_Adopted Territory: Transnational Korean Adoptees and the Politics of Belonging_ by Eleana J Kim
I found this title off of another adoptee’s blog who had written about it and said that it was the best intellectual presentation of the situation for the first few decades of adoptees who have now grown up and are raising their voices about their feelings and experiences of being Korean, but not Korean.
My response to the book is that it is well-written and definitely representative of the diverse perspectives of adoptees. It was strange for me to see names of people I know quoted. Of course, it shouldn’t be surprising since the adoptee community is relatively small considering all things. However, as the author herself admits, there is a tone that she cannot understand of the adoptee point of view because she is a Korean-American and not adopted. While she had been accepted into the community of adoptees, there will always be an invisible wall that will separate her/others from those of us who are adopted.
Our experiences vary across the spectrum of perfect placements to too-much-to-bear life-ending ones. Yet, we are commonly bound in our struggles to belong and knowing deep down inside we will never belong. We will never be like our white families and friends or even other minority groups who have their own cultures blended with being American or European. We will never be like Korean natives despite our shared bloodlines and appearances. Although we might make our voices heard or organizations may be created to try to make some difference, the reality is that we only belong when we are with each other.
Kim does a nice job of expressing this reality and though it reads more like an academic paper (perhaps her dissertation work?), it is a good read even for those who are not adopted to get a sense of our mindset.
I hope to find more literature like this. I also find this more motivating for me to understand the different adoptee circles more. 🙂
-T
