ABSTRACT The practice of adopting children illegally negatively affects the well-being of the adopted child, the birth parents, and the adoptive family. Over half a million children have been adopted within and from East Asia since the mid-1950s. Using data and information about adoption in the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Korea (South Korea), several potential solutions to eradicate illegal domestic and intercountry adoptions have been identified.
INTRODUCTION
Eradicating Illegal Adoptions in China and South Korea – Kailyn Eagy
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The adoption of a child is a social, personal, and legal process in which a person (often a child under the age of 18) becomes a full and permanent member of a family who are not their full biological parents.1 Adoptions can take place domestically or between two different states in an intercountry adoption.2 China and South Korea are home to the most domestic and international Asian adoptions. Legislation such as China’s One-Child Policy and events like the Korean War contributed to each respective country’s adoption booms. Between 1953 and 2009 there were roughly over 156,000 documented international adoptions of South Korean children to 15 countries around the world - the vast majority (104,319 adoptions) to the United States.3 In the same time frame, there were over 70,000 documented domestic adoptions in South Korea. Similarly, over 250,000 Chinese adoptions with international adoptive families have occurred since the 1990s. Through government and family planning encouragement, Chinese citizens now adopt 20,000 to 30,000 children each year,
1
“Introduction to Adoption - Child Welfare Information Gateway,” accessed April 4, 2021, https://www. childwelfare.gov/topics/adoption/intro/.
2
“Intercountry Adoption,” accessed April 4, 2021, https:// travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/Intercountry-Adoption. html.
3
“Korean_adoptions.Pdf,” accessed April 4, 2021, http:// www.tobiashubinette.se/korean_adoptions.pdf.
JOURNAL of the MARTIN INSTITUTE | INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
