teachers also admitted to the rise in the number of adopted students.
According to the school, about 670 dependents of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force and Civilian Personnel assigned to Seoul attend the federal public school. Among them, nearly 30 percent are Asians, mostly Korean.
Asked about the deliberately adopted Koreans who attend the school, Assistant Principal Bernard Hipplewith said, ``We have some (adopted Koreans) here. Yes, we have quite a few of them. I don't think we don't have huge problems with them.''
DoD schools were established in 1946 to provide education from kindergarten through grade 12 for the children of American military and Department of Defense (DoD) personnel stationed overseas. Korea has a total of eight DoD schools in Seoul, Daegu, Osan, Pyongtaek and Jinhae.
Some immigration agents in Itaewon work as brokers between Korean parents and Americans.
An immigration agent who has worked in the business since 1974 said many Koreans who have foreign relatives usually have their children adopted by uncles and aunts who hold foreign passports.
``More than 90 percent of my customers wish to send their children to English-speaking schools. I handle three to nine cases per month,'' the agent said. He says he charges some two million won per case as commission.
He said fees parents pay to guardians differ widely. ``When not related to the guardian, the fee depends on how much the guardian requests. Usually, you need to pay step by step when you obtain either U.S. residency or citizenship.''
He said it could easily exceed 200 million won ($150,000). He said it generally takes two-and-half years for an adopted child to get a Green Card post-adoption and another six months to obtain U.S. citizenship.
Moreover, the agent said he has witnessed many children, via ``fake adoption,'' enter other international schools in the area, with many Korean university professors among his main customers.
Eligible applicants to such schools are categorized into four types; Command-sponsored dependents of U.S. military and DoD civilians with orders to Korea and representatives of federally connected contractors; Dependents whose sponsors are employees of the State Department and other U.S. governmental agencies, the Red Cross, USO, and representatives of federally connected contractors; Non-command sponsored dependents of U.S. military; Dependents of private U.S. citizens (including retired U.S. military) and citizens of foreign countries.
The schools charge some $20,000 in yearly tuition, but command-sponsored dependents of U.S. military and DoD civilians and non-command sponsored dependents of U.S. military attend free of charge.
An international schoolteacher there hinted many children adopted by Americans are attending elementary and middle schools. Considering other U.S. military schools outside Seoul, the number of such children could easily be much larger.
A Korean staff member at the school said, ``You know some irregularities always exist wherever you go.''
The Seoul Central District Court sees such irregularities as possible causes of legal disputes. ``Fake adoption for other purposes from Korean parents who are able to look after their children could be legally problematic and there are cases in which courts cancel such adoptions,'' said a judge from a family court in Seoul.
``It could mean the fabrication of documents and abuse of adoption. But we need to take a closer look at cases of international adoption.''
Adoption agencies also expressed concerns. ``This kind of fake adoption could only happen in Korea. A child can be a member of a new family via adoption. We need to think about the meaning and values of family and should know how it influences children when they are removed from their original family registry,'' said Kim Eun-hee, a spokeswoman of Holt Children's Services, a non-profit organization that facilitates domestic and international adoptions. ``At the same time, Korean courts need to thoroughly scrutinize adoption hopefuls, as in other countries, to prevent abuse of the system.''
kswho@koreatimes.co.kr
