Korean adoptee raised in US met her Korean mother after 46 years
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- Опубликовано: 17 ноя 2024
- A Korean adoptee sent to the U.S. when she was 11 years old remembered her mother's name for 40 years, hoping to one day return to Korea and find her mother. She dramatically met her Korean mother again 46 years later. She is now trying to make the memories with her mom that she didn't have for 46 years.
All copyrights to this video belong to KBS.
KBS is a public broadcasting service in South Korea.
Air date: Apr 10th, 2023
#documentary #southkorea #adoption
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Her husband is so supportive, coming to live in Korea so she can be near her birth mom. And having a house built in Korea is very expensive. She’s taking such good care of her mom, although she still has painful memories and she keeps tearing up. Such a courageous and loving daughter.
Seriously! Especially after finding out they have 4 kids and 7 grandkids! He must be a little lonely not really speaking the language and probably doesn’t have any friends.
Yeah, this man is a saint. I can't imagine leaving your entire family and going to a country where you don't speak the language to support your spouse like this.
Husband seems like such a good person
어쩜 이렇게 따스한 딸이 돌와 왔을까? 복이 많으신 어머니! 따님 훌륭하십니다! 남편분 really wonderful husband!
Wow I love Jami’s positive outlook on her life. Her mom and her have had a rough life and I’m so happy to see them back together. It really warms my heart. Jami’s husband is also a gem. Wishing this family lots of blessings!!! ❤❤
blessed she found her bio mom and still alive. May you all be abundantly blessed. beautiful magnolia tree and blooms outside mom's housing complex. what an amazing life partner accompanying her in her journey/
The most lovely couple ever. They're both so sweet🥺❤
Whew, alot of tears over here. Forgiveness is powerful. I understand why they say forgiveness is more about you, than it is about the other person. That little girl still lives inside of her. I wish them all the love, joy, and happiness for the rest of their days. Love for Houston, Texas❤
This is how my wife is. I am Korean American and she is from Spain. Different worlds, different cultures. She supports anything I do, will move anywhere, will adapt her own life.... for me. All she asks is that we are always together. So even though I could double or triple my salary in another job (with travel + more hours) to buy that bigger house and afford the high end private education for the kids, I stay put so I can accomodate HER needs. That's a marriage. Ultimately, it is a compromise. This couple is a lovely example of that.
What a legendary family she has to support this MASSIVE move, especially her husband 🥹 And also, how did her Korean stay so good after living here for so long? She’s amazing
Such a loving person. Your children are watching the progress. Keep going, don't lose hear.
What a beautiful and although a marshmallow inside😅 so strong person! It took me almost 50 years to be proud to be a Korean, I hope one day i will find my mother to say 'mother or mommy' once in my lifetime. Im soooo happy for you and i feel your pain in little things. Your a very beautiful and special couple and wish your family with your mommy all the best!❤
Wow, not many Koreans adoptees can speak Korean, I hope she can help other adoptees, she and her husband so set up a organization for that as well!
She got adopted at age 11. Actually, I'm shocked. That rarely happens. It's very very rare.
@@HKim0072yeah there’s another rare thing that happened with a Korean woman adopted from France she was fluent in Korean and French after and her brother was adopted with her which was very rare
@@HKim0072I adopted 3 boys from Russia ages 7, 9, and 11. After arriving I learned that 2 of the boys had extended family in Russia that for whatever reason were either not allowed to foster them because of substance abuse or unwilling to foster them. I thought that the boys would not want to be adopted and left it up to the older one to decide but promised weekly phone calls and visits every 2 years. That is the reason that my oldest maintains fluent Russian, frequent calls to Russia and a couple summer long visits. Despite the two younger ones still conversing with each other in Russian for nearly a year and many Russian films, etc. they eventually lost Russian. The older one also spent a year in Saint Petersburg in his 20's that really solidified his Russian. He really has no accent in either language but I think his English is stronger.
Jami is so strong and loving and found the best partner in David. Wishing them the best.
45 years I left Korea for a wonderful family. I dreamed of finding my birth family
David is 64?! Damn, he hit his mid 40s and stopped aging.
They both did!
@@shannonoconnell8954 agreed. if the mom is 72. No way the daughter is 64 lol.
I think I watched all parts of this story. How did Jamie retain her Korean language skills? Was that covered? Her husband seems phenomenal!
In my case, you never really forget it completely after age of 11 although the grammar and writing skills deteriorate a lot. The verbal skills stay, but not on fluent level. You could talk to me and I understand most of it, but it will be hard to have perfect speech.
@@endingsnowMy son who was adopted from Russia at 11 is a fluent Russian speaker. I think that is because he spoke Russian to two younger siblings for another year until they slowly lost their Russian and because I let him call extended family every week or two to converse and because I sent him back at 14 and 16 for the entire summer. We also had Russian films and cassettes, etc. but that didn't help the younger boys. On the other hand that might be a good thing , the doctor's assistant told me my 9 year old spoke more cuss words than any Russian sailor.
왜 이렇게 눈물이 나냐…ㅠㅠ
어릴적 딸로 그때로 돌아가서 엄마와 좋은 시간을 보내고 싶은 딸..딸을 두고 나온 엄마는 죄책감에 .. 힘든 시간 만큼 닫혀버린 엄마의 마음… 시간이 너무 흐른거다. 둘 사이에… 남은 여생 서로에게 좋은 기억 추억 많이 만드시길 바랍니다. 인생 금방간다. 후회하고 미워하고 살기에는 너무 짧다.
I hope the other 2 children can watch this and have that reunion
This story is worthy of a movie script, made me cry from beginning to end!
Dear Jami,
How touching your life story is. I wished, I could just fly over from Germany and have some good conversations with you. I am Korean like you, but I lost my country and my language, when I was 6 years old. Growing up with a single korean mother in Germany made me lose my language, so I am amazed about your korean language skills.
Your gestures, your way of talking is just as mine, incredible. Somehow we are all sisters and brothers, aren't we?
One thing I want to tell you :
The GOD I believe in said:
"When Father or mother leave you, I will never leave you!" And one day, He will wipe away all your tears. Then you will be in His arms and finally, you will be home ❤.
I believe, He did this to you, by blessing you with such a great and loving husband and giving you a family of your own.
GOD's ways are sometimes difficult to understand, but one day we will understand everything.
So, dear 동생, be blessed and cheerful, for GOD is in control.
And one day, let's have a coffee ☕ together . I'll teach you German and you teach me Korean 😉.
Love, 미 진
Her mother is quite beautiful, usually people with such hard lives dont age so gracefully. Jami is a great person and I love her husband and especially the Maltese.
I’m so happy for them both. They get to make up for lost time with love and caring for each other. I hope her uhmma can come to forgive herself. No more guilt and shame. Just live and love.
한국말이 저리 남아있을 정도로 다 커서 미국에 갔으면 한국에 대한 기억도 다 가지고 살아갔을텐데 정말 그 힘든 여정이 상상도 안되네요. 암튼 해피스토리가 되어 너무 다행입니다.
He's 64? He looks like he's in his 40s
We also lived with parents during hard periods in Uzbekistan. We had time with no food at home. But none of my parents didn't even think to abandon us. They never gave up and always loved us
I can't understand why Koreans leave their children so easy
From what I know, stigma surrounding single parents raising kids or kids born outside of marriage is pretty prevalent even today in Korea. Also adoption was a pretty big (and lucrative) industry back in the days, so I think a lot of parents felt that it was the only option and probably wouldn't have made that choice if they had been helped by the government and if there was less societal pressure.
Yes, there is a lack of governmental help in Korea. Many citizens are left without any support in all areas. Only the rich have a great life in Korea. So I heard.
There has to be a change...
The Chaebols seem to be the new kings in Korea, all others seem to serve their interest.... what a shame!
I thought her mother was abused by her husband. They left out a lot of information like what happened to her other sisters. There are people from all countries who give up there children. That child left Korea at a very hard time, America was the promised land to so many, I cant really fault the mother.
Such beautiful spirits. An important contextual factor to understand is at that time in S. Korea fathers were given custodial rights, so when women divorced they typically could not take their children with them.
This is love.
can you imagine being the equivalent of a SIXTH grader and losing your culture and language?? and i thought this adoptee who was 7 years old at the time of adoption that i met had it bad...he was able to retain his korean language to the point of being conversational but still lacking grammar and vocabulary. this woman shows me that those 4 extra years make a MASSIVE difference i mean her korean is better than some gyopos in the states. thats crazy. but whats even crazier is that he has the EXACT SAME ACCENT as her. intonation, diction, everything. the ONLY difference is the vocab and grammar. he had lots of memories of his birthplace and i got to visit it with him and he was so filled with joy and happiness to be back. but also very bittersweet. these things always remind us as adoptees of what we lost. you dont even have to have memories to feel it either. so imagine actually remembering it all. so haunting.
It took me 46 years to meet my mother again.
That David is a good man.
How in the world did she retain her korean language? On another note, Im 48 and still call my dad 아빠
At eleven years old, your language skills are pretty well developed and ingrained I think. Also, she may have had Korean friends or attended Korean school/church to keep up her language. But good on her for retaining the language as it allows her to get closer, faster to her Korean mom.
Most traditional older Korean families do not have adult children who call their father “Appa”. It’s considered immature and inappropriate for adults children. But younger modern families seem to be changing traditions slowly.
@@chaisepomme4070 I have a korean friend who was adopted at 14 years old. He's in his early 50s now and doesn't know barely any Korean.
@@NHJDT Yes, of course it's possible to forget just about all your first language even starting out at 14 from disuse. I wonder though if your friend if he actually started some Korean classes now may pick it up again a lot more easily than a non-Korean.
@@NHJDT I immigrated from South Korea to Canada with my family when I was six and I sort of retained a six year old's handle of the language even though I never took Korean classes (one in university) or had any Korean friends/contact growing up. I can pick up about 20% of a Korean show/movie without looking at the subtitles. I'm rapidly approaching 60 and even in my advanced age I think if I studied a bit more I can probably pick up more of the language and the writing.
온지 3년인데 왜이렇게 한국말을 잘하시나 했는데 11살에 갔군요... 아이고 부모님과 같이 이민가도 적응하느라 엄청힘든나이인데 그나이에 입양이라니
고생많이하셨네요
I sorry u were treated bad. I saw some kids that were adopted & the mom wold tell them that the place they lived with her was not their house, but hers and don’t forget it. She was a mean lady. I remember the kids playing with my kids and they would come to our house and then they didn’t want to leave. They wanted to stay there with me and my kids and I told them you guys have to go back home because I can get in trouble. They can call the police on me. Their adopted mother was a doctor. That’s what I was so upset about.
Can someone link part 2? 🙏
ruclips.net/video/tMJoUMBgAjA/видео.htmlsi=dF7D4xEOEJeR421Y
ruclips.net/video/MmSu0BAbX14/видео.htmlsi=1eYMkLzsGjCJjTqp
ruclips.net/video/Wjc2ibLuGbQ/видео.htmlsi=BMdY7pVP1SAQIFa4
ruclips.net/video/NPeQCd5cGOU/видео.htmlsi=SoYvkUMtmopyGa_n
How was she adopted at 11 years old? But I’m happy she can speak Korean cuz it’s very rare for Korean adoptees to speak Korean cuz 98% of them are adopted as babies or toddlers mostly babied
The husband is giving up a lot . I do feel a bit sad for him. He is leaving behind his family grandkids friends. Hope it works out for them . But now I have grandkids I could not leave them
It’s only temporary. All the kids are grown and his wife helped to give him his entire life with their family… this is an important part his wife’s life. It’s a joy to be able to do something like this for the person you love the most.
Yea lovely couple
She was fortunate to get adopted at an older age of 11 yrs. Didn’t the orphanage check the missing children report? There are other documentaries where the adoption agency intentionally had children adopted who weren’t orphans. They knew they had a living parent but for the money, had them adopted. Basically it was human trafficking.
Yes, and also she was fortunate to be adopted by a good family in the US. The circumstances could have been very different for her if she had gotten to live in an abusive situation. I think there is a documentary in this channel on the unethical/illegal adoptions that took place in South Korea in the 70s and 80s.
Is she grateful to the people who adopted her and gave her a good life so that now she can leave everything behind and do this?!
The video stated that Jami didn't dare to do this while her adoptive parents were still alive. I see nothing wrong with what she is doing... her children are grown and have lives of their own.
"leave everything behind" pretty sure her kids are full grown adults now with their own lives. why does it matter so much to you whether or not shes grateful? are you grateful you were born and not aborted? are you grateful you can use the internet? are you grateful you weren't a starving child in a poor country? why do you people ONLY ask these dumba** questions to adoptees when these are FULL GROWN adults with their own damn agency. not to mention this woman was ELEVEN YEARS OLD like she literally has full blown memories and obviously has a strong attachment to the woman who raised her for 7 years and then haunted for 4 more years after by the loss of her. adoption doesn't make her obligated to do sh*t or feel sh*t. thats simply something that HAPPENED to her, it doesn't define who she is.
15:40 회화연습해야하는데 이분께 배우고싶다.
Where are her other children?
Extremely unique case. I'd say
Where is the rest of the documentary?
these are normally old documentaries you can find
ruclips.net/video/tMJoUMBgAjA/видео.htmlsi=dF7D4xEOEJeR421Y
ruclips.net/video/MmSu0BAbX14/видео.htmlsi=1eYMkLzsGjCJjTqp
ruclips.net/video/Wjc2ibLuGbQ/видео.htmlsi=BMdY7pVP1SAQIFa4
Wonderful
Wait, y does she have a korean accent if shes an adoptee?
Wait are they eating sweet potato bread?!
장건자 ㅜㅜ 감동적이다
how did she learn korean if she lived in the US all her life?
I think she mentioned that she left Korea at 9 years old. It seemed that her adopted parents were also open to her keeping many aspects of who she was.
Her husband is hot!!
Dude…
Abandoned 35+ years ago. No way in H would i go back looking for bio parents.
She wasn’t abandoned by her mother, her father chased her mom out by beating her. It sounds like he wanted a new wife and step mom for his children. This was common back then, as laws for child support and child custody were non existent back then. Even today, it’s not uncommon for the children to stay with father in case of divorce. Korean women do not change their last names, there is no such thing as married name. They are the “outsider” as children are given fathers last name. At 11, she must have remembered and had memories that she was loved by her mom. Her mother had a difficult life, it was a blessing for her to be adopted to to a loving family in the USA. Life in Korea would have been very difficult for her even if she had stayed with her mom instead of her father.
There is no right or wrong decision here. This woman's decision to reconcile with her birth mother would give her peace for the rest of her life. I'm sure she harbored the anger in her for many years. After her adoptive parents died, I think she thought it would be better living with happiness than anger. She knew her birth mother was struggling with poverty and had problems with her birth dad. Her adoption, in a way, gave her a better life that her birth mother could not have given her. Also, I'll play the devil's advocate in defending the birth mother. South Korea was extremely poor in the 1960's, not like what we see today of a developed and modernized country. The birth mother had a very difficult life and I don't know if this woman would be better off had she stayed. If the birth mother had abandoned her as a baby on the streets of Seoul, then this could be a different story how she reacted.
If I were abandoned by my birth mother as a baby on the streets, then got adopted and grew up to be a productive member of society. I would want to look for my birth mother and ask why? The answer, good or bad, would give me a closure. I don't know if I would reconcile with her right away. But, I think with time, the pain would alleviate and forgiveness would take over for me to reconcile because after all this woman was the one giving birth to me that meant life.
Each person has freewill choices to make. I totally understand why abandoned or adopted children never want to seek out their biological parents. In my opinion, a better choice is to seek out. I want to know why and live in peace instead of harboring that anger until the day I die.
and its funny how literally everyone who says stuff like this ISN'T ADOPTED THEMSELVES so how tf would you know what its like. how tf would you know the reason why adoptees search. and even if you did, she was fking eleven for christ sake. those memories probably HAUNTED tf out of her if she didnt do it. at 11 years old, you are almost at the point in life where you develop your own identity. that is a literal sixth grader. she called this woman "omma" for 11. whole. years. 7 years when she was with her, and 4 more years in the orphanage. and clearly her omma cares about her. childhood is when you develop an attachment to your family. that woman was the only person in her childhood who she may have had fond memories of from korea out of all the dozens of bad ones. who wouldnt search for her.
Poor thing...The American diet is ruining her health. :(
That's what you took out of this?? Uncalled for and rude. Quit generalizing too! Also, she and her mother even said she gained weight while being in Korea in part 2.
yo mama