Orphans from Korea struggle with identity

최근 발표된 연구 결과에 따르면 한국 입양아 1세대의 반 이상이 인종 정체성에 대해서 고민한다고 한다.

뉴욕타임즈는 최근 한국 입양아를 다룬 기사에서 78% 의 한국입양아 들이 자기 자신을 백인으로 간주 하거나, 어렸을 때 백인이 되고 싶었다고 미국 입양기관 에반 B. 도날슨이 시행한 설문조사 결과가 나왔다고 한다.

설문에 응답한 이들 중 60% 는 그들의 인종적인 정체성 문제에 대해 중학교때쯤 부터 고민했다고 말했고, 61% 정도가 성인으로 성장한 후 한국에 대해 배우고, 자신의 친부모를 찾기 위해 한국을 방문한 적이 있다고 말했다.

이 연구결과에 따르면, 많은 수의 입양아들이 백인이 많이 거주하는 동네에 살면서 인종차별을 경험한 적이 있다고 말했고, 아주 적은 수의 응답자만이 자신과 같은 인종의 사람들의 집단에서 환영을 받는 것 같다고 대답했다.









A study says that more than half of the first generation of children adopted from Korea struggle with their ethnic identity.

In a New York Times article, Kim Eun Mi Young, who was adopted in 1961 by an American family, said she used to hate being different as a child; she ignored a picture book about Korea when her father brought it home for herd she only dated white boys, even when Asian boys were around.

"At no time did I consider myself anything other than white," said Young, 48, who lives in San Antonio. "I had no sense of any identity as a Korean woman. Dating an Asian man would have forced me to accept who I was."

According to Young, she began to explore her Korean heritage in her 30s. One night, after going out with her husband to celebrate, she told the press she broke down and began crying uncontrollably.

"I remember sitting there thinking, where is my mother? Why did she leave me? Why couldn`t she struggle to keep me?" she said. "That was the beginning of my journey to find out who I am."

While claiming that Korea was the first country which American adopted in significant number, the article said that significant changes have occurred since the first generation of adopted children were brought to the United States. At first, parents were told to assimilate the children into their family without considering their native culture, but now more and more adoptive parents are trying to expose their adopted children to their own culture.

Heidi Weitzman, who was adopted from Korea when she was 7 months old, grew up in ethically diverse neighborhood in St. Paul. She told the Times that her parents were in touch with other parents with Korean children, and offered to send her to "culture camp," where she could learn about her native culture.

"But I hated it," said Weitzman. "I didn`t want to do anything that made me stand out as being Korean. Being surrounded by people who were blonds and brunets, I just thought that I was white."

Ms. Weitzman said she began to become comfortable being Korean when she moved to New York after college, "I was 21 before I could look in the mirror and not be surprised by what I saw staring back at me," she said. "The process of discovering who I am has been a long process, and I`m still on it."

According to the article, Ms. Weitzman`s self discovery process is typical of the 179 Korean adoptees with two Caucasian parents who responded to the study. Most of them responded that they began to think of themselves more as Korean when they attended college or moved to ethnically diverse neighborhood.

By Hwang Aesol(csa919@gmail.com)