DIRECTORY
Korean American Adoptee
Adoptive Family Network
Helping adoptee families through community and culture.
By SuJ'n Chon for AIA, March 2004
Adoptees at Camp Choson, a Korean culure camp in Woodbury, Minnesota. Photo courtesy of Camp Choson
These days, families come in many shapes and sizes. The definition of family is continually expanding to include different types of relationships. There are step-families, same-sex parent families, grandparent-headed families... Among the list of complex family structures are adoptive families. Adoptive families are complex because the child-parent relationship requires a legal procedure that binds the relationship. Adoptive families, in essence, are legitimized by process.
Enter another complicating factor: the child comes to the adoptive family by way of another country of origin. Not only is there a legitimation process involved, but there is also a process of enculturation. There are multiple challenges faced by adoptive families that adopt internationally. These include issues revolving around culture, heritage, language, and ethnic identity. Children raised by parents who do not share their ethnic background may feel 'alien' even in their own families.
Due to political or social environments, certain countries have permitted U.S. families to adopt from within their borders. South Korea is one such country. Approximately 100,000 Korean children have been adopted into the United States. Nearly four years ago, leaders from the Korean government, Korean American community, and adoption community met in Sacramento, CA for the purpose of developing a nation-wide service organization devoted to Korean adoptees and their families. From this conference, Korean American Adoptee Adoptive Family Network (KAAN) was born.
Adult adoptees attending the 2001 KAAAN conference.
According to its mission, KAAN was created to "network groups and individuals related to Korean adoptions. The network facilitates dialogue, promotes resource sharing, and disseminates information." Operated entirely by volunteers, the organization serves as a forum for all members of the adoption community. It does not consider itself serving solely in the interest of adoptees or adoptive parents. It also does not take a political stance on adoptions from Korea. Instead, it is an open community within which a variety of perspectives and people are welcome. There is no membership fee to participate, and there are no requirements.
Identity is one of the critical issues faced by Korean adoptees. Children who are adopted by non-Korean parents face the challenges of looking and 'feeling' different from their adoptive families. KAAN helps connect adoptees to resources that help them discover their Korean heritage. Among them are language schools and culture camps. In addition, KAAN holds an annual conference that attracts families from across the United States. These conferences include workshops that present on a wide variety of issues from a wide variety of perspectives. KAAN does not use the organization to promote a particular position on Korean adoption.
At KAAN's first national conference, Korean birthmothers came to Los Angeles to share their stories (through translation). According to Chris Winston, a mother of a son adopted from Korea and a KAAN spokesperson, having the birthmothers present "... gave a face to 'fantasy people.' They were able to share their intense feelings about the separations that occurred and how they have or have not come to terms with it." Due to the geographical distance and the intense social stigma of Korean birthmothers, adoptees' access to their Korean birth families is much rarer than with children who are adopted domestically. The only senses of connection adoptees may have to their origins are through opportunities such as these.
A performer plays the geomungo at the 2003 KAAAN conference.
Helping adoptees come to terms with both the real-ness and the elusiveness of their Korean origins is a common challenge faced by families. Winston says, "Adoptees raised by Caucasians often feel isolated with no sense of identity, but they are also isolated from a personal birth family history as well." In the process of trying to resolve their identities, adoptees may reach out to the Korean American community. Korean Americans can often serve as a bridge for adoptees to a more 'Korean' community - whether that link is achieved through shared appearances, language, or culture. Therefore, Korean American community involvement is also a critical part of achieving KAAN's mission.
Kathleen Dunham, a 17-year-old adoptee, describes KAAN as "really something special. It makes me feel alive and proud to be Korean - I don't have that feeling anywhere else... KAAN is a really great outlet for me to be who I am, express who I am, be proud of who I am, and never feel guilty, or ashamed of who I am. I feel understood and accepted."
KAAN is a project of Friends of Korea, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Its advisory board consists of adoptees and adoptive parents. Its work, which mainly consists of the annual conference, is supported by individual and organizational donations, advertisement revenue, exhibit revenue, and conference registration fees. In addition to the annual event, KAAN also sends out a weekly email newsletter and maintains a website at www.kaanet.com, which includes links to resources for people involved in Korean adoptions.
This year's annual conference will be held on July 23-25 at the Clarion Hotel, San Francisco Airport. All involved or interested in Korean adoptions are encouraged to attend. For more information on the conference, visit http://www.kaanconference.com.
Korean American Adoptee Adoptive Family Network
P.O. Box 5585, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
Telephone: 916-933-1447
E-mail: kaanet@aol.com
Website: http://www.kaanet.com
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