Link: Bird Flu

I found this article on one of the forums. Bird flu has me a little confused. I’m never sure if I should be ignoring it our seeing it as the next pandemic catastrophe. On one hand, it really hasn’t been as devastating as the early news reports made it out to be, but on the other hand my work has a task force and we’re trying to determine what we would do if the company was down by 50%. Mostly, I’ve decided to... more

The newest KAAN newsletter had two interesting articles today about how important the English language is to Korea. I found it interesting.

The first article, “How Close Are We to Using English as Official Language?”, is from The Korean Times.

Under the plan, elementary schools expanded regular English classes to the lower grades starting in the second half of this year on a pilot project. The pilot project will continue until the end of next year.

I understand how important the United States is to the economy of the world. We seem to be... more

Link: Parents Share The Joys Of Adoption, by A.J. O’Connell (Stamford Times)

Many of the articles that I’ve been getting lately have been a little fluffy – warm fuzzy feelings. I liked this one because it touched on some of the issues.

Well-meaning acquaintances ask if the boys, who were adopted from Korea, are "real" brothers, want to know about their "real" mothers, and ask other personal questions... more

I came across this article and I thought it was interesting. It’s asking the question, why are prospective parents turning to overseas adoption instead of looking right here in the United States. I understood the purpose of the article, but I found some of the language to be offensive. Perhaps, I’m being too sensitive.

Link: U.S. adoption agencies ask, "Why don't they look here?"

One... more

I really couldn’t escape from writing more about North Korea. With their nuclear test the top item on almost every newscast, it really is dominating my thoughts lately. They’ve been such an insular country since the end of the Korean War, that it is hard for me to paint a very clear picture for myself.

A couple of weeks ago, I was listening to an interview with a gentleman who had spent some time in North Korea on an assignment. He had just finished a graphic novel about his experience in North Korea. What struck me about the interview was that... more

I found this article in the Korean Times and thought it was interesting. A Korean Adoptee from the Netherlands who has made a documentary about adoption. It is a positive article about Korean adoption and it addresses one of the number one questions. “Who am I?”

Link: Adoptee’s Journey

Ultimately, isn’t that a question that we all ask (adopted or not)?

Tomorrow, I’m off to Indiana to visit my friend C. She was transferred to Indiana earlier this year. We haven’t felt the separation yet because of e-mail. We are pretty much sharing little bits of our stories every day and she is has come back to visit several times. However, I have been waiting impatiently to see her new house and neighborhood.

It’s going to be a five hour trip and I’m not sure I’m excited about that. My son is finally getting the hang of potty training so we may be making quite a few stops. I’ll like the results.

Anyhow, here are some articles that caught my attention.

They are building a Korean Folk Village in Sedona, Arizona. I liked Sedona... more

For those of you who don't have access to this channel (or don't have time to access this channel), click on the following link. You can watch some of the Korean shows right online.

Link: AZN TV

So, I saw in the news today that a possible successor to the United Nations Secretary-General position is a man named Ban Ki-Moon. Ban Ki-Moon is a South Korean Foreign Minister. It’s still early in the process, but it pretty exciting that he’s being considered.

According to the Christian Science Monitor:

Mr. Ban has the support of the US, which wants the process wrapped up this month, and China is expected to give Ban the nod. Indeed, Ban's most saleable quality is his ability to get along with all sides, building consensus in the process. Ban's evenhanded approach, analysts say, may be what's needed to bring a semblance of harmony and cohesion among UN members.... more

Link: White on White

I tend to focus on Asian identity and Korean Adoptee identity because of the topic of my blog. We talk about racism and people almost always associate racism with Caucasians. This, of course, is not fair because because I know my fair share of racist Korean Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Black Americans, etc…

So, when I saw this article about a study about “whiteness,” I thought good for them. Minorities are told to... more