From Orphan to Adoptee

U.S. Empire and Genealogies of Korean Adoption

By: SooJin Pate

Write A Review

Paperback | 14 April 2014

Sorry, we are not able to source the book you are looking for right now.

We did a search for other books with a similar title, however there were no matches. You can try selecting from a similar category, click on the author's name, or use the search box above to find your book.

Since the 1950s, more than 100,000 Korean children have been adopted by predominantly white Americans; they were orphans of the Korean War, or so the story went. But begin the story earlier, as SooJin Pate does, and what has long been viewed as humanitarian rescue reveals itself as an exercise in expanding American empire during the Cold War.

Transnational adoption was virtually nonexistent in Korea until U.S. military intervention in the 1940s. Currently it generates $35 million in revenue--an economic miracle for South Korea and a social and political boon for the United States. Rather than focusing on the families "made whole" by these adoptions, this book identifies U.S. militarism as the condition by which displaced babies became orphans, some of whom were groomed into desirable adoptees, normalized for American audiences, and detached from their past and culture.

Using archival research, film, and literary materials--including the cultural work of adoptees--Pate explores the various ways in which Korean children were employed by the U.S. nation-state to promote the myth of American exceptionalism, to expand U.S. empire during the burgeoning Cold War, and to solidify notions of the American family. In From Orphan to Adoptee we finally see how Korean adoption became the crucible in which technologies of the U.S. empire were invented and honed.

Industry Reviews

"Complicating existing studies on Korean adoption and Cold War militarism, From Orphan to Adoptee shows how practices of transnational adoption required first the production of the 'orphan' as an available commodity open to transfer. 'Orphans' need not be parentless at all. By demonstrating that 'orphans' were made through various forms of militarized humanitarianism in the years leading up to the Korean War, Pate offers us a counter-history that profoundly changes our understandings of the relationship between U.S. empire and adoption. An original and exciting book." -Mark C. Jerng, University of California, Davis

"Pate's work is wide-ranging, highly compelling and certainly an incisive addition to American studies, transnational studies, and orphan/adoptee studies."-Asian American Literature Fans

"Pate enlarges the critical lens on international adoption and U.S.-South Korean relations."-Diplomatic History

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $89.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.