Korea’s Revised Adoption Process

On July 22, 2021July 27, 2025 By jaymekyopoIn 1993 Hague Convention, Abuse in Adoption, Adoptee vulnerability, Adoption Agencies, Adoption policy, adoption reform, Birth Country, Compensation to Victims in Adoption, Complexities in Adoption, Critical Thinking in Adoption, Difficult discussions in adoption, Family Preservation, Gratitude in Adoption, Illegal Adoption, Illicit Adoption, Importance of Connections to Origins, intercountry adoption investigation, Is adoption the best option, Korea, Politics of Adoption, Post Adoption Support, Rights in Adoption, South Korea, Transracial Adoption, Trauma in Adoption, USALeave a comment

Jayme Hansen applauds South Korea's revised adoption process more aligned with Hague Convention guidelines, creating more oversight of vulnerable children.

Why?

On January 20, 2020November 22, 2020 By jaymekyopoIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Jayme asks why his parents adopted?

Trauma Triggers

On June 16, 2019June 6, 2019 By jaymekyopoIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Why do some adoptees need to be on the defensive, overly criticizing, put each other down, and posture themselves as aggressors? I understand and respect that we all have varied opinions, thoughts, and information on a very complex subject. We all have unique stories and ideas to share. I think people do this because their …

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Exceptions to the Rule

On June 9, 2019June 6, 2019 By jaymekyopoIn Uncategorized1 Comment

A post from an adopter on my Facebook page got me thinking about an issue. Is there an exception to the rule where intercountry adoptions should be allowed? The woman stated that, “All 13 of my children from China have special needs. Some pretty severe. One thing for sure ... no-one in-country stepped up to …

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South Korean Adoptions: An Economic Analysis

On January 2, 2019November 22, 2020 By jaymekyopoIn Uncategorized1 Comment

CFO and Korean adoptee, Jayme investigates the economics of Sth Korea's adoptees sent out abroad.

Crane Mimicry

On December 9, 2018November 30, 2018 By jaymekyopoIn Uncategorized5 Comments

Can a famous example of conservation teach us anything about adoption? Most people can’t see a correlation but I do! Less than a hundred years ago, there were just 16 whooping cranes left in North America. These beautiful majestic birds were near the brink of extinction. Men who over hunted and destroyed the bird’s habitat …

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Stranger Than Fiction

On December 5, 2018November 30, 2018 By jaymekyopoIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

In third grade, I was in Mrs. Peterson’s class and given the assignment to do a family history project. I asked my adoptive parents about the project and they stated my Aunt Eirene had worked on the family tree and traced back across several hundred years. My family automatically skipped the fact that my own …

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The Crying Girl

On November 25, 2018November 14, 2018 By jaymekyopoIn Uncategorized3 Comments

How the Korean Government Fails I was stationed in Korea for eight years and have made more than a dozen trips to Korea since I left in 2007. During my last visit to Itaewon, I came across a small bronze statue of a girl sitting on a chair, next to an empty chair, located at …

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Lost Siblings

On November 2, 2018November 2, 2018 By jaymekyopoIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Remembering My Youth As a child, I remember playing near the burn pits that laid by the small village of unpainted traditional Korean style homes (Hanoks). They nestled below a small outcrop of mountains, located in central Korea. My brother grabbed my hand to take me to see the prize he had found lying in …

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Remembering Origins

On September 3, 2018September 3, 2018 By jaymekyopoIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

A few days ago, I was invited to attend the filming of Sarah Henke to cook with a famous TV Chef from Korea 전현숙. He came to Germany to interview Sarah, a KAD chef who works at a restaurant and recently earned the coveted Michelin Star. During the filming of the program all guests were …

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Dear Stranger

On August 5, 2018November 22, 2020 By jaymekyopoIn Uncategorized2 Comments

A letter I wrote to my adoptive father The last time I called home, my adoptive father asked me to come and visit. I spoke to my biological sister who was raised with me and she told me the last time she was home, our adoptive father apologized to her. I'm guessing he will do …

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DNA Testing: The Risks vs Rewards

On March 3, 2018February 15, 2018 By jaymekyopoIn Uncategorized3 Comments

Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, 1.5 Million DNA kits were sold online by AncestryDNA, a US-based DNA testing company. The sudden increase for DNA testing may be due to YouTube and Facebook’s large cache of emotional stories about the outcomes of DNA testing. Two YouTube video’s that stick out for me are: “DNA Journey” …

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My DNA History

On February 27, 2018November 22, 2020 By jaymekyopoIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

DNA Brief Hansen Short 2018 Click on the link above. You will then be asked to OPEN or SAVE the file. If you want to watch it - click OPEN. If you want to keep the file - click SAVE. This is a Microsoft PowerPoint slide show with audio inserted in most pages. Click onto …

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Parenthood Made Me Better

On February 19, 2018December 30, 2024 By jaymekyopoIn Adoptees as parents, Complexities in Adoption, Family Preservation, Generational trauma, Importance of Connections to Origins, Korea, Lifelong Impacts of Adoption, Origins Search, Sense of Belonging, South Korea, Transracial Adoption, Trauma in Adoption, USA1 Comment

Jayme shares about how becoming a parent himself has changed his life and perspective as an intercountry adoptee from South Korea.

Not Good Enough

On February 10, 2018May 13, 2020 By jaymekyopoIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I was an artistic child and I spent much of my free time drawing when I was a child. I drew my interpretation of Star Wars. I was not allowed to watch the movie because my religious parents believed it was evil to try and interpret the future. Our hired hand found my drawings in …

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Monarchs and Viceroys: Interracial Couple Issues

On February 3, 2018February 15, 2018 By jaymekyopoIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Intercountry adoptee explores interracial issues when we partner a person of our same race/ethnicity.

The Other Half Left Behind

On January 31, 2018November 22, 2020 By jaymekyopoIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

- Many adoptees were sent to orphanages before they were adopted and many do not remember the experiences they had before being sent to their forever homes. At one time, we adoptees may have begun the same journey in life as one of the millions of orphans placed in orphanages. However, a choice made by …

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Cuts You Deep

On January 24, 2018January 24, 2018 By jaymekyopoIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Whilst studying for my undergraduate degree in History, I found the similarities of my childhood and reading the history of Nazi Germany opened up my old anxieties. The interrogation methods of the SS were like pages read out about my own childhood. My adopted mother acted like a Concentration Camp guard, always on the lookout …

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Bitter Medicine

On January 10, 2018January 6, 2018 By jaymekyopoIn Uncategorized1 Comment

For me, the interactions I have within adoptee groups are like taking a spoonful of bitter medicine. The sharing I do, the reflections of my past, and all the things I have learned has healed me. It is a forum where I am allowed to share my thoughts, pains and tribulations. It opens my eyes …

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Adoption Trauma, Not Always Forever

On January 3, 2018January 18, 2018 By jaymekyopoIn Uncategorized1 Comment

Most of us have heard the old saying, "the only thing promised in life is death and taxes". I’m certain many of us can add one or more items that needs to be included to the list. One thing I think should be added to this list is trauma. If you live long enough, you …

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Understanding Positive Millennial Adoptees

On December 29, 2017December 19, 2017 By jaymekyopoIn Uncategorized7 Comments

I’m not a angry or jealous about positive adoptions. I don’t deny they exist. With more than 25 years experience working in adoption and orphanage advocacy, I have met some wonderful adoptive parents who have reached out to adoptees like myself. I’ve met numerous adoptees that have wonderful lives and adoptive families. Positive adoptive parents …

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Yellow Snow

On December 20, 2017October 20, 2020 By jaymekyopoIn Uncategorized8 Comments

I grew up on a dairy farm in rural Minnesota. Minnesota is a state, located in the north central region of the United States and borders Canada. Most people do not know the most northern point of the lower 48 states is located in Minnesota. It should be no surprise to learn Minnesota ranks in …

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Korean Killdeers

On December 11, 2017November 22, 2020 By jaymekyopoIn Uncategorized1 Comment

I was reared on a small dairy farm that rested on the edge of the Red River Valley on the Minnesota side. I grew up in a rural farming community that was filled with a lush green forest of corn, amber waves of grain and intermittent dots of farm homesteads covered with thick deciduous trees. …

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The Janus Tree

On December 7, 2017May 13, 2020 By jaymekyopoIn Uncategorized4 Comments

I once saw a tree at a distance and it was lush and green. This deciduous plant was full of life and filled with vibrant leaves. As I passed by the tree, I noticed the other side was scarred, withered and void of life. When I questioned people who lived near the tree, "What happened?" …

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InterCountry Adoptee Voices (ICAV)

Author: jaymekyopo