Another Inspired Question

Friends are excellent sources for my writing topics! Today, I was asked "Why Korea?" Seems simple right? That's what I thought too, until I considered this question further, or rather the possibilities behind the question. For me, "why Korea?" conjures up answers about why we chose Korea rather than say, China or Russia. However, for some people, this question might actually mean "Why international and not domestic?" And still for others it might be an inquiry about choosing to adopt a child that is racially different than us. Each wonderment inspires a unique response:

• Why Korea? (versus other international countries): Andrea has a connection to Korea thanks to student teaching. She has shared her enthusiasm with Bob for many years and we feel most connected to that culture. Since we are adopting a child and subsequently his/her culture, it was important for us to possess an inate fascination and continuing curiosity about the places, people and history of our child's birth nation so that we can help him/her remain connected.

• Why Korea? (international versus domestic adoption): Although all adoptions maintain a degree of uncertainty, we felt that international adoption had fewer risks. Domestic adoption has its merits, but it also comes with increased chance for an interruption where one day you might have baby, the next day, the parents might choose to revoke their adoption plan. It is wonderful when a birthparent decides to parent their child, however, we knew that after 7 years of trying, having an interrupted adoption would devastate us. The likelihood of this occuring internationally is far less.

• Why Korea? (adopting trans-racially): This one is more of a puzzler. Some people might wonder why we don't want to adopt a child who is caucasian and therefore appears more like us. I'm not sure there is really an answer. We didn't set out saying "hey let's adopt a child who's not "white"." We simply felt connected to a culture and knew in our hearts that our child would be born to Korean birthparents. Although he/she will look different from us in many ways, we hope and in our hearts, know, that resemblences will surface over time. No, we will never look Korean, and our child will never look like they are from French / Norwegian / German ancestry, but differences are beautiful and everyone is unique in their own special ways.

I hope my analysis answers this question in its many forms. Thanks again to my friends who always pose such innocent and deceptively simple questions...ultimately they challenge our thinking and keep us growing as adoptive parents.