'I was not just Shaun' – growing up as a Korean adoptee in a white Australian town

I am an Australian Korean-adoptee and I’m proud of this fact, however it was long after my 21st birthday that I could feel this way.

Shaun Hardwick

Australian-Korean adoptee Shaun Hardwick as a child with his mother. Source: Supplied

My formative years featured regular periods of self-hate, self-pity and general unhappiness about my circumstance.

My Australian parents adopted me from South Korea when I was six months old and brought me home to a small country town in Victoria in 1988. We stayed in the south west district for around five years, also adding my Korean adoptee sister to the family.

Read the full article in English here. 


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By Shaun Hardwick
Presented by Justin Sungil Park

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