Dr Jessica Walton is a Senior Research Fellow at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation at Deakin University. Her doctoral research was about intercountry adoption especially focused on Korean adoptees. Her research had drawn a lot of attention because Dr Walton was an adoptee herself from South Korea to the US. She was one of 7,263 babies to be adopted internationally in 1983. Her thesis dealing with was Australian adoptees from Korea was one of the first researches about Korean adoption which had done by one of its adoptees.
When the world was watching the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in Korea, Dr Walton published an article seeking an attention to look into one of the country’s ongoing issues, intercountry adoption and rights for single mothers.
South Korea was heavily criticised for being a baby-exporting country when they hosted Seoul Olympics. Although there has been huge social changes intercountry adoption has been continued. As a result of policy changes and low birth rates, children adopted to overseas were decreased to 334 in 2016 from 8,837 in 1985.
Dr Walton pointed out that one of the reasons why children has been abandoned in South Korea is discrimination against single mothers.
“With the Pyeongchang Olympics in full swing and the world’s focus on South Korea, now is the time to reflect on what’s been gained since 1988 and how far there is still to go on social issues. A country that is capable of so much is surely also capable of real social and cultural change.” Dr Walton said.
Dr Jessica Walton talked about adoption issue in Korea and her down adoption experience and her interview with SBS Korean program is available on Podcast above.
Dr Jessica Walton and Hana Crisp the former President of Korean Adoptees in Australia Network in 2016 Source: courtesy
