A Study Of American's Intercountry Adoption Practice In China,japan And South Korea Since World War ?: A Transnational Perspective

The intercountry adoption(ICA)was born in international relations--War and Peace.ICA from Asia has been affected by major international events,such as the occupation of Japan by the United States,the Korean War,the Vietnam War,the establishment of Sino-US relations,and the disintegration of the Soviet Union.About10,000 Japanese children,160,000 Korean children and 100,000 Chinese children have been sent into the U.S.since World War II,which accounts for nearly a half of the whole number of adoptees in America from all over the world.The war orphans,mixed-race children and abandoned children caused by poverty or “one-child” policy are all included.This paper uses the first-hand data from the official websites of China,the United States,Japan and South Korea,and adopts the qualitative and quantitative methods and comparative methods to carry out the research.The findings are as follows.Firstly,ICA has been affected by the evolution of Asian-Pacific Policy of America since World War II,and also affected on the domestic and foreign affairs of China,Japan and South Korea.Secondly,ICA mirrors the characteristics of international relations among these countries.The ICA between America and Japan shows the competition for children and also the desire for independence of Japan.The ICA between America and South Korea is the "price" of Korean people paid for the "blood alliance" with the U.S.,the "miracle of the Han River",the national image of South Korea and even as national capital after the Korean War.South Korea government did not shoulder the responsibilities to protect the interests of the adoptees until the 21 st century.The ICA between China and the U.S.is one of the special channels to express goodwill and enhance understanding between two countries,while sometimes it also can be a "double-edged sword" of human rights.Thirdly,the ICA of China,Japan and South Korea,these countries belonging to East Asian cultural zone,share similarities and show differences.South Korea owns much more adoptees than Japan,because South Korea relies more on the United States than Japan.Western missionaries help to establish South Korea's childwelfare system and train South Korea's social workers,thus Christianity spreads rapidly in South Korea.Besides,Japan has invested more money in the children welfare system than South Korea.Women of Japan and South Korea have different social status and wages,which leads to South Korea's low intention in domestic adoption.China and South Korea are once the largest sending countries in Asia.However,they have different international relations with America,as well as the different understandings and practices of ICA.In that way,the number of international adoptions in South Korea has been much higher than that of in domestic adoptions by 2007.The similarity between the two countries is there are more female in the adoptee because of the son preference in Confucians culture.Fourthly,the national image of China and South Korea in their mainstream media reports and films on adoption is different from the image of the United States and "home country" that adoptive parents and adoptees see in real life.Finally,ICA from Asia makes the exclusion of Asian in American immigration policy loosened.With the help of the lobbying group “Adoptee Rights Campaign" and the efforts of the senators and representatives of the United States,the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2019(ACA 2019)is to mend the Child Citizenship Act of 2000(CCA 2000).If they return to South Korea,Korean adoptees can apply for an F-4 visa and dual nationality.