Photographer Rick Smolan tells the story of the adoption of a young Amerasian girl from Korea. It’s a pretty interesting tale:
(HT to reader)
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A Korean Amerasian Adoption Story
This entry was written by Robert Koehler, posted on July 3, 2008 at 4:07 pm, filed under Korean Diaspora, South Korea. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.
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55 Comments
Today the Korean government refuses to acknowledge that these children even exist.
My friend works with kids like this in Busan. It is done in secret due to the governments position.
Just another reason why I think global warming is a blessing.
I would likely not have encountered this story if you hadn’t posted it on the Hole. Thanks ever so much. Can’t wait to see the movie.
Thanks for sharing the link.
It’s a very moving story.
Thanks for posting that. It has really made my day.
That was a wonderfully moving story. Lee Un-sok/Natasha has the best of both countries than.
Wow.
Jeffery Hodges
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Thanks
Wow! I really enjoyed that.
Truly amazing story. Thanks so much for sharing this.
Here’s to Lee Un-Sok (Natasha) and more people like her !
A great day at the Hole! Kudos.
wonderful story, amazing woman.
What a great story!
In 1972 when i was visiting an American Army base I recollect the following:
I was on a Korean bus going into town. There was a commotion on the street next to the bus. A bunch of Korean kids were chasing and yelling at two Amerasian kids, who had the look of terror in their eyes. Around me the Koreans in the bus were smiling. I attempted to get off the bus to help but it was too late as the bus started to move.
What i thought about Koreans that day I do not want to repeat.
Great story.
Thank you.
@13:
With all due respect, after the recent “Feng” multi-ID incident at the “Open Discussion” thread, I’ll listen to this story with a huge grain of salt. Back in the old days of the Korea Times we had quite a barrage of people with stories about Korean racism and discrimination similar to this one (and each comment concluding with a generalization of all Korean people) until each one was proven to be from the same commenter, just under a different id of a supposed different nationality. (And I am not by any means saying racism and discrimination doesn’t occur in Korea, just saying knowing there is a guy like “Feng” still out there, be careful what you believe.)
BTW, I’d like to see/read this story, but it won’t show up on this computer. I’ll look at it later.
Wow, another great link and another great story.
JK, the story of Lee Un-Sok isn’t really about Korean racism. It’s simply an uplifting story about an impressive little girl.
Jeffery Hodges
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Natasha sounded very much like a typical (somewhat fobbish) Korean American girl living in LA. If I heard the voice without seeing the face, I’d swear she was Korean speaking English.
I was hoping she’d speak a word of two in Korean.
#17 - I agree. Racism is a secondary aspect to the story. Actually, the presentation portrays individual Koreans - Natasha’s grandmother, uncle, best friend, and many of the neighbors - in a positive light.
HJ Hodges, don’t tell that to me; tell that to Richard in #13.
I also agree. Smolan explains how he perceived that her uncle was mistreating Un-sok, but that the uncle challenged him (apparantly rightly) on that account. In the end, the relative Smolan had suspected of being abusive aided the girl - and, in a way, his accusor. In my view, Smolan admits his own error of judgement.
This is a great story about a life transformed. It’s touching.
I’m simply trying to be helpful, JK, since you hadn’t seen the video.
Jeffery Hodges
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Richard,
“A bunch of Korean kids were chasing and yelling at two Amerasian kids, who had the look of terror in their eyes.Around me the Koreans in the bus were smiling.”
You’re really pathetic.
I didn’t really pay attention to the headline so I was like, “Whoa, what’s that halmoni doing sitting next to that white girl.”
These halfers usually come out looking like a blend of some kind, but sometimes a few come out looking very asian or very white.
I remember meeting a girl in college who was half Korean and white, but she looked mostly white. She was raised by her white dad in Illinois until 12 years old, then she went to live with her Korean mom and Korean step-dad in Washington state. One thing she didn’t like was that when she was living with her mom and step-dad, they made up a story that they “adopted” her. Apparently, her mom and step-dad were pastors at the local Korean American church and admiting that she was the mom’s natural daughter would make it necessary for her to tell church members she had divorced a white guy and remarried a Korean. It was something they wanted to avoid getting into, thus the “adoption” story. Other than that, she said she had a fairly good and normal upbringing.
Oh… and Korean grandmothers rock. Every bit the selfless, loving caretakers in Natasha’s story as well as Jeong-hyang Lee’s “The Way Home”.
Good story indeed..there are good people out there afterall!!
re. william at #23:
I am mystified. Why is he pathetic? Because Richard recounted a bad incident that he saw involving Amerasian kids? We all know this happened back then (and sometimes even now). How is that pathetic? Because he was outraged at the abuse? Because he wanted to help? Because he did not approve of the tacit consent of the onlooker who did nothing to help?
Or am I missing something? Are you accusing him of making the story up?
Anyway, great story about an adoption that worked out well. Certainly a timely happy adoption story to counter some recent American adoption tragedies. No need to recount them here.
Best of luck to Natasha and her family.
William’
Why am I pathetic?
When I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Korea during the 70’s I kept a diary. It was one of the many things I wrote down during my time In Cheoungju City. Just so I wouldn’t mis-remember.
What have I said that has incurred your wrath?
I am perplexed.
Kudos to Robert for finding and posting the story, kudos to Rick Smolan for his pasiion, commitment, and willingness to learn, kudos to Natasha’s grandmother who I vote as the real heroine of the story, kudos to her uncle for overcoming his opposition and allowing the adoption to go thru, kudos to the family that adopted her, and kudos to Natasha who was obviously a gifted child and has apparently turned out quite well despite all the attention and all the dislocation.
I think one can be uplifted by this story without making any judgments about or acquiescing in anybody else’s attitudes or behavior.
Richard,
I actually don’t doubt your story. I can see it happening, especially in early 70’s Korea. I’d like to think that things have improved in the early 21st century. Maybe they have and maybe they haven’t.
However, you did leave yourself open to ridicule letting that one incident form your opinion on all Koreans in all points of time. Maybe I’m wrong, but at least that’s how it reads.
. . . or another way of putting it: I have encountered some of the finest people — like her grandmother — here, in some of the most common places, so much so that, in my mind, it is a continuous reminder of what impresses me the most about living here.
Nowadays, kids who are of mixed parentage and live in Korea (with their folks) are generally accepted since they speak Korean and integrate well, mostly.
I do not know how it is with kids whose dad was military and ran off though. My impression is that they tend to have a worse time of it (whose your daddy?, etc.)
Interesting story. I am not sure where the supposed “racism” angle that some commenters are talking about is coming from.
I am guessing that Amerasian orphans are now a thing of the past. Most would be aborted these days.
Richard,
Pls ignore William’s comment as people get very hypersensitive to any story of Korean racism..Koreans are very proud people so you know how it goes… No need to defend or explain.
Wangkon936
Point taken. On Korea Beat wasn’t there a recent story about an other mixed race child and her trials and tribulations?
I spent 4 years in Korea and certainly that one incident has NOT made me think that is indicative of all Koreans.
I lived with a Korean family and very rarely saw any other Americans. I spoke Korean fluently and knew the culture very well.
I was trying, it seems inexpertly, to buttress one point in Smolans presentation that AT THAT TIME, a mixed race child would face significant hurdles.
My bad.
No offense was intended.
And yes, what an amazing grandmother!!!!
Richard — I think what William, whose comment was far from eloquent, was offended by was that your description of the event comes off as a WWII caricature… the “terror in the eyes” as the Koreans smile on. Or, to put this another way, some — and not necessarily myself, mind you — could take it as yet another example of colonial white men bitching about native cruelty. I appreciate and thank you for your comment, but it probably didn’t need a graphic description that could turn an otherwise uplifting story into another Marmot’s Hole bitchfest about the evils of Korean racism.
This is an amazing story. Thank you and please keep up the links…
Very good story. Very inspiring and touching.
Thanks for linking to this beautiful story that I otherwise would not have found.
Thank you for the sharing this touching story, so well presented through Mr. Smolan’s photos. My own daughter is one of those dual-heritage children who look much more Western than Asian — she has blond hair and many people are shocked to learn that she is actually half Chinese. Needless to say, race is an artificial construct (how many are there again?) and appearances can be very deceiving. In spite of her non-Asian looks, the truth is that she has spent 12 of her 16 years growing up in Japan, where she attended Japanese school. When we got transferred back to the US for a couple of years, it was a difficult adjustment for her, even though she was fluent in English. Such children are “hidden immigrants” when they “return” to their putative homeland. What a surprise too it was when we had to indicate her race in order to enroll her in school (in Chicago). Was she “White” or “Asian”? The state’s rules would only allow us to check one box…
Where can one by the book?
Wonderful story… thanks for posting it. Wish there was a version with Korean subtitles to share.
I looked everywhere for the book to no avail.
Anyone know where it can be purchased?
Thank you for the touching story. An amazing grandma indeed.
enjoyed watching the video, thank you.
please not that the “racism” against the mixed children had its root in the prejudice against the women they thought were “loose” who would sleep with the american G.I’s and the nature of the relationships. if the koreans perceive the marriage/relationship is of respectable nature they would have had less problem about it and the children from the relationship.
now, the prejudice has shifted towards the korean men - mail order brides from south east asian/former soviet block and their children. it’s not the RACE itself per se, it’s the fact that they are not tolerant of the relationship which (sometimes rightly) they deem degrading.
however, i am also first to admit that whatever it’s based on, the children should not have to have a hard time. However, we live in a imperfect society (in ANY COUNTRY, not just korea)
yuna,
You got it partially right. Racism towards these children is not really rooted in a belief that their mothers are “loose” per say. It plays a role, but the fact that even kids with Korean fathers face racism is proof that it is deeper.
The real root of this the way these kids are treated is how Koreans have thought about Koreaness for centuries, which is through genes and not through assimilation. Big countries, such as the U.S., Russia and China, tend to think of nationality more through assimilation rather than genetics. They have to because they are big and have a greater likelihood of coming into contact with different ethnic groups.
Korea’s history of invasions, compounded by Korea’s specific interpretation of neo-confucianism, and Silla’s bone rank system has made them hypersensitive to sharing genes with other people’s groups. Korea’s version of neo-confucianism, which in itself is influenced by the Silla bone rank system (which in itself is as old as Korea’s prehistory) breaks down different groups into superior and inferior “ki” or life energy. The Yangban obviously has superior ki and the sangnom have inferior “ki.” A non-Korean barbarian? Even less ki than a sangnom. You get the picture.
Yuna, if you are Korean American, I’d say learn something about your historical heritage. It will help answer alot of questions on why Koreans (including your parents) hold such “interesting” and often times “archaic” views.
Another nice (and inspiring) story.
http://www.stripes.com/article.....icle=56030
I agree that it is a heartwarming story but TED is a conference where different people discuss the latest and greatest ideas in Technology, Entertainment, and Design.
So what’s the “great idea” here?
That there’s an Amerasian woman who looks white but behaves Korean? That such people exist? That a white couple adopted her? I don’t get it.
Britain has been invaded more times than Korea but doesn’t value genetic ties as much as Korea does. Like Korea, Poland is sandwiched between two greater powers, which have invaded it repeatedly, but Polish people take their mixed European ancestry in stride. The peoples of the Fertile Crescent, crossroads of three continents, are comfortable with their diverse roots. Compared to many other countries, Korea, surrounded on three sides by water, has developed in relative isolation, largely free of foreign threats. It is the latter two influences, Korean neo-confucianism and the Shilla bone rank system, that are primary causes while Korea’s troubled history with its neighbors is secondary.
The peoples of the Fertile Crescent, crossroads of three continents, are comfortable with their diverse roots.
I hope you are not talking about the Kurds, Sunni, and Shites.
Sonagi, I disagree.
Britain, Poland and Iraq are different enough from Korea that their examples cannot be used as an accurate comparison.
In Britain, the original peoples were essentially people in today’s Wales, who got pushed west by a conglomeration of Germanic speaking people we can somewhat lump together as “Anglo-Saxons.” The latest “invaders” were the Normans who conquered everyone else. The British saw themselves in very much tribal, if not genetic terms, until the rapid growth of their empire. Keep in mind, until recently, Wales was the English Chollado, with the associated cultural and ethnic stereotypes, as well as economic neglect. The Scots and the rest of the British people have been fighting each other for centuries. With exposure to so many non-white subjects, the British had to lessen their tribalism (and religiousism) for each other and unify in order to administer their vast empire. Treating fellow whites as second class citizens had the effect of disuniting their realm (i.e. the 13 American colonies and the Scots). Sort of like the Mongols, who were also very tribal, but had to unite in order to control their vast, non-Mongol empire. Lastly, the British haven’t had a nationwide consciousness of being invaded since the Norman conquest back in the 11th century A.D. Korea since the 11th century A.D? Major invasions/incursion include the Liao Khitans, Mongols, Chinese Red Turbans (briefly occupied the Koryo capital), Japanese pirate raids numbering several thousands penetrating as far as central Korea, a Japanese government sanctioned invasion, Jurchens and the Japanese again.
Poland? Yes, they do not identify nationality with genetics. Being a pure continental nation with essentially open access to its borders, ethnic mixing was inevitable. Poland’s national consciousness regarding invasions is far more recent the England’s. Although it has not made their national identity a racial one, it has helped forge a strong national identity anyways, that survived Soviet domination and sparked the momentum that allowed Eastern Europe to break free from the Iron Curtain when Lech Walesa’s Solidarity mobilized that nationalism. So racially bound nationalism no, but a strong (and more malign) version of nationalism nonetheless.
Iraq… it’s an ethic and religious mess right now. So, a poor comparison to modern day Korea any way you cut it.
Lastly, foreign invasions affect Island, Continental and Peninsular nations differently. Island nations tend to have waves of invaders until one invader maintains dominance and pacifies everyone else. Australia, England and perhaps Japan are examples. Nations on the Continent proper who have a long history of invasions tend to still have strong national identity, but tend not to identify that identity with race because borders are open and generally accessible. Poland is an example and so is China.
Peninsular nations are different. Peninsular nations are less accessible via borders and tend to have very strong racial and ethnic identity on nationalism, especially when they are surrounded by powerful nations. In extreme cases, peninsular inaccessibility doesn’t make invasions any less frequent, but given the limited access point, makes conquest harder, so peninsular people do get to obsess over their distinctive characteristics longer. The best of these more extreme cases is Korea and the Balkan Peninsula. Korea is surrounded by China, Russia and Japan and the Balkans were surrounded by Turks and the Austrian-Hungarians. So what happened today? A whole region obsessed with racial, ethnic and religious identity. The Greeks hated the Turks and look down on the Macedonians, the Albanians hate the Macedonians, the Serbians hate the Bosnians, so on and so forth.
#51
Very interesting points. Isolationism due to geographic reason does play a role for Korea, but comparing Balkan nations to Korea is bit too much unless your conclusion of isolationsim made Korea and Balkan nations backward..but I thought Korea was much advanced state in comparsion. I want to hear what Sonagi has to say.
# 52, relative geographic isolationism didn’t make the Balkans backwards. Isolationistic totalitarianism of Tito’s government did. Remember, most of the Balkans was a totalitarianistic, Socialist Yugoslavia from 1946 to 1992…
Korea from 1953 to 1984 was also totalitarianistic, but Korea at least decided to be mercantilistic during the Park Chung Hee dictatorship.
Good set of posts. Though I do have to agree that Korea is rapidly changing, so what has happened even 3 months ago isn’t the Korea of today, as one Korean friend told me. (This also has a sad side too)
I also think that people aren’t thinking about how the US isn’t taking responsibility for these children as well. If they live in a foreign country, then the US and the soldiers that fathered them aren’t responsible? Post #1 says that Korea doesn’t want to acknowledge these kids, but neither does the US. So to say it’s only the Korean government’s fault is rather a narrow POV.
Also, that ethnocentricism happens everywhere. And what we should focus on as human beings, rather than ethnic tribes, is to learn to accept each other as we are. There are great similarities in our differences. And I think if we can teach that to others and our next generation that you do a service to both them and other people. Don’t think the US is any more or less ethnocentric than, Korea, Japan, China, Britain, France, etc. We all have our own dose of it running through us. And I see it as an adoptee too. When I went back to Korea, I learned of that too. Every country functions by thinking its the best, but if you look outside of it, you see and learn a lot more. Maybe this is really the “new” idea that TED was looking at, even if it’s not said.
What this story is, is about a journey of a girl to overcome and the people who brought her along to do it. He doesn’t spend time talking about Korean racism, because he knows as well as anyone else whose been to Korea that Korea is in rapid change. For better or worse, it is changing, and what we should look at is the future. And learning the fundamentals of trying to understand one another and help each other, probably is the best you can get out of this story.
Natasha’s story was very moving. I am the mother of a Korean adoptee abandoned at birth. We went through so much to get our daughter. Unless you’ve been through the struggle of adoption you cannot fully understand how it feels. We honor our daughter’s background as much as she will let us and when she just wants to be American, then she is just that. Adoption is a process that will change your life forever!