Why Korea?

We've chosen to look to Korea for our next child for several reasons.  The first and most important is because that is what I felt God was leading me to do.  I never had any desire to adopt until one day sitting in church about 3 years ago.  Our youth pastor was sharing his story of how he was adopted from Korea, and I felt like God was tapping me on the shoulder saying, "This.  This is what I want you to do."  My mom, sister, and brother-in-law were with us that day, and I remember going to Red Lobster after church for lunch and telling them I wanted to adopt from Korea.  I'm sure they thought I was crazy.

The days and weeks that ensued were filled with doing as much research as I could about Korea and international adoption.  I don't want to over-generalize because I know each case in unique, but according to the research, many of babies given up for adoption in Korea are born to unwed mothers.  They have a very conservative society and these mothers would be publicly shamed, disowned by their families, and risk their futures as well as the future of their baby.  10 years ago I found myself in a similar situation where I was a young, unmarried pregnant woman.  I understand the shame, the feelings of helplessness, and the desire to do what's best for your child.  My heart goes out to these mothers, and I want to take care of these babies.  If I had been living in Korea, that mom putting her baby up for adoption could have been me.

And if the above reasons weren't enough to seal the deal, we really like that there aren't a lot of surprises when adopting from Korea.  The babies stay with foster families and are given excellent medical care.  In many cases you get information on the parents' background and medical history and the adoption agency keeps records of who the parents are on file so that if an adoptee wants to find his or her parents in the future, that can be arranged.  Once you receive a referral, you have a detailed medical history for that child to help you decide if that child's unique needs are something your family could manage.  You receive a well-check update from the child's doctor each month after being matched, and you receive updated photos every 2-3 months.

As much as I would love to give my daughter a sister, you don't get to have a preference when adopting from Korea.  You have to be open to a referral of either gender.  People in Korea prefer to adopt girls domestically, so about 75% of babies being released for international adoption are boys.  I do love my boys though, so we truly will be happy either way.