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The Politics of Adoption in Korea

Andersson, Mari (2018) ACET35
Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University
Abstract
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the politics of adoption in Korea. A theoretical framework was adopted that address gender, culture, and power inequalities in a domestic and international context in order to understand why so many children have been given up to orphanages, and why international adoption has been and continues to be common in Korea. The thesis is based on secondary data in form of academic work and eight interviews conducted with Koreans in Seoul. The collected data indicates that Confucian beliefs make it difficult for unwed and single mothers to raise their children, and therefore feel forced to give up their children to adoption. Many children have in this way ended up in orphanages. The study also found little... (More)
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the politics of adoption in Korea. A theoretical framework was adopted that address gender, culture, and power inequalities in a domestic and international context in order to understand why so many children have been given up to orphanages, and why international adoption has been and continues to be common in Korea. The thesis is based on secondary data in form of academic work and eight interviews conducted with Koreans in Seoul. The collected data indicates that Confucian beliefs make it difficult for unwed and single mothers to raise their children, and therefore feel forced to give up their children to adoption. Many children have in this way ended up in orphanages. The study also found little indication that the Korean state has tried to mitigate the underlying structural gender inequalities and legal and economic obstacles for single mothers to raise their child. The data also shows that there is a notion that it is better to grow up in West than in Korea. International adoption has therefore been seen as a good option and grown bigger at the same time that domestic adoption in Korea is rare due to concerns of bloodlines. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Andersson, Mari
supervisor
organization
course
ACET35
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
international adoption, Korea, gender inequality, abandoned children, orphanages, Confucianism, unwed and single mothers
language
English
id
8953273
date added to LUP
2018-06-27 09:30:54
date last changed
2018-06-27 09:30:54
@misc{8953273,
  abstract     = {{The purpose of this thesis is to examine the politics of adoption in Korea. A theoretical framework was adopted that address gender, culture, and power inequalities in a domestic and international context in order to understand why so many children have been given up to orphanages, and why international adoption has been and continues to be common in Korea. The thesis is based on secondary data in form of academic work and eight interviews conducted with Koreans in Seoul. The collected data indicates that Confucian beliefs make it difficult for unwed and single mothers to raise their children, and therefore feel forced to give up their children to adoption. Many children have in this way ended up in orphanages. The study also found little indication that the Korean state has tried to mitigate the underlying structural gender inequalities and legal and economic obstacles for single mothers to raise their child. The data also shows that there is a notion that it is better to grow up in West than in Korea. International adoption has therefore been seen as a good option and grown bigger at the same time that domestic adoption in Korea is rare due to concerns of bloodlines.}},
  author       = {{Andersson, Mari}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Politics of Adoption in Korea}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}