Valued Assets-Adopted Territory Pt.2

            Adopted Territory: Transnational Korean Adoptees and the Politics of Belonging, by Eleana J. Kim, was this week’s reading. Part two of this reading focuses on the aftermath of the Korean adoptee as a “valuable asset” The issues with actually going back to Korea to share what they had learned was what made them significant to the Korean culture. The adoptees where allowed the opportunity to go back and visit during Korea’s state-sponsored globalization drive (segyehwa). They were given the opportunity to share their “Westernization” through English- language teaching done in the private education sector. This in a way is similar to Gina Ulysse’s Downtown Ladies because again we see the government trying to take advantage of something that is in essence very positive and giving themselves the credit for allowing this to take place. The Jamaican government saw an opportunity with the higgler’s importing and took complete control and made a profit for valuable goods. The Korean government sees that it not only is helping the Korean adoptees at this point but also the children of Korea, it is expanding their education to something that they would otherwise not be able to attain.

            The adoptees also took advantage of the opportunity at hand, seeing themselves as a “valuable asset” to the Korean community developmentally. The government nationally acknowledged the fact that they were the key resources in Korean international development. However, not all adoptees trip to their “motherland” was a dream come true some still felt confusion and at times disappointment because of the fabrications of their backgrounds. Overall, this was a very strategic move on Korea’s behalf because during a time of globalization, they had knowledgeable resources on their side to assist them in international development. This was also, still very beneficial to the adoptees, regardless to whether it gave them the answers they were looking for it gave them the sense/idea of home and allowed them to form those memories that they would’ve otherwise not been able to form.