Columbia University Journal of Student Social Work Volume 1, Number 1 8 Introduction On January 13, 1903, the first Korean immigrants to the United States arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii, on the S.S. Gaelic. In commemoration, President George W. Bush issued a proclamation declaring January 13, 2003 as the “Centennial of Korean Immigration to the United States.” Throughout the year, programs, ceremonies, and activities honoring Korean immigrants and their descendants have been scheduled to celebrate the contributions of Korean-Americans over the past one-hundred years. There was a time when I would not have identified with the millions of Koreans who risked everything for the hope of a new life in a new land. Like them, I was born in Korea and came to the United States with the hope of a better life. But unlike them, I did not travel with family or knowledge of my blood roots nor did I have to learn a new culture and language all on my own. My arrival to the United States at the age of three was eagerly await- ed; I had become an American through adoption. Trends in the Field of Intercountry Adoption It is estimated that between 1955 and 1999, a total of 143,144 Korean children were placed for overseas adoptions worldwide (Holt Korea, 2003). Of these children, an estimated 100,008 were adopted by American families (U.S. State Department, 2003; Gathering, 1999). The first wave of Korean- born children adopted in the aftermath of the Korean war were pioneers, paving the way for the thousands of orphaned and abandoned children who are now adopted through intercountry adoption. Currently, the practice of intercountry adoption involves the transfer of AADULDULTT KKOREANOREAN IINTERCOUNTRNTERCOUNTRYY AADOPTEESDOPTEES: : A RA RESOURCEESOURCE FORFOR AADOPTIONDOPTION PPRACTICERACTICE Hollee A. McGinnis The author shares a personal narrative of her efforts to establish an adult intercountry adoptee organization in New York City. These efforts coa- lesced with a national movement of adult intercountry adopted Koreans culminating in the Gathering of the First Generation of Adult Korean Adoptees, held in Washington, D.C. in 1999, and the Second Gathering in Oslo, Norway in 2001. The contribution of adult Korean adoptees to the field of intercountry and transracial adoption is discussed, with suggestions for how adult adopted persons can be utilized to enhance adoption prac- MCGINNIS / Adult Korean Intercountry Adoptees: A Resource for Adoption Practice 9 an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 children from over 50 countries each year, with the United States receiving the largest number of the world’s children (Masson, 2001; Lovelock, 2000). According to the U.S. State Department, the total number of foreign-born children adopted by U.S. citizens has increased by nearly 40 percent, from 8,102 children in 1989, to an estimat- ed 20,099 children in 2002 (Table 1). Since 1995, the top four countries issuing visas for children migrating to the U.S. for adoption were China (Mainland), Russia, South Korea, and Guatemala (U.S. State Department, 2003). Source: U.S. State Department: http://travel.state.gov/orphan_numbers.html In the United States, many of the first waves of Korean adopted children are now professionals with a wealth of experience and knowledge to share with the new generation of intercountry adopted children. My efforts as a Korean adoptee to establish an adult intercountry adoptee organization in New York City coalesced with a national movement of adult intercountry adopted Koreans that culminated in the Gathering of the First Generation of Adult Korean Adoptees, held in Washington, D.C. in 1999, and the Second Gathering in Oslo, Norway in 2001. Making Connections Although I always knew I was born in Korea and adopted, I was not always conscious of what either meant. Growing up, being Korean described my physical appearance, explained where I came from, and made me unique from the rest of my family. As a teenager, I was made more con- Columbia University Journal of Student Social Work Volume 1, Number 1 10 scious of looking Asian because people assumed, based on my physical appearance, that I spoke Korean or knew Korean culture. However, because I was raised by a non-Korean family I did not think of myself as Korean. I was a McGinnis. I felt that because of my appearance, people assumed I had knowledge of Korean culture. I felt like an imposter: I only knew American culture. Despite how American I felt, my family could not tell me where I got my eyes, my artistic talents, or the shape of my face. Their love could not shield me from the questions or the puzzled faces of those who did not understand how a White couple could have an Asian daughter. Living in a society that places a primacy on biology, an adopted person cannot help but feel exclud- ed and cheated for the lack of knowledge of his or her genetic roots. Lacking such knowledge, adopted people must find other kinds of connections. My studies as an undergraduate connected me to the history of inter- country adoptions in the United States, which first began after World War II in response to the humanitarian needs and an altruistic response to displaced war orphans (Masson, 2001; Lovelock, 2000; Riley, 1997). Similar senti- ments initially led to the adoption of foreign children after the Korean and Vietnam Wars (Masson; Lovelock). Latin America emerged as a significant relinquishing region for intercountry adoptions by the mid 1970s, followed by the former Soviet Union and China by the mid 1990s (U.S. State Department, 2003). Also-Known-As From my studies, I realized I was not alone. As I sought to reconcile my self-identity based on my adoption experience with the identity imposed by the racial stereotypes of my society, a conflict arose. I was only given two choices: Korean or American. The reality for me was that I was both. My Korean mother gave birth to my body, but my adoptive mother and father gave birth to my soul. The East gave me life, but the West taught me how to live it. I realized that as an individual I had little power to shift misconcep- tions regarding adoption, yet as a community, international adoptees could do much to shift perceptions of adoption and racial stereotypes. In forming Also-Known-As, an organization for adult intercountry adoptees, in 1996, I wanted to gather fellow adult adoptees in order to cele- brate our unique experiences and serve the younger generation of intercoun- try adoptees and adoptive families. Gathering as a community we could assert our unique culture as transracial and international adopted people and create a space in which we could embrace our unique identities. The name of the organization is a reflection of our self-identities and human experi- ences that are not apparent on the surface. I am Hollee McGinnis, also- known-as Lee Hwa Yong. In establishing the organization, I found a com- MCGINNIS / Adult Korean Intercountry Adoptees: A Resource for Adoption Practice 11 munity outside of my adoptive family that shared a desire to make a differ- ence with the unique lives we had been given. Although we believed intercountry adoptees shared a common experi- ence and sought to include adoptees from all countries, our first effort focused on connecting with Korean adoptees, who constitute the largest number of intercountry adoptees in the U.S. Our efforts coincided with pre- vious efforts by adult Korean adoptees to establish organizations in Minnesota and Los Angeles. However, our organization was unique in that its primary goal was to establish post-adoption services informed by the experiences of adult adoptees. In addition, we were among the first organi- zations to utilize the Internet to connect with adopted people both national- ly and internationally. The Gathering of the First Generation of Adult Korean Adoptees The Gathering of the First Generation of Adult Korean Adoptees, a three day conference held in September 1999 in Washington, D.C., was a momen- tous culmination in the development of the adult Korean adoptee communi- ty. This conference, sponsored by Holt International Children’s Services, Also-Known-As, the Korea Society, and The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institue, brought together nearly 400 adults adopted from Korea between 1955 and 1985, representing over 30 U.S. states and several European coun- tries (Gathering, 1999). This conference was unique in its purpose to provide an opportunity for adoptees to share their experiences, bringing together the past, present, and future of Korean intercountry adoptions. To gain greater insight into the experiences of Korean adoptees, as well as to plan the conference itself, The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, in conjunction with Holt International Children’s Services, surveyed the participants at the Gathering (Gathering, 1999). Participants discussed, in small groups based on birth years, topics such as reasons for participating in the conference, memories of Korea and arrival at their new home, impact of early experiences on adoptees’ lives, discrimination, identity, dating and relationships, relation- ship to Korea, search and reunion, and perceptions of adoption. The confer- ence concluded in the early dawn at the Korean War Memorial and was a testament to the shared suffering of a generation of Koreans who survived a war, were transplanted from their birth culture, and built new lives on for- eign soil. Since the Gathering, Korean adult adoptees have continued to meet at “mini-gatherings” throughout the country, new organizations of adult Korean adoptees have sprung up, and a plethora of websites now connect Korean adoptees throughout the world. A second Gathering, focused on bringing together Korean adoptees from Europe, occurred in Oslo, Norway Columbia University Journal of Student Social Work Volume 1, Number 1 12 in July 2001. Future Directions Despite the increase in the number of intercountry adoptions, research in this field is limited. However, a growing body of work has begun to focus on factors influencing ethnic identity formation and development in inter- country transracial adoptees (Fiegelman & Silverman, 1984; Trolley, Hansen & Wallin, 1995; Huh & Reid, 2000; Carstens & Juliá, 2000; Vonk, 2001). These studies of ethnic identity formation have consistently relied on adoptive parents to answer questions regarding the racial awareness and identity formation of their transracially adopted childen. Although parents can provide accurate information about much of their children's conduct, it is difficult for them to provide data on all of their children's activities and feelings (Feigelman, 2000). In addition, current studies on ethnic awareness have relied on the expe- riences of young adoptees rather than adoptees who are in adolescence or early adulthood—the age at which racial identification is most salient and recognition of one's racial and ethnic identity becomes most important (Feigelman, 2000; Hug & Reid, 2000). Thus, the importance of race may be underrepresented in these studies because of the relationship between racial identification and development. Although discussion of the results of the Gathering survey is beyond the scope of this paper, it is clear that the inclu- sion of adult adoptees’ experiences and reflections of their identities would be invaluable to future studies on ethnic identity development over the life- span. Korean adult adoptees have already influenced the development of inter- country adoption practice. For example, Also-Known-As has a Speaker’s Bureau where adult adoptees share their experiences of being adopted. While we realize that the experiences of the current generation of inter- country adoptees may be different from our own, we recognize that we have insights into growing up in transracial families that are valuable for prospec- tive adoptive families. Research supports that the adoptive family's sociocultural milieu, includ- ing minority role models, is a significant factor affecting ethnic identifica- tion of transracial adoptees (Zuñiga, 1991; Carstens & Juliá, 2000). Thus, we offer a mentorship program for intercountry adopted youth, providing minority role models who are also adopted. Adult adoptees have been influ- ential in establishing culture camps and culture days for intercountry adop- tive families, reflecting their own desires to have had opportunities to con- nect with their birth cultures growing up. Today, Korean adoptees are traveling to Korea in unprecedented waves, seeking to experience their birth culture. By sharing their experiences in MCGINNIS / Adult Korean Intercountry Adoptees: A Resource for Adoption Practice 13 film, memoir, and the arts, Korean adoptees are redefining what it means to be an adopted person. Adult Korean adoptees are leading experts into unex- pected territories. Many Korean adoptees are actively searching for—and finding—birth parents, a prospect that many adoption professionals once assumed to be impossible. Conclusion Agencies need to be responsive to the life-long needs of Korean Intercounrty Adoptees and can do so by partnering with adult adoptee organ- izations. The formation of these organizations is a response to the unmet needs of adult adoptees. Practitioners in the field of adoption often think their work is complete when the child is placed in the hands of a new fami- ly; however, this is just the beginning of a life-long journey of self-discov- ery. References Carstens, C., Juliá, M. (2000). Ethnoracial awareness in intercountry adoption: U.S. experiences. International Social Work, 43, 61-73. Feigelman, W., Silverman, A. (1984). The long-term effects of transra- cial adoption. Social Service Review, 58, 588-602. Feigelman, W. (2000). Adjustments of transracially and inracially adopted young adults. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 17,165-183. Gathering of the First Generation of Adult Korean Adoptees (1999). Report retrieved March 6, 2003 from http://www.holtintl.org/pdfs/Survey2.pdf Holt Korea, Inc. (2003). The Overseas Adoption Situation (1955-1999). Retrieved March 6, 2003 from http://www.holt.or.kr/adop.htm Huh, N. S., William J. R. (2000). Intercountry, transracial adoption and ethnic identity: A Korean example. International Social Work, 43, 75-87. Lovelock, K. (2000). Intercountry adoption as a migratory practice: A comparative analysis of intercountry adoption and immigration policy and practice in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand in the post W.W. II period. International Migration Review, 34(3), 907-923. Masson, J. (2001). Intercountry adoption: A global problem or a glob- al solution? Journal of International Affairs, 55(1), 141-146. Riley, N. (1997). American adoptions of Chinese girls: The socio- political matrices of individual decisions. Women’s Studies International Forum, 20(1), 87-102. Trolley, B. C., Wallin, J., Hansen, J. (1995). International adoption: Issues of acknowledgement of adoption and birth culture. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 12, 465-479. U.S. State Department (2003). Immigrant visas issued to orphans coming to the US. Retrieved March 6, 2003 from Columbia University Journal of Student Social Work Volume 1, Number 1 14 http://travel.state.gov/orphan_numbers.html Vonk, M.E. (2001). Cultural competence for transracial adoptive par- ents. Social Work, 46, 246-255. Zuñiga, M. (1991). Transracial adoption: Educating the parents. Journal of Multicultural Social Work, 1, 17-31. Hollee A. McGinnis is a second-year MS student at the Columbia University School of Social Work concentrating in International Social Welfare Policy. She is currently an intern at the Council on Accreditation in New York City. She holds a BA in American Studies from Mount Holyoke College.