Hello!

My name is Nari Baker and I am putting out a request for interviews
of adoptees who have lived in Korea for at least one year. I have
been living in Seoul since July 2007 on a U.S. Fulbright grant for
the purpose of completing several oral history projects. Below I
describe all three projects that I am working on. I am open to
volunteers picking and choosing any combination of the three
projects they would be interested in contributing to.

Read the rest of this entry »

Chock full of insightful, useful and fun to read articles, we invite you to come to the office to pick up your copy.

Main features include: Jobs and European adoptees in Korea, Volunteer Highlights her Experience with Adoptees & G.O.A.’L, IKAA Gathering review, Etiquette Primer for Koreans, and much more!

For members living in Korea, this will be mailed to you shortly. If you’re living overseas, please be patient as we prepare the online version. In the meantime, past issues from 2006-07 can be viewed in .pdf form.
http://goal.or.kr/eng/?slms=for&lsms=2&sl=5&ls=4

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G.O.A.’L would like to thank Kelli Donigan for all her hard work and dedication to improving the content and quality of The OAK over the past 1.5 years as Senior Newsletter Editor and wish her well in her future endeavors.

On a related note, we welcome Terry O’brien as the new Senior Newsletter Editor who is responsible for the upcoming Spring 2008 issue available in April.

Call for Papers: 2 Day Symposium Adoption in Australia: Contemporary Cultural,Theoretical and Political PerspectivesJuly 3-4, 2008
Monash University, Clayton Campus, Melbourne

Read the rest of this entry »

NoPAK is just over a year old now. In the first year, we have done many great things. We have done things in one year others can only dream about. We have helped our members find jobs, find their birth families, and helped members find eachother. In many other ways, our members have told us about the good things we have done for them. We will continue to do more bigger and greater things.

To do more great things, NoPAK.org needs more great people. NoPAK.org is looking for progressive Adopted Korean individuals who understand and can share our visions, individuals who are excited and passionate about our ideas and goals, individuals who are willing to give freely to the community, and individuals who can express our positive message to the community.

During this time, we have been going through the final steps of becoming a non-profit organization. Now, we are in the process of clearing the last few hurdles. In the first year, most of the executive board members have been working as acting-board-members. As a part of our process, we need to now officially indentify these executive board members:

Vice President
Treasurer
Secretary

If you think you are the right person for any of these positions, please apply. The application and job descriptions of these positions are available in our forums under “Organizational Annoucements”. The final decision will be announced in late January.

John Perry
President
NoPAK.org

Please view link to see press release in response to the story below.

http://goal.or.kr/upload/bbs/e613/495411974421940.pdf

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2883720

December 10, 2007
HONG KONG ? A high-ranking Dutch diplomat and his wife, who adopted a 4-month-old Korean girl in 2000 when he was posted in Korea, gave up the child last year, officials here said.

Now, officials here are looking for someone to take care of the school-age child.

The girl, Jade, is still a Korean citizen because the adoptive parents, whose names were not released, never applied to give her Dutch citizenship, according to an official at the Hong Kong Social Welfare Department.

She doesn’t speak any Korean. She speaks only English and Cantonese, according to people close to her.  And she doesn’t have Hong Kong residency status, either. The Hong Kong Social Welfare Department, where the Dutch diplomat left Jade in September last year, has had responsibility for her ever since, the official said. Jade has been in Hong Kong’s foster care system, according to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post.

The paper also reported that the diplomat, who has a senior management role at a European consulate in the city, said “the adoption had gone wrong,” without any further explanation.

“It’s just a very terrible trauma that everyone’s experiencing,” he told the paper. “I don’t have anything to say to the public. It is something we have to live with.”

The diplomat’s wife thought she was infertile when the couple adopted the Korean girl in 2000, the official said. After they moved to Hong Kong, the wife got pregnant. They now have two children of their own.

The story has fueled anger among the Korean immigrant community in Hong Kong, which criticized the diplomat couple for “irre-sponsibly renouncing their custody of a child who’d been with them more than six years after delaying the naturalization process in Netherlands for years.”

A couple of potential families in Hong Kong showed interest in the adoption, but are struggling to complete the adoption process because of the strict legal qualifications here, Koreans familiar with the incident said.

The Korean Consulate in Hong Kong said it is aware of the situation.
“We could send her back to a Korean orphanage, but she’s been away from Korea for so long, and it would be very difficult for her to readapt in Korea,” said Jeong Byeong-bae, a consul of the South Korean consulate in Hong Kong. “So it is for the best under the circumstances to find a Korean family in Hong Kong.”

By Choi Hyung-kyu JoongAng Ilbo/ Lee Yang-kyoung Staff Reporter [ enational@joongang.co.kr ]

The Adoption and Family Information Service (AFIS) and the Post Adoption
Support Service (PASS) will be collaborating on running a 2 seminar series
in 2008. Planning is still in progress, however dates have been set for
your diaries. This series will be jointly run by AFIS and PASS and
acknowledges the benefits in coordinating some of the education processes
undertaken by AFIS in preparation for adoption and the work of PASS in
working with families after the adoption.
The first of the seminar series is called The Joys and Challenges of
Parenting your Adopted Child and will be held at Relationships Australia
South Australia (RASA) over 3 evenings: 8, 15, 22 and 29th May 2008. The
series is for both waiting parents and those whose child has already
joined their family. Some of the topics to be covered will be: promoting a
secure relationship with your child, parenting a child who has experienced
institutionalisatio n, supporting the child who is grieving, negotiating
education, supports and other systems available, supporting your child in
developing relationships in school, encouraging play, and managing
behaviour.
The second series will be on the Common Medical and Developmental Needs of
Intercountry Adopted Children and will be held at RASA on 11, 18 and 25
September 2008. Again this series will be for both waiting parents and
those who have already been placed with a child. Presenters will include a
paediatrician, child health nurse, occupational therapist, speech
pathologist and psychologist.
The seminars will be free to attend. Please contact either Sandi
Petersen, Coordinator, Post Adoption Support Service on               08 8245 8100        or
mailto:S.Petersen%40rasa.org.au or Meredith du Caine, Senior Program Development
Officer at Adoption and Family Information Service, on 8207 0060 for
further information.
Kind regards,
Sandi Petersen

Coordinator, Post Adoption Support Service
Relationships Australia SA
49a Orsmond St, Hindmarsh 5007
Ph: 8245 8100
Email: mailto:S.Petersen%40rasa.org.au

Dear friend,

Are you interested in being a buddy at Camp Connection 2008?

· Are you adopted from overseas and aged 18 to 25?

· Would you like to meet with other intercountry
adoptees of your age?

· Would you like to meet & help other children who
may be having similar experiences you had as a child?

If so, we would love to hear from you.

We are planning now for Camp Connection which will take
place in March 2008 at Myuna Bay. The purpose of the camp is
to bring together adoptive families and adoptees to enable
to sharing of experiences and information whilst having fun
in relaxed environment. We are looking for a number of young
adult adoptees to take on the role of “buddies” at the camp.

What does a buddy do?

Buddies act as mentors to younger children attending the
camp. They help by organising and supervising games for them
and being there as a friend to talk about adoption issues if
and when they arise.

Interested?

Should you wish to be included in our team of “buddies”
please complete the section below and either send it to us
at the address above or email us by 23 December. Selected
buddies attend the camp for no cost including room and board
in return for their assistance with the children.

You will be required to attend a compulsory training session
and other camp planning meetings. You will be made aware of
your role and responsibilities as a buddy and your duties at
the camp will be explained.

We hope that you will be able to join us!

Questions?

Contact Sue Ann at mailto:info%40australiansadopt.org or 0403 763
737

“”"”"”"”"”"” “”"”"”"”" “”"”"”"”" “”"”"

Name

Address
_________

Suburb
Post code

Phone H.
w.
Mobile

JINHEUNG MOONHWA Co., Ltd. has hosted a motherland tour program for all Overseas Adopted Koreans every year since 1996.
The purpose of this program is to provide an opportunity for Korean Overseas Adoptees to understand Korean culture and tradition, to foster a strong sense of pride in the Korean heritage and build a warm friendship between native Koreans and adoptees.
We invite Korean Overseas Adoptees to Journey 2008 as below.

? Tentative Date : June 16 - 28, 2008 for two weeks (13 days, 12 nights)
  ** subject to change slightly

? Applicant Qualifications / Participant Selection
 - All Overseas adopted Koreans
 - From 18 to 28 years of age.
 - Preference will be given to those who have not visited Korea before
 - Limited to 20 participants

? Participation costs
  JINHEUNG MOONHWA Co., Ltd. will cover all expense for this program
  (housing, food, transportation in Korea) except air travel to/from home country
  and domestic travel from Busan/Jejudo/Seoul.

? How to Apply
 -  Fill out and Submit application form and brief essay which includes information about
    yourself and what you hope to gain as a participant in Journey program. Include a recent
    color photo.
    Submit to: Robyn McLaughlin: korrob4@hotmail.com (USA) or
                   Suk-Hwan Choi : jh1004@jh1004.com (Korea)
  Application Form (Download application form at http://1004calendar.com)
  ** Early application is highly appreciated as participants are accepted on a first come basis.

? Application Deadline : April 25, 2008

? Host: JINHEUNG MOONHWA Co., Ltd.
            104-8 Shinseol-dong, Dongdaemoon-gu, Seoul, Korea
            Tel: 82-2-2230-5190 Fax: 82-2-2230-5156
            http://1004calendar.com

? Contact Information
- Korea : Mr. Suk-Hwan Choi
              E-mail: jh1004@jh1004.com
              Tel: +82-2-2230-5191 / Fax: +82-2-2230-5156

- U.S.A : Ms. Robyn Poland, a Journey 2001
              E-mail: korrob4@hotmail.com
              Tel: (Home) +1-732-721-8450/ (Mobile) +1-732-887-3183

http://1004calendar.com/event/2008adoptees/schedule.php

SAVE THE DATES: August 1 – August 3, 2008

In 2008 Global Overseas Adoptees’ Link will celebrate its 10th anniversary. To commemorate this significant milestone, G.O.A.’L will host a special celebration together with our annual summer conference. More info will be forthcoming, so check our homepage for updates: www.goal.or.kr or contact Nicole Sheppard (ia_goal@yahoo.com).