Let's Learn about Korea on Tuesday-Lesson #11

This coming Sunday, Korea celebrates an important holiday.

March First Movement
The March First Movement, also known as the Samil Movement, refers to a day that Koreans first began to display their independence from Japanese colonial rule. At 2pm on March 1, 1919, 33 Korean nationalists gathered at Pagoda Park in Seoul to read the Declaration of Independence that they had drawn up. Crowds assembled in the park to hear it and then formed into a procession. The leaders of the movement signed the document and sent a copy to the Japanese Governor General. They then telephoned the central police station to inform them of their actions. The Japanese tried to break up the procession and the leaders of the movement were arrested. As these events were happening in Pagoda Park, special delegates associated with the movement also read copies of the proclamation throughout the country at 2pm on that same day. In the end 7,000 were killed and 45,000 were imprisoned.
The events on March 1, 1919 resulted in changes to many of the most objectionable parts of the Japanese rule. A month later in April 1919, the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea was established. Koreans have been celebrating March 1 as a national holiday since 1949.

Shoulder Taps

Throughout the past 9 months, I truly feel like God has been with us and has been making Himself known through little signs. He's been tapping me on the shoulder and saying "I'm with you, have faith." Here are some recent 'shoulder taps:'

I was having a particularly anxious day about the wait after the holidays and went walking on my lunch break. I went into a store that was nearly empty, except for a 1 year old Asian boy and his mother. As soon as I walked in he gave me a big grin and started babbling to me. Then when I got back to the office, there was an email from our social worker saying she had received some paperwork we needed and that the waiting list was moving quicker.
Hang in there, your child isn't quite ready for you yet.

I had one day where I had gotten myself worked up that our child will be allergic to our cat, which would be heartbreaking for me. I got home from work that same day and there was an article about how to deal with cat allergies.
Don't worry it will all be ok.

The day we got our fingerprints taken in late January, I was driving back to the office on a route I don't usually take. At one point I looked up and saw (quite literally) a sign for "Korea Town" at the next exit.
You're on the right path.

Recently, we went to lunch with some new friends we've met through this process. At the restaurant there was a Korean family celebrating a baby's 1st birthday party. The mother and baby were decked out in their Hanboks for the party, with a festive feeling in the air.
Soon enough, you too will be celebrating.

I try to be patient as I know His timing is never wrong. Though it does get hard at times, I have a strong faith that this is where we were always meant to be. His 'shoulder taps' are a great comfort, always at the right time, along the way. Einstein said:"Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous." Well God, I'm on to you :)

Roses are Red, Violets are Blue...

Add some white and there's an American flag for you!

The national flower of the United States is a ROSE.
(see Lesson #10 if you're wondering what I'm talking about)

Let's Learn about Korea on Tuesday-Lesson #10

As we anxiously await the arrival of spring, today's lesson is on the national flower of Korea.

Rose of Sharon
The Rose of Sharon, a type of Hibiscus, is a very tenacious plant that can withstand many hardships. Known as Mugunghwa in Korea, it has been admired since ancient times as a flower from Heaven. The ancient Chinese referred to Korea as "The land of gentlemen where Mugunghwa blooms." In the late 19th century the following line was added to the national anthem: "Rose of Sharon, thousand miles of beautiful mountain and river land!" Though it has been associated with Korea for centuries, not until Korea was liberated from Japan did it become the national flower. The Rose of Sharon reflects the strength and spirit of the Korean people and is a treasured symbol of the country.


Though many Koreans would know the national flower if asked...do you know the national flower of the United States?

Happy (day after) Valentine's Day!

This is the scene from our kitchen, where the flowers and cards always go. We had a lovely day/night. We watched some movies, had taco bar, exchanged cards...and Dave surprised me with a lovely gift (a messenger bag from MO851). Hope you had a nice day and you have similar 'scene' wherever your cards go.

Foster Mothers

I had a question about the foster mothers (family) and thought it would make for a good post.

The foster mothers vary in age but most tend to start fostering when they have teenage children. It's common for them to foster many children over their lifetime. I've heard of women fostering anywhere from 1-25 children over the years. A large portion of the cost of adoption is for the care of our child for his first 8-10mos, which includes the foster family.

The motivation to foster (as far as I can tell) for many of these women is the love of country and love of children. The foster mothers seem to feel a sense of duty that they help give the children of South Korea the best chance for a good life from the beginning, wherever they end up in the world. There is a feeling that they are very much part of Korea and always will be. They realize the importance of foster care over life in an orphanage and take their jobs very seriously.

Not only do these amazing women make daily sacrifices to care for these beautiful babies, they truly love them. Our social worker told us a touching story from the Korea Party. If you recall, there were a few foster mothers that were reuniting with the children they fostered. The reunions happened in the afternoon and in private. During lunch, before the reunion, one of the foster mothers was sitting at a table and looked across the room in a sea of Korean children and instantly recognized an 8-year-old girl that she had fostered. She didn't hestitate and ran up to the girl to give her a big hug. This is a girl she hadn't seen in 8 yrs and last time she did, she was a few months old, and she's probably fostered 8-15 babies since then. That, my friends is LOVE.

We know our baby is being well taken of and loved by a special woman we don't even know, half way around the world. We look forward to meeting her, thanking her, and learning about our baby from her.

Some people have kept in touch with the foster mothers/family over the years. We hope we have that opportunity, but we understand for families that have 1-2 babies a year over many years...it may not be possible.

Let's Learn about Korea on Tuesday-Lesson #9

After last week's heavy lesson, we're gonna lighten it up big time today.

Celebrities
There are many Koreans and Korean-Americans in sports, tv, and movies. Here are a few:

Shin-Soo Choo
Major league baseball outfielder for the Cleveland Indians. He was born in Pusan, South Korea.

Lindsey Price
Her mother is a Korean adoptee. You may know her from the shows Lipstick Jungle and the original Beverly Hills 90210.

Rain
VERY popular singer, actor and model in SK. He was recently in the movie Speed Racer and is gaining in popularity here in the U.S.
Sandra Oh
Actress best known for her roles in Grey's Anatomy and the movie Sideways. Born in Canada, both her parents are Korean.

Daniel Dae Kim and Yunjin Kim

They play Jin and Sun on Lost. He was born in America to Korean parents. She is a very popular actress in Korea.

John Cho

Actor best known for his role as Harold in the movie Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. He was born in Seoul, but grew up in L.A.

Michelle Wie

Professional woman golfer, born in Hawaii to Korean parents.

Margaret Cho

Comedian and actress, born in America to Korean parents.

Click HERE, to see many more Korean Americans you may know.

So, now what?

Now that we're paperwork ready, you may wonder what happens next. We are currently waiting for a referral. I use that term a lot, but I don't know if I ever really explained it. A 'referral' is a baby that our agency calls us with to consider adopting. Once our social worker calls we will go (immediately!!!) to the agency to review the baby's file. In the file will be:

• pictures (!!!)
• Korean name, birthday
• current weight/length
• measurements taken over the past 5 mos (remember the babies cannot be 'referred' before 5mos)
• general information about the birth mother and birth father
• health history of the birth mother and her family (and father, depending on how much is known)
• baby's routine for the past 5 mos
• baby's likes and dislikes
• general description of his personality
• other health information and tests taken

After we've reviewed the file, we'll send our acceptance to Korea. Then there will be more paperwork and more waiting (3-4mos worth) until we can bring that cute little baby home!

We hope to get that call in the next 2-3 months. Stay tuned!

Approved!

We got our I-171H in the mail yesterday, much quicker than we expected. If you recall, this is the federal government's approval for us to adopt from abroad. Now, if you take a little looksy to the timeline on the left, you'll notice the next thing on the list is a referral. At this point, we've done all we can before we find out who our little guy is. On one hand, it feels good to be totally paper ready. On the other, we have nothing else to do but WAIT.

Let's Learn about Korea on Tuesday-Lesson #8

Though North and South Korea are different in terms of government and quality of life, the people in both countries are Korean. Our child will be from South Korea, but it is also important to know about North Korea.

North Korea

The border of the 2 countries is known as the Korean Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ. After World War II, the Korean peninsula was divided by the 38th parallel. North Korea followed a communist ideology similar to the Soviet Union and China. South Korea followed a democratic ideology similar to the United States. On June 25, 1950 North Korea crossed the 38th parallel to move into South Korea to gain control of the Korean peninsula and spread communisim, thus starting the Korean War. Ceasefire was called on July 27, 1953 and the border became known as the DMZ. Tensions still exist between the two countries and the border is still heavily armed. Just this week the ongoing threat and tension was in the news .

Today, North Korea is ruled by Kim Jong-il in a self-described Juche (self-reliant) state. North Korea has the 4th largest military in the world and is often in the news for it's threat of nuclear power. North Korea has come under international criticism from human rights groups for it's oppressive regime. North Koreans are very restricted including: lack of food, government controlled media, no international news, no freedom of expression and no freedom to leave the country. If people don't follow these laws, they may be put in concentration camps or executed.

Where South Korea is a free country, North Korea is quite the opposite.

As with all my lessons, this is a brief snap-shot. Obviously this is a much bigger topic that can be a bit tricky to fully cover. Click on the following links for more information:
The Korean War

DMZ

Human Rights

North Korea