ABSTRACT

Discover the roots of international transracial adoption

International Korean Adoption: A Fifty-Year History of Policy and Practice explores the long history of international transracial adoption. Scholars present the expert multidisciplinary perspectives and up-to-date research on this most significant and longstanding form of international child welfare practice. Viewpoints and research are discussed from the academic disciplines of psychology, ethnic studies, sociology, social work, and anthropology. The chapters examine sociohistorical background, the forming of new families, reflections on Korean adoption, birth country perspectives, global perspectives, implications for practice, and archival, historical, and current resources on Korean adoption.

International Korean Adoption: A Fifty-Year History of Policy and Practice provides fresh insight into the origins, development, and institutionalization of Korean adoption. Through original research and personal accounts, this revealing text explores how Korean adoptees and their families fit into their family roles—and offers clear perspectives on adoption as child welfare practice. Global implications and politics, as well as the very personal experiences are examined in detail. This source is a one-of-a-kind look into the full spectrum of information pertaining to Korean adoption.

Topics in International Korean Adoption: A Fifty-Year History of Policy and Practice include:

  • adoption from the Korean perspective
  • historical origins of Korean adoption in the United States
  • adjustments of young adult adoptees
  • marketing to choosy adopters
  • ethnic identity
  • perspectives on the importance of race and culture in parenting
  • birth mothers’ perspectives
  • sociological approach to race and identity
  • representations of adoptees in Korean popular culture
  • adoption in Australia and the Netherlands
  • much, much more

International Korean Adoption: A Fifty-Year History of Policy and Practice is illuminating reading for adoptees, adoptive parents, practitioners, educators, students, and any child welfare professional.

part 1|42 pages

Sociohistorical Background

chapter 1|21 pages

A Country Divided

Contextualizing Adoption from a Korean Perspective

chapter 2|18 pages

Institutionalizing International Adoption

The Historical Origins of Korean Adoption in the United States

part 3|73 pages

Reflections on Korean Adoption

chapter 7|15 pages

Remembering Loss

The Koreanness of Overseas Adopted Koreans

chapter 8|23 pages

Mothers Without Mothering

Birth Mothers from South Korea Since the Korean War

chapter 10|15 pages

Lifting the Shroud of Silence

A Korean Adoptee's Search for Truth, Legitimacy, and Justice

part 5|42 pages

Global Perspectives

chapter 14|26 pages

Identity and International Adoptees

A Comparison of the Vietnamese and Korean Adoptee Experience in Australia

part 6|62 pages

Implications for Practice

chapter 17|19 pages

Once Upon a Time

A Critical Look at How Children's Literature Contextualizes Adoption for Asian Adoptees

part 7|1 pages

Resources

chapter 19|44 pages

International Korean Adoption

A Selective Bibliography