Great video and makes me understand more about my past. I was born in 1966 Seoul untill my adoption in 1970. My dad was also an Afro American soldier and my mom was South-Korean ( Ok Ran Cha) she was working in a bar for US soldiers... adoption papers told me. but I end up in the Netherlands. I always miss my Mom and Dad verry much.Thank you for your vid✌🏾
As a transracial Asian adoptee who is very interested in Asian history and Asia-U.S. relations, I found this video fascinating! The framing of adoption from Korea during the Korean War reminds me of how Operation Babylift during the Vietnam War was portrayed. Thank you so much for producing such high quality work discussing important, yet often unknown, topics.
Yeah, the big difference is South Korea survived with American help. South Vietnam did not. The Vietnam operation was one time and a few thousand kids. The Korean adoptee operation that sprung out of the Korean war ended up being over 200,000 kids over the past 6 decades. I'd imagine there would be a lot more adoptions from Vietnam if South Vietnam survived.
When I was a kid in the 60s there were twin boys in my neighborhood . They were mixed Korean-black. They were adopted by a black couple. I think they were happy kids.
Not to be pedantic, but it's not really the topic of the video. The video is more talking about the aftermath of the Korean war. In theory, this laid down the groundwork / system for future mass adoptions which includes you.
Interesting topic. I do think that the treatment of single mothers in Korea at that time probably had a lot to do with the decision to send those children to the USA. My husband was abandoned on the street in South Korea as a newborn by a single mother in 1990. He was adopted by a Korean family and raised in Korea. As an adult, he has chosen to come and live in the US. But it does go to show that even in the 90’s single mothers were not widely accepted into Korean society or supported. Unfortunately, I would guess that the pressure to give up a child in the 50’s and 60’s was even greater.
Half Korean children were not wanted in Korea. The Korean government didn’t want them there. The women who had these children were ostracized from society. Korea, especially back then, was a country where ancestors were extremely important to them. I was also a Korean War adoptee. Fifty years later I returned to volunteer at a children’s home in Ilsan. Molly Holt, daughter of Harry Holt, who started the adoption program explained the heartbreaking circumstances of war orphans and the families who had no choice but to give them up.
I remember in the early 60s while growing up in Jamaica our white Jamaican neighbours adopted an adorable mixed Korean baby. Her dark skin showed she was probably a baby from a black US soldier. She was so loved. That was over 66 yrs ago. I migrated and lost touch with them. I know the husband died and mother and child moved away.
I disagree with some of the premises. For us hybrid kids, we faced significant discrimination in Korean Society such that it was better to grow up in North America or Western Europe. If you look at faces of today's of leadership in S. Korean government and business, you will not find half-koreans. The social hierarchy even distinguishes amongst full koreans raised in the Korea vs. outside the country. Remember, you're talking about a country before the war that practiced female infanticide sometimes. Life was tough before the Japanese occupied, harsh during the 30 year occupation, and almost unbearable during the Korean-Soviet-Chinese war. Still in the 90's, I found many orphans (full race koreans) that needed adoption abroad because of stigmas - single motherhood or families wanting birth children.
lol, Korea (and East Asia) are one of the most homogenous societies on the planet. Issues with the Chinese. Issues with Japan. And, obviously you don't remember the late '90s / '00s "tan" fad.
This is so true! I live there with my mom and my mix brother. I also am mix. America father and Korean mother. I was raised in Korean until I was 12 years old. Then my brother and I was given up for adoption. 3 years in hill separated from my brother . Long story short, I would love to read about the story.
Much like what others have said, this is pretty damn interesting. For the longest time, I didn't really know that this was a main part of the drive for adoptions, although I always had a feeling that the Korean War had something to do with it. I, myself, am an adoptee from the mid-80s. And from what I've come to understand is that there were a lot of shady practices going around in the country at that time. I'm sure you guys are aware of Peter Moller, who I only learned about yesterday, is trying to uncover the truth as well. Holt International is seemingly at the center of attention in all of this. And, well... For the first time, I took a look at my own adoption papers. Y'know who was on there?
In 2007, I volunteered to work at Holt in Ilsan, Korea. It was the best decision for me. I am also an adoptee. Black and Korean. I’m one of the first adoptees from the Korean War. I learned a lot when I returned to Korea. Bertha and Harry Holt started the Korean War adoptions. I had no idea that children were adored from all over the world.
Pearl S Buck Foundation was one of the first to facilitate adoption for children of American fathers and Korean mothers. The other was The Amerasian Society. This organization worked with single mothers raising Amerasian children in Korea. I was a volunteer in that organization when I was stationed in Daegu, Korea.
I'm 65, half Korean/American, born after the Korean War in Seoul. My mother is Korean and I believe my father was an American GI. In the early 60's, I hated being mixed bc the people would stare at me, I felt like an animal in the zoo. She remarried another GI, we arrived in the U.S. in 1965. I get mixed messages from my mother who my father is. Sometimes I'm curious to know what my father looks like? Does he even know if I'm alive? So many questions and not enough answers. Children born without a parent(s) makes the child wonder about their parents, this feeling comes in and out our entire life.
Thanks for watching. We are going to have Yuri Doolan on our channel again to speak some more :) If you are interested in this topic, he has released a book very recently called The First Amerasians.
It reminds me of my mother's reaction to a Soviet animated film about an "American girl who buys an African pygmy" by saying "Who would want to have a Colored Negro for a baby doll!". Ironically such an animated film of later 1940s portrayed her mother as Asian given how Est Europeans are part Mongolian Chinese since I knew a Russian immigrant who only knew her father had been a Chinese soldier during the Sino Soviet conflict.
I know I did. As a Korean War adoptee. But I think about my Korean family every day since 1959 When I was adopted. Money can’t replace family blood line.
lol, never say this out loud (half joking / half serious). A large part of the Korean adoptee community despises comments like this. (though, I think it's probably a bit less fervor with hapas.)
@@HKim0072He means there are still bar girls being trafficked and exploited around the bases. Tho they are no longer usually Korean, theyre girls from South East Asia who are tricked into thinking they have honest jobs waiting for them in Korea.
Only problem I have with this is him grouping people together. Like "oh the Americans didn't support this" or "the Koreans didn't like that". Nothing is that black and white.
No civil rights act until 1964. Supreme Court didn't formally strike down interracial marriage restrictions until 1967 (Loving v Virginia). US military didn't want to be ahead of the curve on this issue it seems.
the stigmas against orphans and mixed race children are no excuse for the sheer number of kids adopted abroad. it was clearly a very geopolitical gimmick in the sense that u.s korea relations were always predicated upon an unequal forced alliance of fear and dependence. economic studies of adoption post war show the greatest boom happened not post war but decades later when koreas economic development was exploding. which rejects the theory that poverty was a huge factor. Economic incentives were the main driving factor in korean adoptions from the 70s onwards. the single motherhood stigma is always used as a reasoning for skyrocketing abandonments, but that is not true either. Abandonments rise because of several factors, including lack of education surrounding what information of the birth parent is private when they register their child, the rise of baby boxes, and the demand abroad for foreign children. the last one you could say hints at the recent light on cases of legal, yet fraudulent documentation being filed in order to create fake orphans which led to children being "abandoned" but really just kidnapped or their mother was coerced somehow. but at the end of the day, the economic value that adoption has to korea means that the industry will stay alive not for the sake of childrens well being, not to give them a better life, but to keep the business going. Everyone who skims over these historical statistics to prop the "feel good narrative" of kids having a better life are copping out of reality. such american exceptionalist attitudes frame the ethical issues as a subjective cynicism rather than an acknowledgement of how the toxic positivity of individual narratives and common assumptions contribute to the systemic challenges faced by korean adoptees globally.
I think it's fair to say that until the '80s that Korea was still a very poor nation. It was a pragmatic way to deal with an issue that was very cost effective. To a degree, we have to separate the shady abuse practices vs the top down strategic goals of international adoptions. From a government standpoint, it was multi-layered. They didn't have to spend money on orphan kids and dual purposed the adoptions for political reasons. The more Korean babies out in North American and Western Europe, the better chance of getting military aid if the North decided to attack the South. (Not going to talk about some of the possible illegal baby mills that sprung up from the policy.)
I dont really think you understand that during this "economic boom" the average Korean was still poor. Korean middle class wasnt even a thing until 2000s. That is why Korean immigration to west was strong during 80s and 90s. Most people were still living in poverty during that time.
I like hafie project, you guys contents are true and not gukppong, Your content is clearly shown without hiding, without manipulation. and even in thesedays racism toward mixed with other ethnicity korean its exist.
Read Yuri's work here: www.yuridoolan.com/about
The thumbnail is a photo from the Korean Image Archive - www.koreanimage.com/
Great video and makes me understand more about my past. I was born in 1966 Seoul untill my adoption in 1970. My dad was also an Afro American soldier and my mom was South-Korean ( Ok Ran Cha) she was working in a bar for US soldiers... adoption papers told me. but I end up in the Netherlands. I always miss my Mom and Dad verry much.Thank you for your vid✌🏾
As a transracial Asian adoptee who is very interested in Asian history and Asia-U.S. relations, I found this video fascinating! The framing of adoption from Korea during the Korean War reminds me of how Operation Babylift during the Vietnam War was portrayed.
Thank you so much for producing such high quality work discussing important, yet often unknown, topics.
Yeah, the big difference is South Korea survived with American help. South Vietnam did not.
The Vietnam operation was one time and a few thousand kids. The Korean adoptee operation that sprung out of the Korean war ended up being over 200,000 kids over the past 6 decades.
I'd imagine there would be a lot more adoptions from Vietnam if South Vietnam survived.
Happy to see one of our images appear in such an important, informative video.
Thank you for contributing your photo so graciously!
When I was a kid in the 60s there were twin boys in my neighborhood . They were mixed Korean-black. They were adopted by a black couple. I think they were happy kids.
I’m glad this subject is being touched on.
I am one of those adopted orphans from Korea.
and how old are u?
@@Uchiha.Itachii 50
Not to be pedantic, but it's not really the topic of the video. The video is more talking about the aftermath of the Korean war.
In theory, this laid down the groundwork / system for future mass adoptions which includes you.
Interesting topic. I do think that the treatment of single mothers in Korea at that time probably had a lot to do with the decision to send those children to the USA.
My husband was abandoned on the street in South Korea as a newborn by a single mother in 1990. He was adopted by a Korean family and raised in Korea. As an adult, he has chosen to come and live in the US. But it does go to show that even in the 90’s single mothers were not widely accepted into Korean society or supported. Unfortunately, I would guess that the pressure to give up a child in the 50’s and 60’s was even greater.
Half Korean children were not wanted in Korea. The Korean government didn’t want them there. The women who had these children were ostracized from society. Korea, especially back then, was a country where ancestors were extremely important to them.
I was also a Korean War adoptee. Fifty years later I returned to volunteer at a children’s home in Ilsan. Molly Holt, daughter of Harry Holt, who started the adoption program explained the heartbreaking circumstances of war orphans and the families who had no choice but to give them up.
It's not even accepted right now.
@@tonisumblin2719Holt sold children who were not even orphans for profit.
Thank you, Yuri, for your work.
I remember in the early 60s while growing up in Jamaica our white Jamaican neighbours adopted an adorable mixed Korean baby. Her dark skin showed she was probably a baby from a black US soldier. She was so loved. That was over 66 yrs ago. I migrated and lost touch with them. I know the husband died and mother and child moved away.
Even Jamaica was taking them
Fascinating interview
I disagree with some of the premises. For us hybrid kids, we faced significant discrimination in Korean Society such that it was better to grow up in North America or Western Europe. If you look at faces of today's of leadership in S. Korean government and business, you will not find half-koreans. The social hierarchy even distinguishes amongst full koreans raised in the Korea vs. outside the country.
Remember, you're talking about a country before the war that practiced female infanticide sometimes. Life was tough before the Japanese occupied, harsh during the 30 year occupation, and almost unbearable during the Korean-Soviet-Chinese war.
Still in the 90's, I found many orphans (full race koreans) that needed adoption abroad because of stigmas - single motherhood or families wanting birth children.
All you say is true. Yuri's work simply points out that perhaps it wasn't as black and white as Korean (and American) history often paints it.
American war . How conveniently you left the USA .
Let’s not pretend Koreans aren’t racist. They even point out who has lighter skin color and who is better looking, openly.
lol, Korea (and East Asia) are one of the most homogenous societies on the planet. Issues with the Chinese. Issues with Japan.
And, obviously you don't remember the late '90s / '00s "tan" fad.
This is so true! I live there with my mom and my mix brother. I also am mix. America father and Korean mother. I was raised in Korean until I was 12 years old. Then my brother and I was given up for adoption. 3 years in hill separated from my brother . Long story short, I would love to read about the story.
The mothers probably wanted the child but the father didnt and she couldnt raise a child as a single mother.
Much like what others have said, this is pretty damn interesting. For the longest time, I didn't really know that this was a main part of the drive for adoptions, although I always had a feeling that the Korean War had something to do with it.
I, myself, am an adoptee from the mid-80s. And from what I've come to understand is that there were a lot of shady practices going around in the country at that time. I'm sure you guys are aware of Peter Moller, who I only learned about yesterday, is trying to uncover the truth as well. Holt International is seemingly at the center of attention in all of this. And, well... For the first time, I took a look at my own adoption papers. Y'know who was on there?
In 2007, I volunteered to work at Holt in Ilsan, Korea. It was the best decision for me. I am also an adoptee. Black and Korean. I’m one of the first adoptees from the Korean War. I learned a lot when I returned to Korea. Bertha and Harry Holt started the Korean War adoptions. I had no idea that children were adored from all over the world.
Pearl S Buck Foundation was one of the first to facilitate adoption for children of American fathers and Korean mothers. The other was The Amerasian Society. This organization worked with single mothers raising Amerasian children in Korea. I was a volunteer in that organization when I was stationed in Daegu, Korea.
I'm 65, half Korean/American, born after the Korean War in Seoul. My mother is Korean and I believe my father was an American GI. In the early 60's, I hated being mixed bc the people would stare at me, I felt like an animal in the zoo. She remarried another GI, we arrived in the U.S. in 1965. I get mixed messages from my mother who my father is. Sometimes I'm curious to know what my father looks like? Does he even know if I'm alive? So many questions and not enough answers. Children born without a parent(s) makes the child wonder about their parents, this feeling comes in and out our entire life.
As one of the second wave of Korean adoptees I found this video very enlightening and a little validating. Is there more? It seemed way too short.
Thanks for watching. We are going to have Yuri Doolan on our channel again to speak some more :) If you are interested in this topic, he has released a book very recently called The First Amerasians.
It reminds me of my mother's reaction to a Soviet animated film about an "American girl who buys an African pygmy" by saying "Who would want to have a Colored Negro for a baby doll!".
Ironically such an animated film of later 1940s portrayed her mother as Asian given how Est Europeans are part Mongolian Chinese since I knew a Russian immigrant who only knew her father had been a Chinese soldier during the Sino Soviet conflict.
My mom’s fiancé adopted a a two year old boy from Korea, who was abused. 1:23
Omg! One wonders how many of those little ones ended in such a devastating situation 😔
I'm one of those children. I'm 52 now but I was adopted at 4 1/2
It makes me wounder if l ever see my relatives
very interesting. but its probably not unfair to say that most of those adoptees ended up having better lives in the US than they would have in korea
I know I did. As a Korean War adoptee. But I think about my Korean family every day since 1959 When I was adopted. Money can’t replace family blood line.
lol, never say this out loud (half joking / half serious). A large part of the Korean adoptee community despises comments like this.
(though, I think it's probably a bit less fervor with hapas.)
US occupy S Korea even now the hurt still goes on near the bases
The US has a joint cost sharing agreement with ROK. It's a mutual beneficial relationship.
@@HKim0072He means there are still bar girls being trafficked and exploited around the bases. Tho they are no longer usually Korean, theyre girls from South East Asia who are tricked into thinking they have honest jobs waiting for them in Korea.
Okinawa was a hardship duty for me when I went to 3rd Marine Division Okinawa.
What about the new Korean "comfort" women forced to work around US bases in South Korea?
The “comfort women” were many times kidnapped Korean and Chinese women for the Japanese military. The comfort women were not for the US military.
Geez, I am guessing you've never heard of "room salons" that aren't near US bases.
I am also one of those Korean Adoptees.
I believe Korea has a DNA registry for adoptees from Korea.
Only problem I have with this is him grouping people together. Like "oh the Americans didn't support this" or "the Koreans didn't like that". Nothing is that black and white.
Present 🙋👍1/4 Korean. Mother's name.Kang Ryang Shim. I never met my father.my grandfather adopted my mother in soul Korea. I am VERY curious 😁
No civil rights act until 1964. Supreme Court didn't formally strike down interracial marriage restrictions until 1967 (Loving v Virginia). US military didn't want to be ahead of the curve on this issue it seems.
♥️♥️♥️
the stigmas against orphans and mixed race children are no excuse for the sheer number of kids adopted abroad. it was clearly a very geopolitical gimmick in the sense that u.s korea relations were always predicated upon an unequal forced alliance of fear and dependence. economic studies of adoption post war show the greatest boom happened not post war but decades later when koreas economic development was exploding. which rejects the theory that poverty was a huge factor. Economic incentives were the main driving factor in korean adoptions from the 70s onwards. the single motherhood stigma is always used as a reasoning for skyrocketing abandonments, but that is not true either. Abandonments rise because of several factors, including lack of education surrounding what information of the birth parent is private when they register their child, the rise of baby boxes, and the demand abroad for foreign children. the last one you could say hints at the recent light on cases of legal, yet fraudulent documentation being filed in order to create fake orphans which led to children being "abandoned" but really just kidnapped or their mother was coerced somehow. but at the end of the day, the economic value that adoption has to korea means that the industry will stay alive not for the sake of childrens well being, not to give them a better life, but to keep the business going. Everyone who skims over these historical statistics to prop the "feel good narrative" of kids having a better life are copping out of reality. such american exceptionalist attitudes frame the ethical issues as a subjective cynicism rather than an acknowledgement of how the toxic positivity of individual narratives and common assumptions contribute to the systemic challenges faced by korean adoptees globally.
I think it's fair to say that until the '80s that Korea was still a very poor nation. It was a pragmatic way to deal with an issue that was very cost effective. To a degree, we have to separate the shady abuse practices vs the top down strategic goals of international adoptions.
From a government standpoint, it was multi-layered. They didn't have to spend money on orphan kids and dual purposed the adoptions for political reasons. The more Korean babies out in North American and Western Europe, the better chance of getting military aid if the North decided to attack the South.
(Not going to talk about some of the possible illegal baby mills that sprung up from the policy.)
I dont really think you understand that during this "economic boom" the average Korean was still poor. Korean middle class wasnt even a thing until 2000s. That is why Korean immigration to west was strong during 80s and 90s. Most people were still living in poverty during that time.
I was given up for adoption from a catholic orphanage I know where it is.
I like hafie project, you guys contents are true and not gukppong, Your content is clearly shown without hiding, without manipulation. and even in thesedays racism toward mixed with other ethnicity korean its exist.