Messages of Thanks From Korean Adoptees For Everyone Who Made The FRONTLINE / AP Documentary + Related Articles Possible.
Below are messages from Korean Adoptees for everyone who made the FRONTLINE / AP Documentary “South Korea’s Adoption Reckoning” + related Associated Press (AP) articles possible.
Chiefly we wish to thank:
Lora Moftah: Director / Producer for FRONTLINE
Tong-Hyung Kim: Associated Press (AP) Journalist
Victor Tadashi Suarez: Director of Photography for FRONTLINE
Claire Galofaro: Associated Press (AP) Journalist
David Goldman: Associated Press (AP) Photographer
Lindsey Wasson: Associated Press (AP) Photographer
Jae C. Hong: Associated Press (AP) Photographer
As well as ALL FRONTLINE / AP and Maxine Productions Executives, Staff and Photographers who made these stories possible.
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“Dear Lora, Tong-hyung, Victor, and Claire, and everyone at FRONTLINE and Associated Press who made the documentary “South Korea’s Adoption Reckoning” and related AP articles a reality:
The Korean Adoptee community extends an enormous amount of gratitude to everyone for finally making not just our stories, but OUR STORY seen and heard by the mainstream American public. It’s hard to express exactly what this means for everyone, and of course the documentary and articles will mean different things for different people. We are personally stunned at the effect that the release of the documentary and articles have had on the community - it has sparked immense discussion and debate, and will likely be the ignition point for countless birth family searches by Korean Adoptees. As a community, Korean Adoptees know that this unique moment in American public consciousness may not come for us again. This strikes us as both incredible and also profoundly sad, given that our stories are SO rich and full of documentary series worthy twists and turns. But will mainstream media ever take notice of our stories in this way again, through a critical lens, and not through the lens of the perennial “happy reunion”? We are also painfully conscious of the fact that we are (in some ways thankfully) a dying breed - few adoptions from Korea today take place - and we think that those of us from the older generations are deeply aware of what we wish to be our legacy. This documentary and these articles are collectively a profoundly worthy document of our fractured lives, which have been scattered across the earth like so many wayward seeds.
We know that this documentary and these articles will spark discussion and form the basis of critical thinking about Korean Adoption for years to come.
Thank you for validating our stories. We finally feel seen and heard.
We hope that this isn’t the end, but only the beginning of our realistic and critical representation in the media. This is the beginning chapter to a series which sadly may never be.
To Tong-hyung Kim: Thank you for your care for our community, and for your endless patience and years of listening to our stories. Thank you for shedding light into the dark corners of the Korean Adoption industry which everyone else is too afraid to explore. Thank you for speaking for the dead children who never made it out of the Korean Adoption machine that churned out our lives for profit. Our community is forever in your debt.
To Lora Moftah: Thank you for your passion for this story and for your brilliance in understanding so quickly the message which so desperately needed to be delivered. Thank you for your care in delivering it in such a beautiful and profound way.
To Victor Tadashi Suarez: Thank you for photographing our stories so beautifully, and for giving such care to your craft of visual storytelling.
To Claire Galofaro: Thank you for coming into “Adopted Territory”, and making it your own. And for not being able to hide your disdainful expressions when the explanations of certain officials made absolutely no sense.
To David Goldman, Lindsey Wasson, and Jae C. Hong: Thank you for your powerful photographs.
To Everyone: Thank you for helping to create and communicate a huge part of our legacy.”
-Paperslip
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“Dear Lora,
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for tying together so perfectly the stories, findings and interviews to create South Korea’s Adoption Reckoning. I was completely blown away by how much of an impact I felt from it, both internally and among those around me. Every single Korean adoptee that I’ve spoken to has said they feel heard and seen. Thank you again for bringing us together and spreading awareness for us. It will be forever appreciated.”
-Sarah
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”Please tell them that I’m so appreciative that we now have the pieces of the puzzle to figure out the truth surrounding our origins, no matter how messy they are. Even though this opens up a lot, it goes a long way toward healing everyone in the triad/constellation.”
-Amanda
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”To the Team behind "South Korea's Adoption Reckoning" at Frontline and The AP:
After watching the Frontline documentary and reading the corresponding AP articles, I had so many emotions running through me.
My heart ached.
My tears were flowing.
My fire was reignited.
Each of us Korean adoptees have a different story, different situation, different level of want and need, but I'd venture to say that we all have had one thing in common at one point and time in our lives: not really knowing where we came from and how we really got here. My journey to seek out my roots and search for biological family started almost 4 years ago out of curiosity. Over time, it has become a necessity and something I longingly seek to find closure to and this documentary has fueled my desire to find my truth and question everything.
Thank you to The AP and Frontline teams for validating our feelings, giving us a reason to push on, encouraging us to use our voices, and opening a path forward for those of us searching for truth to hopefully find the different levels of closure we may need.”
-Nicole
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”Thank you, Kim Tong-Hyung and Claire Galofaro for shedding light on a large scale issue which many adoptees have tried to vocalize before. Thank you for taking the time to look into something so heinous and appalling as the mass exportation of Korean children. Thank you for informing so many of us adoptees of the unethical and fraudulent transactions made in the name of preserving a homogenous nation. It is thanks to your journalism many adoptees are looking and questioning their origins. These adoptees are coming closer after watching this documentary and finding their voices. We hope this is the beginning of a much needed change in both governments as well as the adoption system at large.”
-Erin (지현정)
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”Hi, My name is Janel, and I was adopted through KSS. I just wanted to share my thoughts on the documentary.
I was so glad that this documentary was made and aired. It means a lot to me for multiple reasons. I think it’s been a long time waiting to expose how the South Korean government benefited from selling us “unwanted” children off to other countries, even if it meant lying, stealing, making things up.
I think it will open up the eyes of people who never even knew there was such nefarious thing happening to us adoptees.
Thanks for all you do for us.
Kind regards,
Janel”
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”Dear Lora Moftah, Kim Tong-Hyung and the Frontline/AP Team,
I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for your vital work on the documentary "South Korea's Adoption Reckoning" and the accompanying articles. Your dedication to uncovering the truth about the systemic child trafficking that has affected tens of thousands of children in South Korea is commendable.
By bringing this issue to light, you are not only giving a voice to the victims but also holding accountable those responsible for their suffering, including government entities and adoption agencies. Your efforts are crucial in fostering awareness and promoting justice for those who have been silenced for too long.
Thank you for your commitment to this important cause. Your work is making a significant impact in our community and beyond.
Warm regards,
R (LEE, SANG SOOK)”
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”For me, these articles and documentary provided confirmation on what so many have speculated. Korean adoptees are a product of supply and demand. There were many good intentions but also complete negligence on how this might impact a human’s life. We were the trendiest, most coveted item at that time. Everyone wanted an Asian baby like they wanted the newest “it” purse.
Personally, it shed light to what my biological mother must have experienced at the time. She had pressure from her mother in law, they were very poor, and she was also injured with a bad back. She was a perfect target for these agency workers. I assume her hospital bill was probably paid for because of my adoption.
Thank you for the work you are doing for our voices and stories to be heard.”
-Andrea
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”I'm so grateful for this documentary! It is an accessible 1 hour overview for the masses with so much information in one place and easily shareable with so many people. It is making a profound difference in my conversations and relationships with people about a subculture many have only seen as "lucky to have been given a better a life." Thank you to the entire team that made this documentary possible - this is an important piece of journalistic work that scratches the surface and allows for curiosity and entry points for everybody.”
-Laurie
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”This was DEFINITELY needed! People are blinded by their loyalty to Holt, and other agencies. I hope that this documentary showed people the TRUTH and the DARK side of adoption. May we get justice. I hope Korea has deep shame for how they treated us, and this forever stains their reputation and image. Harsh? Perhaps, but it will never make up for the trauma we've been through, and falsification of the records. I hope the birth parent wins, as then, it should open up the path to us suing the government, too.”
-손소연
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”It was one and a half hour watching and processing information that was already known to me and Korean adoptees. Still, it is tremendously heartbreaking to see every single violation being knotted together and colored with personal stories. The most profound addition to this production is that we get to see the mothers and fathers that lost their beloved child and missed them forever.
Robert Calabretta says: how do you connect with someone raising from the dead after 30 years? It struck me as it is a too familiar scenario for me personally. My family and I still struggle every day with this question: how do we build a family life when we grew up years and worlds apart?
I cannot imagine how heartbreaking it must have been for my father, who had thought for many years I had passed away at 6 weeks old. My heart still aches every time I think of my father and Mr. Lee, Robert’s father, reminded me of my 아빠.
I cannot find the words to describe how it feels to realize I was part of a system to save national social welfare spendings and in stead add some monetary value to the national budget of my birth country. The “birth certificate”- orphan hojeok - that was made up only to speed up my deportation, was actually considered legal by the Dutch governments and is therefore the foundation on which my Dutch fabricated birth certificate is based on. I was not an orphan and to this day am not.
Michaela says: it’s like an adventure you can choose that nobody would choose. I fully agree and would only wish this “screw you” adventure to every person and organisation that took part in this scandal.
Not one single party has taken responsibility in almost 60 years time in Dutch national history. It is rightfully ours to claim the truth and it is an outrage that we even have to fight for it. No one more child must be legally severed from their family and legally connected to strangers without its consent.
#adoptee #familyseparation #firstfamiliesmatter #continuedinjustice #humanrightsviolations #erasedidentities #whitewashed
Many thanks to the journalists, researchers and producers! Finally something to be grateful for.
Warm regards,
동희 (Dong-Hee) Kim (김)”
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”Me and my brother are adoptees from Korea and we both watched this documentary and felt some sense of validation and hope. Appreciate the work of everyone that made this happen. It also opens up conversations that have been difficult in the past. I hope all adoptees can find peace and justice.”
-Caitlin
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”It was really validating for me to see our stories represented in such an honest and unbiased way. I had always believed that Korea had forgotten us, that we are invisible there, so it was incredibly meaningful to realize that some people there remember us, see us, and care about what happened to us enough to ask these difficult questions. I hope and believe that this documentary will start to raise some of those questions in the receiving nations as well!
To Tong-Hyung Kim, Claire Galofaro, Lora Moftah, and everyone on the team who made this documentary what it is, I want to extend my heartfelt thank you. Not just for doing the research and asking the questions, but for seeing, hearing, and advocating for Korean adoptees everywhere.
Sincerely,
-JinYoung”
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”My deep gratitude to Frontline/PBS/AP reporting on ""South Korea's Adoption Reckoning". As a Korean adopted person working in the field of supporting Korean adoptees and their families, I have known about these issues for years, but it took your reporting to bring it to a wider audience and give it weight backed up by indisputable evidence. Adoption is a humanitarian issue, which it is often not seen as, yet your work has shed light that it indeed is. So, I thank you, and I hope this report is spread widely, especially in Korea.”
Peace, abundance and gratitude,
-Nam”
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*More responses will be added here as we receive them. Thank you!