My son is obsessed with “The Wiggles” – the Australian children’s group. He would listen to or watch “The Wiggles” every waking moment if we let him. Within seconds of getting into the car he says, “Wiggles Please” or more accurately “Googles Pease”.

His favorite Wiggle is Jeff. Jeff is not Korean, but he is Asian (Chinese, I think). I can’t tell you if my son chose Jeff because of the way he looks or if it’s because Jeff wears purple, which is currently my son’s favorite color. I suspect that it’s the latter, but you never know.

I’m just enjoying... more

So here’s the buzz. On May 2nd, there is a new Anne Tyler book coming out called “Digging to America.” It’s about two couples who adopt Korean baby girls. The story talks about their friendship, which starts at the airport, and takes you through the development of both families.

I haven’t read the book (since it isn’t out yet), but I wanted to give people a heads up. I am looking forward to reading it. Here are a couple of links to sites that reviewed the book:

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307263940... more

So, I watched a new sitcom on Wednesday called “The Loop” on FOX. It’s all about growing up – that huge leap from college to the real world. Of course, it’s a sitcom, so the leap is a little longer than real life.

I’m really not a huge sitcom watcher, but I did tune in to this one so that I could watch Joy Osmanski. Yep, I really meant to say Joy Osmanski and not Mimi Rogers (who I also enjoy). Joy is a Korean adoptee who was raised in Olympia, Washington. She married and moved to San Francisco where she started her theater career. Now she’s playing an MIT graduate who is an over qualified assistant to the new young executive. I was a little disappointed at how small her part... more

I was searching for a new topic and my KAAN newsletter popped into my e-mail. I was on my lunch break so I scanned through it to see if there was anything that popped out at me. Anyhow, one of the subject lines caught me attention. It read, “How I Handled It: A compilation of brief anecdotes about people’s responses to racism/prejudice.”

I e-mailed the editor, Ellen Liberman, to see if I could put her information in my blog and she responded quickly. Her study is not about the acts of racism/prejudice, but about people’s responses to them. Anyhow, I thought this... more

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.” – William Shakespeare Generally, Koreans have three names (the family name, a name identifiying the generation, and the given name) that are placed in that order. My Korean name was Ahn Gi Mi (so my family name was Ahn, my generation name was Gi and my given name was Mi). I did say that Koreans generally have three names. My son only had two. His name was Bae Moses (Bae was the family name and Moses his given name).

Funny Story: Right before... more

Okay, it’s big news in the Korean adoption world – Toby Dawson, a Korean adoptee, took a bronze medal in the men’s mogul competition in the 2006 Olympics (see post in the Ethiopia blog). Above and beyond that, Toby has made a very public search for his birth parents. From my understanding, there have been several people who stepped forward, but then refused to take DNA tests. Now, there is a new claim and a man who is willing to take the DNA test to prove his paternity (follow this link... more

The fertility blog on this site has a wonderful post about Korean birth mothers. I really think it is worth reading. We should always remember that there are two sides to every story.

How Working with Birth Mothers Colored my Ideas About Adoption

(All quotes in this blog entry are from the article: New Immigration Strategy: Koreans Send Children to America for Adoption, New America Media, News Report, Aruna Lee, Jan 25, 2006)

“A growing number of South Korean parents are paying retired couples in the United States to adopt their children.”

“Putting a child up for adoption in the United States allows Korean parents to skirt around normal immigration procedures, a drawn-out process with no guarantee of approval. Parents generally seek retired American couples, whose own children often have left and have room to spare. The American couples receive an agreed-upon sum of money in exchange... more