VOA标准英语2008年-South Korea Debates International Adoption

Since the 1950's, South Korea has sent more than 150,000 orphaned² children to live with Western families. That is in part due to a prejudice that many Koreans have against taking in children who are not their own. But a growing number of advocates are calling for an end to international adoption³ and are trying to encourage Korean families to adopt. Jason Strother has the story from Seoul.

Han Yeon-hee, her husband and their seven children climb into the family's minivan.

Their children range in age from seven to 28. But only one is the couple's biological child.

Han says she adopted six children because she did not want to see any child grow up without a family.

She says even before she was married, she not only wanted to have her own child but to adopt one also. She never thought she would end up adopting so many.

Aside from its size, Han's family is unique because most Koreans do not consider adopting.

At an orphanage⁴ in Seoul, about 40 children sit down for lunch.

According to adoption advocates, thousands of South Korean children live in these institutions. Most were abandoned by unwed mothers or parents who could not care for them.

Once a child becomes three months old, the chances it will be adopted are slim.

Chun Soon-gul, is the director of MPAK - the Mission to Promote Adoption in Korea. He says prejudice is the main reason Korean families do not want to adopt.

Chun says that many Koreans have this idea that they have to maintain the family bloodline, so it is hard for many people to have an open mind toward adopting children from another family. He adds that many people have prejudices about orphans⁵, thinking they have genetic⁶ defects, or their parents were alcoholics⁷ or had mental problems.

Since the end of the Korean War in 1953, South Korea has relied on Western families, mostly from the United States, to adopt its orphaned children.

But the practice has a growing number of critics.

Leading the opposition⁸ are adopted South Koreans, who as adults, have returned to live in the land of their birth.

Kim Stoker, who was adopted by an American family in 1972, represents a group called Adoptees Solidarity⁹ Korea. She says the government should try to help unwed mothers, rather than encouraging them to send their babies abroad.

"In lieu of developing its social welfare programs, [the South Korean government] it has become reliant¹⁰ on the international adoption program to take care of some aspects of society, and they never had to develop any kind of social safety net because they have international adoption," said Stoker.

Stoker considers international adoption a violation¹¹ of not only the mother's human rights but also the child's. She says that is something people from adoptive countries do not understand.

"You know, people have this attitude that adoptees should be grateful," she said. "Grateful for what? Not being raised with the woman who gave birth to me? Should I be grateful that I was taken away from my culture, my language, my fellow, the people who share my race?"

Chun Soon-gul from MPAK says that he too would like to see the end of international adoptions¹² someday. But for now, more work needs to be done to help the thousands of South Korean children who grow up in orphanages¹³. He says without the money or family support to enter university, it is easy for orphans to fall behind.

Chun says that after an orphan¹ turns 18 and has to leave the orphanage, it is very difficult for them to lead a normal life. It is tough for them to find a good-paying job and they end up being pushed to the bottom of society.

Chun says Korea needs to have more families, like Han Yeon-hee's, who are willing to give orphans loving homes.

Back at Han's home, eight-year-old Hannah practices her piano lessons.

Han says she knows it will take a long time for other Korean families to overcome their prejudice toward orphans. She hopes that her family might be able to change attitudes toward adoption.

She says in Korea, there are not any good role models for adopting. She says that people thought adoption was a shame or they kept it secret. She hopes her children can be good examples.

There is evidence that the work of Han Yeon-hee and MPAK might be paying off. Last year, for the first time since international adoption began in South Korea, more children were taken in by Korean families than sent overseas.

　

1 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

2 orphaned   

[计][修]孤立

参考例句：

• Orphaned children were consigned to institutions. 孤儿都打发到了福利院。
• He was orphaned at an early age. 他幼年时便成了孤儿。

3 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

4 orphanage   

n.孤儿院

参考例句：

• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage.他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。
• They gave the proceeds of the sale to the orphanage.他们把销售的收入给了这家孤儿院。

5 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

6 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

7 Alcoholics   

n.嗜酒者，酒鬼( alcoholic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many alcoholics go on drinking sprees that continue for days at a time. 许多酒鬼一次要狂饮好几天。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Do you have a copy of the Alcoholics Anonymous book? 你手上有戒酒匿名会的书吗？ 来自互联网

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

10 reliant   

adj.依靠的，信赖自己的

参考例句：

• The hostel is heavily reliant upon charity.这家收容所在很大程度上依赖赞助。
• The service has become heavily reliant on government support.这项服务变得高度依赖政府扶持。

11 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

12 adoptions   

n.采用，收养( adoption的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Adoption agencies are always so open to alternative family adoptions. 领养中介机构永远都对领养家庭敞开。 来自电影对白
• The number of adoptions has grown in the past year. 去年，收养子女的数字增加了。 来自互联网

13 orphanages   

孤儿院( orphanage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It is Rotarians running orphanages for children who have no homes. 扶轮社员们为没有家的孩子办孤儿院。
• Through the years, she built churches, hospitals and orphanages. 许多年来，她盖了一间间的教堂、医院、育幼院。