Politics

Video the moment when a mother reviews her missing daughter and illegally given for adoption after 44 years / “Nothing can repair what I lost”

Video the moment when a mother reviews her missing daughter and illegally given for adoption after 44 years /

The woman who found her daughter after 44 years. Credit Line: Jae C. Hong / AP / Profimedia

The struggle of a mother from South Korea to find her missing daughter 44 years ago from their house in Seoul was reported by the BBC.

The last memory that Han Tae-Soon has with her daughter, Kyung-Ha, dates from May 1975, in their house in Seoul. Then, when she was preparing to go to the market, she proposed to accompany her, but she refused, saying she wants to play with her friends. When he returned, the girl was gone.

For decades, Han Tae-Soon and her husband visited police and orphanage sections, spread leaflets and appeared on television to ask for information about their daughter.

The woman told the BBC that she looked for her daughter on the streets until all 10 nails fell.

Only in 2019, when the girl's mother registered in a group that is liaison adopted Koreans abroad with their natural parents by matching their DNA, Han Tae-Soon discovered that her daughter was adopted.

Kyung-ha was called Laurie Beer and she was a nurse in California. She had been kidnapped, taken to an orphanage, then illegally sent to the US to be raised by another family, according to Han Tae-Soon.

The two met at Seoul after 44 years.

The moment when the two were reviewed can be followed from the 21st and 55th minute.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5HV4pe-E0A

Gives judgment the government for negligence

Han now says that he sues the South Korean government because he has not prevented his daughter's adoption. It is among the hundreds of people who have presented in recent years accusations of fraud, illegal adoptions, abductions and trafficking in the controversial South Korean program of adoptions abroad.

Han, now 71 years old, told the BBC that it is determined for the government to take responsibility.

“I spent 44 years ruining my body and mind in search of her. But, all this time, did anyone ever apologize to me? No one. Not even once,” she said.

A photo album is in Han Tae-Soon's house in Anyang, South Korea. Han's daughter, Laurie Bender, the third right, sitting next to Han, made her album to celebrate their meeting. Credit Line: Jae C. Hong / AP / Profimedia

Although he found his daughter, the trauma remains alive. Han practices English daily to be able to communicate better with his daughter, but the linguistic barrier and distance say their word in their relationship, notes the BBC.

“Although I found my daughter, I do not feel that I really found it. I only know where it is, but what use is if we cannot communicate? All my life was destroyed … No money has lost what I lost,” she confessed.

Han Tae-Soon speaks during a press conference before the Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, in October 2024, before suing the government. Credit Line: AHN Young-Joon / AP / Profimedia

Numerous cases of illegal adoptions

No other country has sent so many children abroad for adoption, and for so long, as South Korea. From the beginning of the adoption program abroad. In the 1950s, between 170,000 and 200,000 children were adopted abroad – most in the West.

In March, a historical investigation found that successive governments have committed violations of human rights by their lack of supervision, allowing private agencies to “export” children for profit to industrial scale.

Experts say that these findings could open the door to several processes against the government. Han Tae-Soon case is about to arrive next month.

Ashley Davis

I’m Ashley Davis as an editor, I’m committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in every piece we publish. My work is driven by curiosity, a passion for truth, and a belief that journalism plays a crucial role in shaping public discourse. I strive to tell stories that not only inform but also inspire action and conversation.

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