Lucky or Not?

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For every child saved through adoption, over ten died of starvation or illness or froze to death...or simply were eliminated as despicable by passersby. But the real tragedy is that they died alone, cast aside like the garbage they dug through and fought for as food (there even is a word in Korean for “garbage soup”), utterly alone and forsaken with no one to care.

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Nolin Han Stratton 한석준

"Abandon in Korean language is PaRi Da 바리 다. it means to literally throw away, abandon as useless. Many of us were considered useless, whether you were mixed-blood or full blood, the Korean society and the families of you mothers and fathers pressured them to abort or give up for adoption. Some seem to think that only OVERSEAS or INTERNATIONAL or INTERCOUNTRY adoption occured. The KWB has found and posted the Ministry of Health Welfare and Family Affairs (MOHFA) figures that over 87,000 domestic adoptions have been placed. The Private CIVIL adoptions may number double the figure of domestic, and both domestic and civil adoptions are 97% Secretly done. Ask people from here Late Discovery Adoptees if finding out that you were adopted late in your life was agreeable to them. Thousands in Korea are walking around NOT knowing that they were adopted. THIS IS WRONG.

Lucky or Not?

Some distain the term "Lucky", "Saved", or "Fortunate to be adopted" and get angry, don't blame them for it is not something that most of us, adoptees want to hear, but many of us take with 'a grain of salt'. For many people still may think that way. Certainly for those of us from the Korean War, (born during or soon after) from 1950 to 53 then until the early 1960 Korea was a devastated land. As the economy improved the number of orphans decreased, yet something else began to happen.

SEX, of course they had it before but we are talking about openly among Koreans, outside of marriage. The relationships between UN troops continued until this day as US and other UN forces in Korea had liaison with Korean women (not all were War Brides) and left behind children. But as the sixties and seventies progressed women continued to give up their babies, for different reasons, such as female that were 3rd or 4th children born in a home with NO SON. Poverty became less of a reason yet it continued.

In 1973 the miracle of "modern medical science" and the Korean law allowed more Family Planning to help the country move ahead. Slogans encouraged "Two or Three is wonderful" when the average family was 6 at the end of the sixties. Abortion was allowed for 5 reasons: Rape, Incest, Physical deformity, Mental illness, risk to the mother. This produced a sudden drop in certain "Disabilities" 

Characteristics of International Adoptees, 1953-2007

Year

Male

Mixed-Blood

1972	3,490		212
1973	4,688		154
1974	5,302		??
1975	5,077		??

Well, what happened in 1974. OH, Mixed-Blood babies were no longer a problem, solved by Abortion...

Now look at this chart from my headline tag AdoptionStat_OAK:

Types of Disabilities, 1958-2007

Year	Abandoned	Split family	Single mother	Total	Male	Mixed	Disability	Total
연도	기 아	결혼가정	미혼모	계	남 자	혼 혈	장 애	계
1958~60	1,675	630	227	2,532	734	1,159	1,588	3,481
1961~70	4,013	1,958	1,304	7,275	2,254	2,659	2,064	6,977
1971-80	17,260	13,360	17,627	48,247	17,320		4,598	21,918
1981-90	6,769	11,399	47,153	65,321	30,460		16,378	46,838
1991-2000	225	1,444	20,460	22,129	12,009		8,987	20,996
2001	1	1	2,434	2,436	1,364		743	2,107
2002	1		2,364	2,365	1,679		827	2,506
2003	2	2	2,283	2,287	1,367		649	2,016
2004		1	2,257	2,258	1,385		705	2,090
2005	4	28	2,069	2,101	1,353		737	2,090
Total	29,950	28,823	98,178	156,951	69,925	3,818	37,276	111,019

Notice that Abandoned is 29,950 then add Disabilities 37,276 what does that tell us? Uh, calulator (calculator-sp ck)  is needed by KWB:

67,226 Korean Adoptees that WERE DEFINITELY NOT WANTED BY KOREANS. Were THEY "ALL"stolen from their mothers, child-laundered then adopted? Don't Think so!!!
 They were Abandoned, Pari da 바리다, thrown away by the Korean people. Mothers were left with little choice, We cannot blame them, instead forgive them, let them know we hold no hate for them BUT some, some of us DO WANT TO MEET THEM.

Only 2,450 or so have reconnected, with various levels and degrees 'success'. A few have faced rejection again, when family does not want to publicly announce "Who is that? You have a sister who was adopted overseas?" Go ask MAYA W.

Types of Disabilities, 1958-2007

Category	Total	Children without disability	Children with disability	Types of disabilities
				Cleft Lip	Deformed hands feet	Premature baby	Mental disorder	Mixed blood children	Heart Disease	Etc.
구분	계	정상아동	장애아동	언청이	손발기형	미숙아	정신장애	혼혈아	심장병	기타
1958~60	4,120	944	1,588					1,588
1961~70	9,339	5,211	2,064	94	23	24	13	1,829	66	15
1971-80	52,845	43,649	4,598	361	634	1,532	54	1,292	312	413
1981-90	81,699	48,943	16,378	989	796	7,295	134	694	703	5,767
1991	3,188	1,206	991	74	41	506	16	23	24	307
1992	2,882	1,208	837	51	90	500	37	16	47	96
1993	3,322	1,258	1,032	59	56	543	61	12	78	223
1994	3,249	1,275	987	64	27	528	8	7	64	289
1995	3,225	1,135	1,045	77	29	568	7	7	58	299
1996	3,015	1,145	935	54	43	493	43	2	59	241
1997	2,841	1,273	784	40	30	422	19	7	57	209
1998	3,360	1,526	917	39	30	459	10	3	79	297
1999	3,234	1,584	825	29	30	354	8	3	82	319
2000	2,994	1,726	634	27	25	274	5		60	243
2001	3,179	1,693	743	13	26	367	50	1	71	215
2002	3,192	1,538	827	14	35	400	34		110	234
2003	2,936	1,638	649	5	21	338	28	3	107	147
2004	2,963	1,553	705	11	16	346	23		78	231
2005	2,838	1,364	737	4	18	301	29		106	279
Total	194,421	119,869	37,276	2,005	1,970	15,250	579	5,487	2,161	9,824

From Overseas Adopted Koreans http://oaks.korean.net/

Statistics-Stats on Adoptees

  

WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THESE FACTS?What shall we do with these Undesirable Unwanted children? The Korean War Baby DEMANDS ANSWERS!  Publicly you attacked a woman who has served since 1956 and she spoke not in defense. 

BUT THE KOREAN WAR BABY SHALL CALL YOU TO ACCOUNT FOR YOUR ACTIONS!!! WHAT IS YOUR PLAN FOR GOA'L, PROCLAIM YOUR AGENDA, PLEASE TELL OF YOUR REASONING AND LOGIC.

Kim Su R.

Kim S.

Jenny N.

Tammy C.

Eli Park S.

ALL OTHER MEMBERS OF THE GANG OF 33

YOU  WANTED THIS WAR, I BEGGED YOU TO REASON, TO FIND COMPROMISES AND UNDERSTANDING. INSTEAD YOU ARE TAKING OVER GOA'L. 

WHY, TELL US.

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