Korean Focus: Korean Adoption Support

To raise a child from another culture demands a special commitment from adoptive parents to respect and nurture their children's birth heritage. Adoptive parents must always remember that:

Our children did not choose to be removed from their countries, languages, cultures or genetic ties
We therefore hold their ethnic, linguistic, cultural and genetic identities in trust
We need the help of their ethnic communities to teach them their culture and to help them develop healthy, realistic identities
We must therefore develop lasting connections with those communities
We must also protect the information that may one day lead them to members of their first families
An Intercountry Adoptive Parent's Bill of Responsibilities Copyright © 2004 Korean Focus.
Adapted from Liza Steinberg Trigg's A Transracially Adopted Child's Bill of Rights and A Bill of Rights for Mixed Folks by Marilyn Blake Drame.

Mission and Programs

Korean Focus helps adoptive and multiethnic Korean American families develop an appreciation of the rich heritage of Korea and the contributions of Korean Americans to American culture by offering a wide range of programs: educational programs for children and adults, support and information to prospective adoptive families, presentations on Korean culture and Korean American issues, social events centered around Korean holidays, and contact with the Korean American community through collaboration on programs and events. We inform our members and friends of activities through our website and through a quarterly newsletter with articles and announcements.

Korean Focus was founded in June 1996, is incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and has achieved Federal 501c3 non-profit status. We are all-volunteer and agency-independent. Although we are based in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland metropolitan area, we serve families beyond this georgraphic area by providing support and information through our website and eBulletin. If you would like more information about membership, please e-mail info@koreanfocus.org, or see the membership and support page.

Korean Focus is proud to have been recognized by the Korean American Coalition with a 2003 Bridge Builder Award, which recognized us for our efforts to form connections between our families and the Korean American community. As a small organization, we are also proud to have planned and hosted the 2003 Korean American Adoptee Adoptive Family Network national conference One People, Two Histories: Korean Adoption As Part of 100 Years of Korean Immigration. We are also proud of the connections we have made with the Korean American community in our area, and thank the Korean American community for its willingness to work with our families. Kamsahamnida!

Board of Directors

Korean Focus's Board of Directors are volunteers from the Korean Adoption community who are committed to the Korean Focus mission. The 2004 Directors are:

President                                 Debbie Dalton
Vice President                         -- Open --
Treasurer                                 David Horn
Secretary                                 Michelle Howard
Program Coordinators           Katie Zeigler, Amy Caiazza
Newsletter Editor                   Dan Magnolia
Membership Coordinator      Margie Perscheid
Member-at-Large                  Andrea Brenner

See the Contact Us page for information on communicating with members of the Korean Focus Board.