Thread: Koreans Send Children to America for Adoption

http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_art ... c037c402de

New Immigration Strategy: Koreans Send Children to America for Adoption

New America Media, News Report, Aruna Lee, Jan 25, 2006

Editor's Note: Seeking better opportunities and the prestige of an American education for their children, South Korean parents are handing over their kids to retired American couples -- and facing some repercussions, according to Korean media.

SAN FRANCISCO--A growing number of South Korean parents are paying retired couples in the United States to adopt their children. These Korean parents say teaching their children English is a priority, as well as other factors including avoiding compulsory military service for young men and gaining the prestige of an American education.

One out of three Korean parents are willing to send their children abroad for the sake of a better education, according to a study by the Center for Korean Education Development in Seoul in the Korea Times. In the past, parents would ask relatives living in the United States to adopt their children, but more parents are now seeking out Caucasian families.

The Korea Times in Los Angeles reported the story of a Korean woman in Los Angeles on a work visa and employed as a nurse. She wished to bring her two teenage children to the United States from Korea and paid a retired American couple to adopt them.

In a report in the Chosun Daily in Seoul, Mrs. Chung, a cosmetic surgeon wished to send her second grade daughter to America because she says the U.S. school system is better than the one in Korea. She says her daughter often comes home late after studying extra hours at a hakwon, or private school in Seoul. Korean children typically begin preparation for strict college entrance exams as early as grammar school. "When I see my daughter who is always tired from school, I really want her to get an American education," Chung said. "The only thing that works for the situation is to find someone who can adopt my daughter, and I'll pay all expenses for her for the future."

Putting a child up for adoption in the United States allows Korean parents to skirt around normal immigration procedures, a drawn-out process with no guarantee of approval. Parents generally seek retired American couples, whose own children often have left and have room to spare. The American couples receive an agreed-upon sum of money in exchange for adopting the child and providing food and housing. Couples receive upwards of $30,000, with additional payments as necessary to cover room and board for each child they adopt. In return, the child gains legal status in the United States, as well as the privilege of attending American schools.

The Korean birth parents relinquish all legal claims to their children, sending them instead to grow up in a house with people they have never met.

"My neighbors, both of whom are retired, have already adopted three young South Korean kids," says a resident in Los Angeles in the Los Angeles Korea Times. "The kids all come from different families, but are now living as brothers and sisters."

Despite the benefits, some young Koreans adopted in this manner have shown signs of emotional distress, reflected in their schoolwork and behavior at home. Before being adopted, kids meet with social workers in the United States where they must clearly state their preference to live with their newly adopted parents.

Peter Chang, who heads the Korean Family Center in Los Angeles, says kids like this "often grow up feeling betrayed by their parents." Chang says he is becoming increasingly concerned over the negative psychological and emotional effects on young Koreans adopted this way.

"A parent who is putting a child up for adoption has to realize that the school system in America not only looks at education but also the emotional well being of the kids," says Kyung Sook Lee, a reporter from the Korea Daily in San Francisco.

Jeanie, adopted by American parents, wanted to return to her family in South Korea, according to Jung Sik Shin, a Korean lawyer in a report on the Korean-language version of MSN.com. Jeanie was told, however, that she could not leave the country because she had not yet received her U.S. citizenship. According to U.S. immigration laws, a child must remain with his or her adopted parents for two years before he or she is eligible for legal status in the country.

Korean parents must also be prepared for rampant adoption fraud, says Kristi Kim, an immigration lawyer in an interview in the Korea Times in Los Angeles. She points out that brokers, or those responsible for introducing Korean parents to prospective American adopters, have been guilty of unscrupulous practices.

For example, two years ago, Mr. Park, a factory owner in Korea, gave $40,000 to a Korean pastor in the United States to help find adoptive parents for his son already living in Florida. Park had hoped to help his son gain citizenship in the United States and continue his education there. Yet, after paying the agreed amount, the pastor quickly disappeared without providing any assistance to Park or his son. Six months later, Park learned his son was already ineligible for U.S. citizenship through adoption, as he had passed the age of 16. His son remains in the United States illegally, unable to return home to visit his parents.

In a similar case, a 14-year-old girl flew from South Korea to the United States, where she was to meet a broker hired by her parents to bring her to her adopted home. Upon her arrival, however, the broker failed to appear after having received a significant payment.

These are the risks, however, that many Korean parents are willing to take to have their children living in the United States.

This is sick. Most of these "adopted" children will probably end up in therapy, with us likely paying the tab.