Should you travel to Korea to meet your new child?

“Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience.” –Francis Bacon

Yes. No. Maybe. Some say that travel broadens the mind or some are like Paul Theroux who says, “Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.”

When my son came, we didn’t travel any farther than the airport (about 20 minutes down the road). The agency that we used is too small and doesn’t allow travel because they don’t have the resources in Korea to help the families. Truthfully, we wouldn’t have traveled even if we had been given the opportunity.

Why? Before we knew we couldn’t travel, we had discussed it and decided not to. First, there was a money issue for us. Adoption fees were expensive and traveling was one more cost. Second, I really would like to travel to Korea to see where I was born. However, I decided that I really wanted to do it as a family and without the stress of learning about being a parent. Third, I would like my son to be old enough to appreciate the trip.

However, there is another side to this story. The people I’ve talked about who have traveled wouldn’t trade it for anything. It is an opportunity to see where your child was born and to experience a new culture. If you go, you have firsthand experience to share with your child. Someone described the trip to me as a “connection”. They weren’t able to stay long, but they felt a connection with Korea because of their visit that they felt helped them give their child that same “connection.”

Regardless, I am still happy with my decision. Waiting at the airport was hard enough for me. However, I was recently sent a wonderful website that takes you through one family’s journey to Korea to meet their son (http://ryan.phinished.org/ryan/index.html). They not only take you through their journey to meet their son, but they also take you to many interesting locations in Korea (complete with pictures). There is nothing more fascinating (to me) than to experience a different culture first hand.

Hmmm. I sense a topic for another post. Stay tuned for some travel information blog posts.

You can e-mail me directly at: adoptkoreablog@adoptionmail.com.