GOAL DISPLACEMENT AND DEPENDENCY IN SOUTH-KOREAN UNITED-STATES INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION

Intercountry adoption is growing throughout the world in response to w ars, poverty, natural disasters and other forms of societal and famili al disruptions. This paper illustrates with reference to South Korea w hat can occur without careful social planning, when intercountry adopt ion is begun as a response to war, and then becomes an important compo nent in social policy for orphaned, relinquished and abandoned childre n for nearly forty years. Prior to the 1950s, formal adoption was almo st unheard of in South Korea. The present intercountry adoption progra m was begun in response to a growing problem of unwanted, mixed racial children of U.S. military servicemen in the 1950s, but continued long er after that problem no longer existed. The Ministry of Health and So cial Affairs has made repeated overtures to phase out the intercountry adoption program, however, the government has not implemented specifi c policies necessary to accomplish that goal. Given the lack of develo pment of alternatives for parentless or abandoned children under the p resent Korean Child Welfare Policy and the resources that adoption pla cements are for private agencies, the practice has continued for forty years, and is likely to continue indefinitely. In contrast to the 195 0s, South Korea now has the political and economic resources to provid e its own comprehensive and effective system of child welfare services . The paper gives special attention to the history of United States-So uth Korean programs because the former is the largest recipient of Kor ean adopted children. Recommendations for greater government regulatio n conclude the article and implications are outlined for intercountry adoption arrangements with other countries where the practice is now g rowing rapidly.