Why Korea?

I've met many people along our adoption journey that have asked "why Korea?"

The answer is simple...

Because that is where God has led us and that is where He has placed our daughter.

Well... that's the short version.... here is the longer version...


When we first started talking about adoption, we had anticipated that we would be adopting a little girl from China. Its what we had always talked about. However, soon after doing a little research we discovered the wait for China is growing to more than 7 years. We knew that would not be possible for our family. So we started researching different countries. Intercountry adoption is very interesting. Every country has its own rules and restrictions and only works with certain American adoption agencies in different states. Orphanages in different countries have different rules and regulations and also each American adoption agency has its own set of rules and regulations. Everything from age limits, income, how many children you already have in your family, whether you want to adopt infants or older children, how old your youngest child is, whether or not you would be open to special needs, how long the wait is, even weight restrictions. We spent two months researching countries and agencies, and even talking to other adoptive families. We also did a lot of praying during this time. We knew our daughter was out there and we just asked that God lead us to her. He answered our prayers. He closed every door except the door to Korea. That one He left wide open and helped us through it. In the end, here are some of the reasons that God led us to Korea...

(I would like to give credit to Byerscrossroads blog for compiling some of the information here)

*Infants available
-When we began researching countries, we found that for many countries, only older children (18 months and older) were available for adoption. Although we knew we would not be able to bring home our daughter as a newborn, we wanted her to be as young as possible. In Korea, they are really pushing for domestic adoption to be more accepted and they try to get babies adopted domestically until they are 5 months old. If they are not adopted after that time, then they are eligible for international adoption. Most families adopting healthy babies receive referrals that are around 5-6 months old. It takes about 3 months for Korea to process paperwork which means many babies will come home around 9 months old. This was perfect for us and much younger than many other countries.

*Foster families in place for adoptive children
-After babies are born, they are placed in a nursery setting for a couple months. At about 2-3 months old, they are placed with a foster family where they will stay until they are adopted. The foster care system in Korea is very good and families are only allowed to care for one child at a time. From what we have learned, these foster families pour their heart and souls into loving these babies. Although we will not be with our daughter for the first 9 months of her life, I know she will be loved by another family who will raise her as their own until we take her home. This was very important to us since we had heard many heart-breaking stories of babies living in over-crowded orphanages in other countries. Having a consistent foster family home will also help increase her chances of attaching and bonding well to us since she will not be bounced between many caretakers and locations.

*Good medical care/records
-Korea's medical system takes very good care of these babies. They go to monthly check ups with a physician and any follow ups/hospital stays are all documented and reports are supplied to the adoptive family. We should receive a lot of medical information on our daughter. Compared to many countries, Korean babies are extremely healthy.

*Good potential of knowing family history
-While poverty and other reasons may lead a birth mom to put together an adoption plan for her baby, the majority of adoptions are due to unwed mothers. There is quite a stigma in Korea surrounding this. Although progress is being made, there were not a lot of options for these mothers. Many of them were disowned from their families, couldn't find jobs to support them and sometimes even the child was punished along with his mother with prejudice actions from society. Family blood lines are very important in Korea, which is why the domestic adoption program is very slow to pick up pace. There are different homes set up in Korea where these birth moms can go and receive prenatal care their last few months of pregnancy along with counseling and job training. They work hand and hand with social workers and care givers to put together an adoption plan for their baby. Many times information about the birth mom and father can be released, which is invaluable. Often further records can be released when the baby turns 18 if she would like more information on her birth family. We find this very comforting so that we can help our daughter pursue any questions she may have as she grows up.

*Long standing international adoption program
-Korean adoptions starting occurring in 1955 as a result of the Korean war. Many of these children were orphaned due to the war or were multi-racial (Korean mothers, US fathers) and were not accepted in Korean society. The reasons for the international adoption program to continue on have changed over the years, but the stigma of illegitimacy, unstable economic conditions, limited interest in adoption in Korean couples and internal government challenges in dealing with a large number of abandoned or orphaned children have led to a continued need for these adoptions. S. Korea is the oldest organized international adoption program in the US. There are 4 agencies in Korea that work with international adoptions: Holt, Eastern Social Welfare Society, Korea Social Services and Social Welfare Society. Depending upon the local agency you choose here in the US will depend on the agency you work with in Korea. We work with SWS and they partner with Spence-Chapin. They have had a partnership with Spence-Chapin for over 30 years! This is very comforting when we see other countries closing and stopping their adoption programs.

* You can travel over or choose to escort
-In Korean adoptions, you can choose to travel (which is recommended) or have your child escorted home where you would meet them at the airport. Jeff and I knew immediately that we wanted to experience our daughter's birth country firsthand and meet her foster family. We want to take this chance to bring home anything we can from her country of birth for her.

* Drawn to the Asian culture
- I can't exactly explain what drew us to China or Korea, but we have always been drawn to the Asian culture. Koreans have a very strong sense of family and similar values. There is also a very large population of Christians in Korea. The Korean history is rich and wonderful. It is a culture we can see blending into our family. We are already enjoying some of the incredible Korean cuisine and plan on implementing some Korean holidays and traditions into our family.


Here is some general information on Korea adoption...


~Who are the children? Korean boys and girls ages 5-12 months are available for adoption. Because there are many more boys than girls available, many agencies will quote longer time lines or put restrictions (no girls already in family for example) if you want to adopt a girl. There are also many waiting children from all ages available.

~Who can adopt from Korea?
-Couples married at least 3 years with no more than 2 divorces between them
-Ages 25-42 when initiating the adoption process
-Must meet Korean health requirements (they have certain BMI requirements)
-No more than 4 children already in the family
-Meet financial guidelines (for example, make minimum of $30K per year)


If you would like more information on Korean adoptions, please feel free to check out the following links!

http://adoptkorea.com/
http://http://korea.adoption.com/

Check out my list of blogs on the side. These are all other families adopting from Korea that I follow along with.