• Headline: Child-rearing expense aid 50,000 Won per month... only 3 out of 10 say, "I'll raise the child"
• Subheading: State of Government and Private organization support
• Source: Hankyoreh
• Date of Publication: May 1, 2008
• Summary: 
The number of unwed mothers in Korea choosing to raise their children is steadily increasing. Adoptions, which reached 4,206 in 2001, dropped to 2,652 in 2007. A survey conducted in 2006 and 2007 revealed a significant shift: the percentage of unwed mothers who said they or their family— including the child's father—would raise the child, grew from 24.8% to 32.5%. 


This shift in attitude is reflected in recent legislative changes. In response to the growing trend, the Mother and Fatherless Child Welfare Act was amended last year, renaming it the Single-Parent Family Welfare Act. This revision clarified the role of child-rearing support by reclassifying "unwed mother support center" as "unwed mother-child support center." It also laid the legal groundwork for operating group homes, such as the “unwed mother-child shared living homes,” where postpartum mothers can live with their children for up to a year. 


However, despite these changes, the real support for unwed mothers remains insufficient. The government’s monthly childcare allowance for single parents raising children under eight years old is only 50,000 won. Vocational training and other forms of assistance are limited to those living in designated facilities. Perhaps more concerning is the social stigma still attached to unwed parents, which must be addressed if the support systems are to be effective. 


In Korea, 70% of unwed mothers give up their children, a stark contrast to the 2% in the United States. In a recent written interview, Dr. Richard Boas, an American advocate for unwed mothers in Korea, shared his insights on the dire situation. Through this conversation, we gain a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by unwed mothers in Korea, explore possible measures to reduce international adoptions, and discuss the societal shifts necessary for meaningful change.

▶ This article was translated by Marilyn Hook, Young-mi Ban and Gahyel Lee and proofread by Marilyn Hook, volunteers of Korean Unwed Mothers' Support Network (KUMSN) in 2008.

Connecticut ophthalmologist Richard Boas (59) adopted three-month old Esther, who would become his third child, from South Korea in 1988. Curious about his Esther's homeland, Boas came to Korea in 2006 and while visiting a support facility for unwed mothers, was surprised to learn that even if unwed mothers wanted to keep their children, insufficient societal support Boas, who had supported adoption before that, caused them to usually choose adoption. thought about a way to help Korean single mothers be able to raise their own children and began to help support centers for unwed mothers.

The choice of unwed mothers in our country is gradually changing. The 4,206 adoptions of 2001 decreased to 2,652 by 2007, and a survey of unwed mothers found that those who answered, "Respondent, the respondent's or the father's family, or the father will raise the child" rose from 28% in 2006 to 32.5% in 2007. More and more unwed mothers are choosing to raise their children themselves.

Following this trend, last year the Family Welfare Law was renamed the Single Parent Family Support Law; the Unwed Mothers Support Center was changed to Unwed Mothers and Children Center so it was made clear child-rearing services were offered, and the management of "Homes for Unwed Mothers and Their Children" became legal grounds. Homes for Unwed Mothers and Their Children are group homes that support unwed mothers who have just given birth to stay with their children for about a year. Also, an "Unwed Fathers and Children Support Center" opened its doors for the first time in Incheon last year.

Holt Children's Services Inc., which became known through its activities supporting adoption, has been managing group homes for unwed mothers since 2006, and in May, commissioned by South Gyeongsan Province, it opened the Unwed Mothers Support Center in Masan City. Hong Mi- gyeong, a public relations manager for Holt, said, "We will help unwed mothers so that they have not just adoption, but a variety of choices, like raising the child themselves.

"Nevertheless, there is still a shortage of real aid. The child-rearing aid given by the government to single-parent families with children under the Korean age of 8 (real age 6 or 7) is 50,000 Won per month (about 50 USD). Aside from this, it is given only to single parents who use facilities like vocational training support. There are also no statistics about single parents. Han Sang-soon, the director of Aeranwon, a foundation for unwed mothers, said, "It is easy for unwed mothers outside of the facility to fall into a crisis situation. We have to make a community support-system so that they too can receive support like job training.

Eliminating societal prejudices about single parents while at the same time expanding aid is a problem that must be solved. Lee Mi-jeong, a researcher with the Korean Women's Development Institute, said, "Because of the prejudice that unwed pregnancies must be bad acts instead of mistakes, unwed mothers become estranged from society and their families, and haven't been able to avoid choosing abortion or adoption. Now we must spread awareness that raising children is the responsibility of everyone in society."

Reporter Choi Won-hyeong

■ An interview with Richard Boas, an American who aids Korean unwed mothers

Richard Boas revealed his detailed views and impressions of Korean unwed mothers and their children to newspaper The Hankyoreh via written interview.

- Why did you start helping Korean unwed mothers?

= In 1988, my wife and I adopted Esther, who was born in Busan. We already had two children, but we couldn't have a third so we decided to adopt. The reason we decide to adopt from Korea was that we learned that children born to unwed mothers in Korea lived in difficult circumstances.

At that time, Esther was about three and a half months old. They said her birth mother was a 24-year-old unmarried factory worker and she worked at the factory until the seventh month of her pregnancy. They said her relationship with the baby's father had been brief, and when she discovered that she was pregnant, she had no way of contacting him. She couldn't tell her family, and there was no help from the government. Her savings ran out and she couldn't expect any help, so in the end she made the difficult decision to give up her child.

Now I have raised 20-year-old Esther, 27-year-old Catherine, and 24-year-old Benjamin while working as an ophthalmologist specializing in glaucoma. Glaucoma is a disease that generates invisible spots on your eyes and finally, leads uncontrollably to blindness. My work was satisfying, but after working for a long time, I began to take my life in a different direction.

In 2005, I became involved with international adoption. This was after I learned that because of rising costs, many families couldn't adopt even though they wanted to. I was especially impressed by those who wanted to adopt children who needed special help. With a gratitude to Family and Child Services in Connecticut Social Welfare Service for delivering our child to us, I wanted to help others adopt like we had adopted.

I began to meet with other adoptive parents, and we started an adoption fund. We received and checked applications from other families, and helping them adopt was very satisfying. While managing the fund, we helped 14 families to adopt.

At that time, I had never been to Korea, so I decided to join a trip to Korea with my co-workers. Of course, I paid for myself.

That visit impacted me quite a lot. Actually, I was not ready to meet infants or children who needed help. Lots of them were at the hospital. They had been abandoned by their mothers. They did not have anywhere to go. Later, after I met mothers who stayed at the social welfare association, I was in shock. They were between 18 and 24 years old, and they were unmarried even pregnant. They had already decided to give up their children. They were one of my daughter, Esther's mom and Esther was one of their children.

I used to be a strong supporter of adoption. However, this meeting brought me huge changes. I had not seen the side effects of adoption. Especially for international adoption, unwed mothers and their children, I started questioning whether it was a necessary process or not. Why don't we help them to raise their own children?

I asked myself how I could help unwed mothers and their children. What can I do when an unwed mom decides to raise her child? What if that person wants to give up their child? How can I support the place where unwed mothers and their children stay? If my daughter, Esther, had been born last week, what could I do for her?

Compared to the U.S, in Korea, there are many unwed mothers who have to give up raising their own children. Over 2000 children go to abroad for international adoption and another 2000 children go to other families for domestic adoption. Korea is ranked as number 11 for economic development in the world. Why? What is the reason for this situation? Is Korea not interested in taking care of unwed mothers and their children? How come these brave women cannot have the proper environment to raise their own children?

With this astonishing knowledge, I stopped running the "International Adoption Monetary Fund". Rather than earning money for them, I decided to solve the difficulty of unwed mothers and their children. I believe that Korean people also can tackle this matter very well.

- How do you view Korea's unwed mothers' situations? What is the difference when you compare to America?

= In Korea, most unwed mothers are isolated from this society. Family members abandon them easily because they are pregnant or have babies without marriage. However, if unwed mothers decide to send their children away from them, they will feel guilty forever. Korean society and government have never been so active about this issue. Just like when Esther's mom had to give up Esther, lots of other mothers have to give up raising their own children. It is very painful and hard to endure.

There is no discrimination against unwed mothers in U.S.A and Scandinavia. Moreover, social welfare has been launched very well for them. According to Mira Lee of the Social Welfare Monetary Gund, Korea should focus on how to erase the discrimination again unwed mothers in this society.

I also agree with that opinion, and that every Korean and the government have a chance to improve the social problem.

- What should we do in order to decrease the number of international adoption? 

= First, we should decrease the number of unwanted pregnancies. Korea should be serious about sex education. Both men and women are required to receive sex education. Sadly, lots of unwed mothers experience pregnancy twice. Therefore, we still need to educate unwed mothers in order to prevent another pregnancy.

Many unwed mothers should be able to make important decisions by themselves. I believe that they know how to make wise decisions. If they do not know how to do that, they should be able to receive proper support from our society. There are many different ways to support them. We can provide them a 'job training section', 'general education', 'child care service' and even 'medical care system'. Those offers will be helpful. It is unfair to treat them unequally once they are known as mothers.

Koreans should have an open mind about unwed mothers and their children. Lots of women's organizations have already started suggesting wise directions about unwed mothers. Having more adoption organizations can be okay for now but when we consider what the best choice for unwed mothers and their children is, we should have another solution.

Recently, instead of international adoption, we started thinking about domestic adoption. It is true that the government supports families who adopt children. Domestic adoption can be slightly better than international adoption, but the best thing is providing the perfect environment where unwed mothers can raise their own children.

Korea is ranked as the country with the lowest birth rate and it is not hard to see how the population has been decreased. Extending the 5-month waiting period for international adoption and encouraging domestic adoption will not be helpful for unwed mothers who have to give up their children.

On the other hand, when the number of mothers increases, the number of adoptions will decrease.

- Do you want to say anything to the Korean government and press?

= Unwed mothers and their children are all Koreans. These mothers love their children as much as other mothers. Supporting them will bring a bright future for Korean society later too. We have to visualize this problem and think it over again. If we do that, everything will be fine. Even though my daughter was born in Korea and I am interested in Korean unwed mothers and their children, there is nothing much I can do for them. However, it is still obvious to see what we should do. Actually, it is time to do something for them.

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