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The Paradoxical Development of Liberal Governance : International Adoption Policy and Professional Social Work in Authoritarian South Korea, 1953–1976

Koo, Youngeun LU (2024) In Journal of Social History
Abstract
This article explores the development of international adoption policy in post-liberation South Korea, emphasizing the roles of American and Korean professional social workers. By analyzing the orphan registry and a pivotal international adoption law, it reveals how international adoption in South Korea presents a unique opportunity to observe the formation of modern social policy in a newly liberated nation during the Cold War. The study argues that adoption policy served as a crucial locus of transnational governance, where American and Korean social workers pursued their liberal ideals of professional social work within the context of the authoritarian policies of the South Korean state. However, their quest for scientific... (More)
This article explores the development of international adoption policy in post-liberation South Korea, emphasizing the roles of American and Korean professional social workers. By analyzing the orphan registry and a pivotal international adoption law, it reveals how international adoption in South Korea presents a unique opportunity to observe the formation of modern social policy in a newly liberated nation during the Cold War. The study argues that adoption policy served as a crucial locus of transnational governance, where American and Korean social workers pursued their liberal ideals of professional social work within the context of the authoritarian policies of the South Korean state. However, their quest for scientific professionalism, standardized procedures, and public oversight led to a paradoxical evolution of adoption policy, diverging sharply from the trajectory seen in Western liberal democracies where social work significantly contributed to the consolidation and expansion of the welfare state. In South Korea, embedded transnationality and ideological mismatch resulted in the state’s further withdrawal and the creation of policy workarounds that undermined the core social work principle of the child’s best interests. This case highlights the complexities and blurred moral boundaries in the shaping of modern governance and the broader journey toward modernity under postcolonial, Cold War conditions.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
in
Journal of Social History
article number
shae072
pages
30 pages
publisher
Oxford University Press
ISSN
1527-1897
DOI
10.1093/jsh/shae072
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
34492141-fa9e-4fab-8be5-f579f505d1f5
date added to LUP
2025-01-23 15:42:47
date last changed
2025-04-04 14:17:00
@article{34492141-fa9e-4fab-8be5-f579f505d1f5,
  abstract     = {{This article explores the development of international adoption policy in post-liberation South Korea, emphasizing the roles of American and Korean professional social workers. By analyzing the orphan registry and a pivotal international adoption law, it reveals how international adoption in South Korea presents a unique opportunity to observe the formation of modern social policy in a newly liberated nation during the Cold War. The study argues that adoption policy served as a crucial locus of transnational governance, where American and Korean social workers pursued their liberal ideals of professional social work within the context of the authoritarian policies of the South Korean state. However, their quest for scientific professionalism, standardized procedures, and public oversight led to a paradoxical evolution of adoption policy, diverging sharply from the trajectory seen in Western liberal democracies where social work significantly contributed to the consolidation and expansion of the welfare state. In South Korea, embedded transnationality and ideological mismatch resulted in the state’s further withdrawal and the creation of policy workarounds that undermined the core social work principle of the child’s best interests. This case highlights the complexities and blurred moral boundaries in the shaping of modern governance and the broader journey toward modernity under postcolonial, Cold War conditions.<br/><br/>}},
  author       = {{Koo, Youngeun}},
  issn         = {{1527-1897}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{Journal of Social History}},
  title        = {{The Paradoxical Development of Liberal Governance : International Adoption Policy and Professional Social Work in Authoritarian South Korea, 1953–1976}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jsh/shae072}},
  doi          = {{10.1093/jsh/shae072}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}