[24 WashIntlLJ0709] Abandoned Babies: The Backlash of South Korea’s Special Adoption Act

I. IntroductionIn South Korea, international adoption began in 1953 after the Korean War Since then, the country has led the world in the number of children it sent abroad to be adopted.6 Between 1953 and 2009, a total of 235,630 South Korean children were adopted, and a staggering 69 percent of these children were adopted abroad.7 The overwhelming number of overseas adoptions has attracted both international and domestic criticism.8 Many South Korean citizens and government officials regret that-despite their country's strong economic standing-South Korea continues to lead the world in foreign adoptions.9 Mr. Kim Dong-Won from the South Korean Ministry of Health and Wellness shared his embarrassment over the fact that "South Korea is the world's 12th largest economy . we would like to rid ourselves of the international stigma or disgrace of being a baby-exporting country. "10South Korea amended its adoption law in 2011, perhaps as a response to the growing criticism. The Special Adoption Act was drafted with two primary purposes. First, the Act intends to keep children with their birth families 11 as recommended by The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption.12 South Korea signed this convention in May of 2013 and is working toward its ratification.13 Second, the Act intends to reduce the number of foreign adoptions and to prioritize domestic adoptions in situations where the child cannot remain with their birth family.14 To achieve this goal, the Act makes the adoption process more transparent and makes available information that is deemed "necessary to promote domestic adoption. "15The Special Adoption Act created three additional requirements in the adoption process that birthparents must abide by before they can consent to placing their child up for adoption. First, birthparents must wait seven days after the birth of the child before committing to adoption.16 Second, birthparents must receive information and counseling on the various resources that would be available to them if they decide against the adoption and commit to raising the child themselves.17 Third, birthparents must go through family court in order to formally consent to placing their child up for adoption.18While the goals of the Special Adoption Act were noble, more babies have been abandoned following its enactment. This comment suggests that the Act may be a contributing factor. Part II of this comment places the Special Adoption Act into context by describing the history of adoption in South Korea and the Confucian influence on the Korean legal system, which systematically discriminated against women until the beginning of the twenty-first century. Part II describes how Confucian ideals, such as its emphasis on the male bloodline, created a culture that continues to stigmatize adoptions, children born out of wedlock, and single mothers. Part III of this comment describes the Special Adoption Act in detail and examines the possible effects of the Act. Part IV of this comment discusses the weaknesses of the Act and suggests why the Act may be failing. Finally, Part V concludes this comment.II. South Korea's History of Adoption and Its Confucian InfluenceTo better understand the purpose of the Special Adoption Act, one must examine South Korea's history of adoption, its experience with international adoptions, and its previous attempts to promote domestic adoption. Further, one must understand the country's Confucian roots and how the Confucian influenced legal system systematically discriminated against women for decades. Finally, one must examine how Confucian ideals generated a culture that, to this day, stigmatizes adoptions, children born out of wedlock, and single mothers.A. History ofAdoption in South Koreasouth Korea has the longest-running foreign adoption program in the world.19 The concept of adoption did not exist in South Korea until after the Korean War (1950-1953),20 when the country found itself with thousands of orphaned and abandoned children. …