- Headline: "Unwed Moms Get Help from Foreign Hand"
- Source: JoongAng Daily
- Date of Publication: December 14, 2009
- Summary:
The Korean Unwed Mothers Support Network, also known as Kumsn, is one of just a handful of organizations dedicated to supporting unwed mothers in Korea. Since its establishment in 2007, the organization has carried out various projects and research to advocate for the rights of unwed pregnant women and mothers and as well as their children. It was founded by Richard Boas, 59, an American ophthalmologist, who adopted a Korean daughter 20 years ago. Boas, who was initially a strong supporter of international adoption and even initiated an adoption foundation in the United States, abandoned those efforts after a trip here in 2006, where he met a dozen unmarried pregnant women between the ages of 18 and 24 who had already agreed to give up their children to a welfare facility in Korea. “At that moment, I realized that, 20 years before, my daughter’s mother was one of these women, and my daughter was one of these relinquished children,” Boas recalled. “The trip changed me. What I found out turned me completely around.” He then began to work vigorously for unwed Korean mothers and their children, eventually establishing KUMSN. Following are excerpts from a recent interview with him. Dr. Richard Boas, an ophthalmologist and adoptive parent, began his advocacy journey after adopting a daughter from Korea in 1988. Following his retirement, Dr. Boas worked in the United States to support families interested in adoption, sharing the joy he experienced as an adoptive parent. As part of these efforts, he visited Korea in 2006. During this visit, he witnessed the systemic challenges faced by unwed mothers, including societal stigma and economic hardships, which often left them with no choice but to relinquish their children for adoption. This realization shifted his perspective, as he recognized that the joy of adoptive parents was often built upon the sorrow of separation endured by unwed mothers and their children.
Upon returning to the United States, Dr. Boas ceased his work supporting adoptive families and, in 2007, redirected his efforts to raising funds and launching initiatives aimed at improving the lives of unwed mothers in Korea. In 2008, he founded the Korean Unwed Mothers Support Network (KUMSN), establishing a Secretariat that included Consultant Ellen Furnari and Executive Director Heejung Kwon, alongside staff members Eunjoo Kang, Jiyoung Yoo, Seulgi Lee, and Seunghee Han.
Under Dr. Boas’s leadership, KUMSN became Korea's first advocacy organization dedicated to the rights of unwed mothers. The organization actively worked to improve public perceptions of unwed mothers and provided three years of research funding to the Korean Women’s Development Institute to support systematic policy research related to unwed mothers. In 2012, upon his departure from Korea, Dr. Boas was awarded the Civil Merit Medal for his contributions to advancing the rights and welfare of unwed mothers in Korea. KUMSN subsequently transitioned into a legally registered organization and continues its work to support unwed mothers and promote social awareness.
* This article was translated by JoongAng Daily and published on December 4, 2009, from “It is a basic human right for a mother to raise a child,” published on November 22, 2009, in the JoongAng SUNDAY. |
