Comments on: Flood of Applications to Adopt Girl Abandoned by Dutch Diplomats

By: Joci

Joci — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 18:38:27 +0000

I’m still not clear on why the parents abandon their children because from what I’ve observed, Koreans and Asians in general seem very committed to their family. The parents sacrifice for their children in many cases. I am very puzzled by the contradiction or maybe this is not an unusual phenomenon for any group if the conditions are similar??

By: Herod

Herod — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 11:30:42 +0000

I should have added “or orphaned.” But all experts are in agreement that children and the elderly died at a far higher rate than 20-60 year old adults precisely because they were abandoned.

By: Herod

Herod — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 11:28:28 +0000

Call my old-fashioned, but I link to books.
According to Nolan and Haggard’s Famine in North Korea, Medicins sans Frontieres estimated that during the famine as many as 25% (!) of the children in South P’yongan province were abandoned. And you’re talking a relatively well-off part of the country.

By: Sonagi

Sonagi — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 11:11:59 +0000

And the abandonment of children was massive during the NK famine, in contrast to famines in Africa.

Supporting links?

By: Herod

Herod — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 10:09:34 +0000

My gosh, that’s depressing, Sperwer.
So much for that hooey about “cheong” I guess.

By: Sperwer

Sperwer — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 08:47:55 +0000

Dokdo: Yes, there is an implicit understanding to that effect, but it’s not much of a worry because of the high unlikelihood of a Korean adoption under any circumstances and the equal unlikelihood of an overseas adoption since none of the kids generally are infants or very young children. BTW, although it’s not unheard of, very few of the parents even if they get back up on their feet actually do reclaim the kids.

By: dokdoforever

dokdoforever — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 08:35:25 +0000

Well, here’s a study that supports Sonagi’s point about no substitute for a loving family - kids raised in foster homes developed higher IQs than those that stayed in orphanages:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/21/us/21foster.html

Sperwer - since you’ve had more experience with orphanages than I have - I have a question for you. I remember during the IMF period how parents in hardship would drop their kids off at an orphanage with plans to retrieve them later. Do they ask the orphanage not to permit their child to be adopted? If not, it would seem pretty risky - you could lose your kid overseas somewhere.

Korean divorce courts traditionally grant child custody to fathers, as I know, which could be another factor leading to abandoned children. The step mom may not get along with the guy’s kids, the father is likely to busy to raise them himself, and the mother may lack the financial resources to raise them alone.

By: Sperwer

Sperwer — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 03:35:43 +0000

“wedlock” reference was not “directed” at your post, but your reference did cause me to include the qualification. The qualification prompted by your latest is that hone of the 80 cases with which I’m familiar involve children abandoned because of a break-up.

[BTW, I enjoyed the parmesan/kimchi example. My mother-in-law tease one another with the observation that wht the other is eating smells like shit precisely in connection with parmesan and kimchi.]

By: arthjourneyman

arthjourneyman — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 03:15:40 +0000

Well, if the wedlock thing was directed to my post, I didn’t mean children between unmarried couples, more of married couples who decide to split after a few years and are still looking for longterm partners. As I mentioned, even though they do have enough material wealth to support the child, they’re usually dropped due to the stigma and difficulty of future marriage among the same social spectrum. From my even more limited experience, though.

Herod, uh…yeah, I think what your trying to imply is as it is, and I’m kinda surprised that from being a poster here, you’d be unfamiliar to take the ‘Koreans are innately morally superior’ act with a grain of salt. Inconsistent (hypocritical) behavior? That’s like realizing it’s inconsistent when Koreans say they don’t like parmesan cheese ’cause it stinks and then they go on to eat some kimchi (and a great many other things…)

At any rate, putting such notions aside and addressing the difference between the African nations and NK famine - orphanage situation, I’d say it’s due to accessibility; Africa is huge and most of the better of nations are on the outer fringes, so if your starving and in say Malawi, your hard pressed to be able to go anywhere for help. In NK on the other hand, walk to China or somehow make it to SK and your guaranteed meals. Considering the terrain and the border guards though, children can be quite a liability. Still, got any links on the mostly women running away issue? It’s not that I doubt your…credibility I guess would be the word, but rather I find it interesting as well.

By: Herod

Herod — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 02:35:18 +0000

I bring all this up because it seems inconsistent. Allegedly they are especially averse to adoption because blood ties are all important. And yet they are especially inclined to give children up for adoption, even when children are born in wedlock.