아동 수출국이라는 오명을 벗기 위해서 대한민국이 해왔던 노력
While many children are opening their Christmas gifts at home... there are still thousands of children in need of a family.
Shin Ye-eun reports on how the country is trying to improve its adoption process so more children end up in loving homes.
South Korea has one of the lowest birth rates in the world.
But there are still thousands of children in need of a family.
"Local governments are the first to protect these children at temporary care facilities.
Then some are sent to adoption agencies.
And under the special adoption act, children are first assigned to domestic households.
Those who aren’t matched domestically are then matched with families abroad.
And children who aren’t adopted end up at facilities like this one."
In fact about 6 out of 10 children end up there.
The president of one of the country's oldest facilities said this issue needs to be addressed.
"Growing up as an orphan myself, I have received so much help from facilities like the one I'm operating now. But South Korea shouldn't have to rely on these facilities for children. Instead governments should invest in creating the right infrastructure for parents to raise their own child."
To try and achieve this, the Ministry of Health and Welfare launched the National Center for the Rights of the Child in 2019.
"Before, individuals or private organizations determined whether a child in need of a family should go to an adoption agency or through the foster care system. Now, the local government scrutinizes what would be the most appropriate and safe haven for each child."
The adoptive parents I talked to said they appreciated the Korean government's efforts.
"We really appreciate the Korean government for putting kids in the foster care system. Two of my kids
they were loved by their foster family. We cried so hard on the custody day. Until today we keep in touch.
"That whole education portion. Up until we took custody it was very rigorous. It taught us a lot. I think it
tried to adjust our expectations a lot and tried to repair us."
But some asked for more help when it comes to tackling stereotypes.
"I adopted two children. My older son in 2018, and my daughter in 2020. We had to wait five more months to adopt our daughter than when we adopted our son... because of "that incident."
The incident... she is referring to is the death of an adopted child named "Jeong-in."
In October 2020, a 16-month old baby girl died after being physically abused by her adoptive parents.
Some said Jeong-in had died because she had been adopted.
"Many adoptive families...including ourselves... were enraged. Jeong-in died from neglect and child abuse. Not adoption."
To tackle this stereotype adoption organizations like MPAK-Korea has been launching anti-prejudice classes at schools from the early 2000s.
"We teach people that adopted children shouldn't be pitied. The only difference adoptive parents have with biological parents is that they aren't blood related. Adoptive parents actually go through even more training and preparation to bring a child into their lives."
South Korea is still looking for ways to improve its adoption system... to make sure that each and every child is placed in a safe home and loving family.
Shin Ye-eun, Arirang News.
#SouthKorea #child #adoption
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2021-12-24, 22:00 (KST)