By Bahk Eun-ji
Pastor Kim Do-hyun, 59, has devoted himself to supporting unwed mothers in the belief that helping them become independent is the foremost step to eliminate the country's reputation as a "baby exporting nation."
"It is sad that many people think adoption is the best alternative for the child to give it a better family, but why don't they consider that the child will live a life with fundamental questions in their heart, such as, ‘Who is my mother?' ‘Where did I come from?' ‘Why did my mom let me go?'" said Kim, 59, the director of House of Korean Root (KoRoot).
Many Korean children continue to be adopted into families overseas. According to the Ministry of Health & Welfare, out of 2,464 adoptees in 2011, 916 children were adopted into families overseas, and 1,013 of a total 2,475 in 2010,
KoRoot is a guest house for grown-up Korean adoptees returning to Korea. Since it was established in 2002, it has played a pivotal role as a non government organization that seeks to establish appropriate perspectives on domestic and international adoptions in Korean society.
"It's important to support adopting families but what's more important is to help the mothers live with their children so they will not send them to another family," Kim said.
The pastor said supporting unwed mothers mentally and financially is important, as more than 90 percent of international adoptees in 2011 were born to unwed mothers, according to the ministry.
The social stigma attached to unwed mothers must be eliminated, he said, and they need a better safety net, both in social and financial terms.
Kim's interest in the difficulties facing adoptees and their birth mothers started while he was living in Switzerland in 1993. While Kim was working as a pastor for Koreans there, a 23-year-old Korean adoptee named Ji-yoon committed suicide, leaving a note that read, "I'm going to meet my birth mother."
After attending Ji-yoon's funeral and seeing her suicide note, Kim became interested in Korean adoptees in Switzerland and gradually came to sympathize with their difficulties.
"During that time, I found the ultimate reason for the mothers to send their children away was they couldn't afford to raise them," he said. "And they just vaguely believed the child would have a better life with an adopting family overseas. Therefore, supporting them to live with their children must be the priority."
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| Pastor Kim Do-hyun |
"It is sad that many people think adoption is the best alternative for the child to give it a better family, but why don't they consider that the child will live a life with fundamental questions in their heart, such as, ‘Who is my mother?' ‘Where did I come from?' ‘Why did my mom let me go?'" said Kim, 59, the director of House of Korean Root (KoRoot).
Many Korean children continue to be adopted into families overseas. According to the Ministry of Health & Welfare, out of 2,464 adoptees in 2011, 916 children were adopted into families overseas, and 1,013 of a total 2,475 in 2010,
KoRoot is a guest house for grown-up Korean adoptees returning to Korea. Since it was established in 2002, it has played a pivotal role as a non government organization that seeks to establish appropriate perspectives on domestic and international adoptions in Korean society.
"It's important to support adopting families but what's more important is to help the mothers live with their children so they will not send them to another family," Kim said.
The pastor said supporting unwed mothers mentally and financially is important, as more than 90 percent of international adoptees in 2011 were born to unwed mothers, according to the ministry.
The social stigma attached to unwed mothers must be eliminated, he said, and they need a better safety net, both in social and financial terms.
Kim's interest in the difficulties facing adoptees and their birth mothers started while he was living in Switzerland in 1993. While Kim was working as a pastor for Koreans there, a 23-year-old Korean adoptee named Ji-yoon committed suicide, leaving a note that read, "I'm going to meet my birth mother."
After attending Ji-yoon's funeral and seeing her suicide note, Kim became interested in Korean adoptees in Switzerland and gradually came to sympathize with their difficulties.
"During that time, I found the ultimate reason for the mothers to send their children away was they couldn't afford to raise them," he said. "And they just vaguely believed the child would have a better life with an adopting family overseas. Therefore, supporting them to live with their children must be the priority."
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