scholarly journals Korean adoptees as parents: Intergenerationality of ethnic, racial, and adoption socialization

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiang Zhou ◽  
JaeRan Kim ◽  
Heewon Lee ◽  
Richard M. Lee
Keyword(s):  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 28
Author(s):  
Rizqia Nuur Maziyya

Transnational adoption has become one of the factors of transnational migration to Western countries, including America. Transnational adoption can be viewed from at least two perspectives, South Korea as the origin country and America as the targeted country. From the birth country, transnational adoption becomes a way to help the children from poverty, have a better future, and contribute to the birth country when they return. From the adoption-targeted country, this adoption is a humanitarian way to save the children from poverty, primitive way of life, and God’s blessing. One of the countries which regularly “send” the children to Western countries is South Korea. The children become Korean adoptees and mostly living in white American neighborhoods. Living with white Americans has shaped the Korean adoptees’ behavior and way of thinking same as Americans. Korean adoptees face various problems, starting from adjusting themselves in new environment, finding their cultural roots and identity, and struggling to find their biological parents. This study employed Phinnes’ ethnic identity development to make sense of the experience of a Korean adoptee called Nicole Chung in her memoir, All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir of Adoption. Through the discussion, it can be understood how transnational adoption programs become national agenda and big business field since it is not expensive to have children from other countries. There is also an assumption that the children will have better and happier life when they are taken to America and other western countries. However, throughout their life as adopted children in America, the children also find difficulties, especially in finding their identity.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ethan Waddell

Thousands of overseas Korean adoptees return to Korea temporarily each year in search of their true origin, but few choose to stay permanently. A prominent member of this small community is Jane Jeong Trenka, author of two memoirs: The Language of Blood (2003) and Fugitive Visions: An Adoptee’s Return to Korea (2009). This article analyses Trenka’s literary struggle for permanence in Fugitive Visions through theories on Korean ethnic national identity. Using Marshall McLuhan’s idea of media as the ‘extension of man’, it explores the symbiotic relationship between literary media and identity, connecting colonial-era writings on Korean ethnic nationalism to Trenka’s portrayal of transnational return.


2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 773-797 ◽  
Author(s):  
HYEON-SOOK PARK

ABSTRACTTwo current issues in research on first language (L1) attrition among adoptees are explored: whether adoptees have lost their L1 completely and whether relearning can help them recover their L1 if it is not completely lost. These issues are investigated by examining whether Swedish monolingual Korean adoptees’ preexisting knowledge of L1 Korean has an impact on their relearning of Korean as adults. The results suggest that Korean adoptees’ early L1 experience has left traces of the language and that these traces can have an effect on their phonetic perception when relearning the language. The finding that reexposed adoptees performed better than native Swedish learners indicates that the greatest impact on retrieving L1 knowledge comes from relearning. Given the lack of the statistically significant findings, the results demonstrate possibilities but remain open to discussion.


2008 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 1023-1066 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiannbin Lee Shiao ◽  
Mia H. Tuan

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