Korean Adoption Stories, Please Share.

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

Hi All,
My husband and I have been seriously taking about adding to our family through adoption and I was hoping we could hear some experiences adopting through Korea. We have spoken to the social worker from Holt and she was lovely but has never adopted.
Any information or experiences you could share would really be appreciated! Thanks sooooo Much!

 

[STITCHes in TX]

We have a son and daughter adopted from Korea through Holt. They are now 10 and 8 and we are so blessed!!! It has been a long time so my details may be rusty, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

We have a son and daughter adopted from Korea through Holt. They are now 10 and 8 and we are so blessed!!! It has been a long time so my details may be rusty, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Thank you so much!

 

[MeMom]

I have an 18 year old son adopted through Holt. From start to finish, the process was 16 months long. He arrived to us when he was five months old and adjusted beautifully. We know only a tidbit of information about his biological parents. He was given up to Holt the day he was born. He was a healthy baby, but had many severe ear infections and had to have some surgery related to that. He was diagnosed with ADD (not hyperactive) when he was about eleven, so that gives him some academic struggles. Have you read Seed from the East and another Harry Holt book called (I think) Bring My Sons from Afar?

 

[Makua]

I have a 20 year old daughter from Korea. I'm sure I wouldn't be much help because it was so long ago! The process has changed alot since then, I've heard that it is actually easier now. One thing I CAN tell you is not to give up. We had to jump through so many hoops and over so many hurdles, it was crazy. Everything that could go wrong did. But my terriffic DH would not let me give up. The poor guy, the agency we worked with was 2 hours away and we were required to go to weekly meetings and I would just sob the whole way home! But it was all worth it when they put that baby in my arms! I cry just thinking about it! We had no problems at all with her adjusting. She is an amazing young woman, absolutely beautiful, inside and out. She's extremely smart but it doesn't come easy, she really studies. If you want to aggravate her just say that the only reason she is so good at math is beacause she's Asian! She really hates stereotyping. We have also encountered a good bit of racism. We lived in Connecticut when we got her and we would be walking through the mall and people would just come up to you and say incredibly rude things. We then moved to DC and it was better there and then to Hawaii where everyone looked more like her than us! I actually lost her in the pool the first day we were there, I was so used to finding that long black hair at first glance that I paniced when there were dozens of black heads in the pool! Sorry this is so long, I get carried away talking about her! Good luck to you and keep us posted!

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

I have a 20 year old daughter from Korea. I'm sure I wouldn't be much help because it was so long ago! The process has changed alot since then, I've heard that it is actually easier now. One thing I CAN tell you is not to give up. We had to jump through so many hoops and over so many hurdles, it was crazy. Everything that could go wrong did. But my terriffic DH would not let me give up. The poor guy, the agency we worked with was 2 hours away and we were required to go to weekly meetings and I would just sob the whole way home! But it was all worth it when they put that baby in my arms! I cry just thinking about it! We had no problems at all with her adjusting. She is an amazing young woman, absolutely beautiful, inside and out. She's extremely smart but it doesn't come easy, she really studies. If you want to aggravate her just say that the only reason she is so good at math is beacause she's Asian! She really hates stereotyping. We have also encountered a good bit of racism. We lived in Connecticut when we got her and we would be walking through the mall and people would just come up to you and say incredibly rude things. We then moved to DC and it was better there and then to Hawaii where everyone looked more like her than us! I actually lost her in the pool the first day we were there, I was so used to finding that long black hair at first glance that I paniced when there were dozens of black heads in the pool! Sorry this is so long, I get carried away talking about her! Good luck to you and keep us posted!

Thank you so much!!! These stories really help me go forward. Bless you and your family.

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

My 19 year old son was born in Korea. We did special needs adoptions. Both have cleft lip and palate. As you can see , they are doing great. My youngest was born in The Phillipines. Its probably changed alot over the years, but what I can say is IT DOES HAPPEN! Just when you think you can't stand the wait anymore they come home. Our Korean adoption was 2 years start to finish, The Phillipine adoption was alot quicker and easier. We had alot of setbacks with our oldest son. Nothing that could be helped. Murphy's law. It wasn't anything we had done wrong. But it was worth everything we had to experience. They are great kids. When they place your child in your arms, there is nothing better.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

My 19 year old son was born in Korea. We did special needs adoptions. Both have cleft lip and palate. As you can see , they are doing great. My youngest was born in The Phillipines. Its probably changed alot over the years, but what I can say is IT DOES HAPPEN! Just when you think you can't stand the wait anymore they come home. Our Korean adoption was 2 years start to finish, The Phillipine adoption was alot quicker and easier. We had alot of setbacks with our oldest son. Nothing that could be helped. Murphy's law. It wasn't anything we had done wrong. But it was worth everything we had to experience. They are great kids. When they place your child in your arms, there is nothing better.

You have a beautiful family!!! Thank you for the encouragement!

 

[kirbydog48]

I have a neighbor who adopted two children from Korea, a girl who's 4 and a boy who's 6. They both came home when they were about 4 mos old and both lived with very wonderful women who fostered them prior to adoption. They were and are adorable and wonderful in every way, both had no health problems. The boy was adopted through Wide Horizons in Waltham, MA, and I think the girl through something like "Love the Children". The program in Korea has an excellent reputation. Good luck!

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

I have a neighbor who adopted two children from Korea, a girl who's 4 and a boy who's 6. They both came home when they were about 4 mos old and both lived with very wonderful women who fostered them prior to adoption. They were and are adorable and wonderful in every way, both had no health problems. The boy was adopted through Wide Horizons in Waltham, MA, and I think the girl through something like "Love the Children". The program in Korea has an excellent reputation. Good luck!

Thank you so much! I haven't heard of Wide Horizons, I will do so internet searches. I really appreciate the information!

 

[kirbydog48]

One thing Wide Horizons has which I think is wonderful is a "waiting families" support group, then once everyone has their babies, they all meet up for playdates and Korean feastdays. My neighbor's ds also got to see his foster mom a few months ago, which I thought was great. Kazakstan also seems to be a popular adoption country now. I'm in a Mom's group for women who had or adopted their first child over 40, so about 1/2 of the kids have been adopted. If I were younger, I'd consider it in a heartbeat. Best of luck to you!

Liz

 

[mom2aredhead]

Good luck to you - Just make sure they never eat french fries at WDW.

 

[sticker231]

Holt is a great agency to work with. All three of our children were adopted from Korea using Holt in New Jersey. We have met so many great friends through our adoption journey. The NJ branch has a picnic every year in September and has Holt Day at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, where so many families get together.

 

[vhoffman]

I hope you're aware that Korea has a wieght/height limit for adoptive parents, along with an age limit. I don't know what they are, but do check into them if you're seriously considering adoption from this country.

All adoptions carry restrictions, either foreign or domestic. I don't mean to discourage you, just be aware of this country's particular requirements, you wouldn't want to put a lot of emotional energy into the process only to find you don't qualify.

We adopted two children from Russia, a boy and girl. They were both ~1 year at time of adoption. Both are healthy, happy, well-adjusted children. We chose Russia because their requirements met our circumstances, to sum it up. One more thing about Korea--I do believe they still do escorted adoptions, at least they did when we looked into it. Basically, that means they arrange to bring the child to you, or to a meeting place in this country, typically the airport in New York. most foreign adoptions require you to travel to that country to complete the adoption process, which can be quite problematic depending on your circumstances. We traveled to Russia, at the time only one trip was required. We were able to complete the necessary paperwork and finalize the adoption during our one trip. Now I understand they require two trips (unless you want to stay in Russia for ~3-6 months!). The first trip is to get the process going, the second is to do all the in-country court proceedings, etc.

Korea is unique in its requirements and procedures, I would consider it a good choice, worth looking into. And Holt has an excellent reputation. Good luck as you create your forever family!

 

[MeMom]

I agree about Holt. I continued to get HI Families long after Drew's arrival, and I always went straight to the Waiting Children section. I always wished I had the resources to adopt more, but since my husband ended up leaving when Drew was still a baby, it was all I could do to take care of the three I was left with. I still think that someday, maybe after I retire, I'd like to be involved in the foreign adoption process for others by being an escort. I will never forget our escort telling us about the flight and how everyone on the plane was talking to Drew and how he was smiling at them. One of the stewardesses that got off to watch the babies meet the families told us we almost lost him to her, because she wanted to take him home! He was the only boy, along with three little girls. He was five months old and they were a teeny bit younger, so he was just at that good age to respond to everyone around him whether he knew who they were or not. It still sends chills through me and brings tears to my eyes to recall that evening. He was one loved little guy! (Still is loved, not so little anymore at 18. He's in another room playing a video game right now and I told him I was "talking" about him on the Disboards. He said, "Okay." I doubt he even heard what I said, to be honest!)

 

[chaoscent]

My brother and his wife (who died about 6 years ago) adopted 2 children from Korea. The oldest is 21 and the other is 19. I am not sure what agency they used, but it was a long time ago. He has had some problems with other people (or should I say other people have problems). The oldest one was dating a guy for a while and his mother didn't approve because she wasn't white. It caused her some heart ache. Sometimes people can be so cruel. He also adopted 3 children they fostered. The two youngest have the same Mother but the father is unknown. The oldest of the three is originally from Cambodia. The youngest two have some learning difficulties, but are doing better in school. When we take family trips to the park, we do turn some heads as we look like a united nations family. We are blessed that my brother found these children and they have added so much to our lives. I have two friends who just brought a daughter home from Vietnam, she's beautiful and has brought much joy to all of them.
Penny
Chaos Cent

 

[MeMom]

Be prepared for some crazy comments and lots of stares, which you notice for the first little while until you get used to it. I had a lady ask me in a store once if he would speak English! Since that's the only language I knew how to speak, thus the only one he would hear, I politely assured her he would. I wonder if she ever later thought what a "dumb" question that was. I know she just wasn't thinking, but it was really kind of funny, and it has stuck with us as one of our running jokes. Also, when almost every child who inquired would ask why Drew looked different from me, one little pre-schooler turned the tables once and said to Drew, "Why don't you got a China mom?" In her eyes, I was the one who was different. I kind of liked that for a change, and it was very cute. They were just four years old at the time.

 

[SumMickeyfans]

Hi...we did not adopt internationally but do have a Daughter we adopted domestically...I just wanted to wish you the best of luck!! You will hear lots of lame and yes even stupid remarks but....just rememebr that your child is and will be loved

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

Hi...we did not adopt internationally but do have a Daughter we adopted domestically...I just wanted to wish you the best of luck!! You will hear lots of lame and yes even stupid remarks but....just rememebr that your child is and will be loved

Thank you so much & I wish you and your family the best of everything!

 

[pjbeagle]

Emily Elizabeth

Gotcha Day 1/17/03
Forever mine 9/26/03