Now Accepting Applications for the 1st UMI4AA Seminar Series 

The original Korean version of this announcement was posted on August 26, 2024. (Click here to view.) 

Please note that this seminar will be conducted entirely in Korean, and participation is intended for individuals with proficiency in Korean to ensure comprehensive engagement throughout the series. 

Unwed Mothers Initiative for Archiving and Advocacy (UMI4AA) is pleased to announce the launch of its first seminar series, consisting of six sessions.

The topic of “unwed mothers” opens avenues to discuss intersecting themes including minority representation, otherness, motherhood and the experience of de-motherization, diverse family structures, adoption systems and practices, the rights of mixed-race children and children born outside traditional marriage, issues of stigma and poverty, diaspora, Christianity, and even historical and contemporary discussions around eugenics.

UMI4AA warmly invites scholars, students, and community members interested in these themes to join our monthly discussions, where we will explore the topics through a curated list of academic readings and references.

Registration Now Open

To join the seminar series, please complete and submit the registration form below.

Click HERE

Registration Deadline

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Eligibility 

This seminar is open to researchers, students, and members of the public with a scholarly or personal interest in the experiences of unwed mothers and related themes.

Session Schedule 

Note: Sessions are generally held at the end of each month, with December’s date to be confirmed closer to the holiday season.

2024 

(Induction Session: September) 

• Session 1: October

• Session 2: November

• Session 3 & Year-End Gathering: December

2025

(Break: January)

• Session 4: February

• Session 5: March

• Session 6: April

Venue 

The seminar is designed primarily for in-person attendance, with online options available as needed. In-person sessions are expected to be held near Ttukseom Station (Line 2) and Seoul Forest Station (Suin-Bundang Line) in Seoul, South Korea.

Structure

The seminar will be conducted in both in-person and online formats. The specific structure of each session will be finalized during the orientation meeting in September. Reading materials for the first session, selected from Recommended Readings or suggested by participants, will also be confirmed at this initial meeting.

Participation Fee 

5,000 KRW per session, or 25,000 KRW for all six sessions if paid as a one-time amount. This fee includes access to Zoom/projector facilities, as well as beverages and refreshments.

Participation fees can be sent to:

Hana Bank, Account Number: 563-910001-36804

Account Holder: Unwed Mothers Initiative for Archiving and Advocacy

Inquiries

For questions or further information, please contact us via email at umi4aa@gmail.com or by phone at +82-10-5210-8637.

Recommended Readings 

Books – Korean   

• 권희정 (Kwon, Hee Jung). 미혼모의 탄생: 추방된 어머니의 역사 (The Birth of Unwed Mothers: The History of Exiled Mothers [unofficial translation]). 안토니아스 (Antonia’s Books), 2019. [Historical Anthropology]
• 소영현 (So, Young-Hyun). 하녀: 빈곤과 낙인의 사회사 (The Maid: A Social History of Poverty and Stigma [unofficial translation]). 문학동네 (Munhakdongne Publishing Group), 2024. [History]
• 염운옥 (Yeom, Woon Ok). 생명에도 계급이 있는가: 유전자 정치와 영국의 우생학 (Is There a Class in Life? Politics of Gene and British Eugenics [unofficial translation]). 책세상 (Chaeksesang), 2009. [History]
• 황이정 (Hwang Lee, Jung). 책 속의 미혼모 (Unwed Mothers in Books [unofficial translation]). 정은출판 (JE-Books), 2020. [Autobiographical Fiction]

Books – English 

• Cottam, Hilary. Radical Help: How We Can Remake the Relationships between Us and Revolutionize the Welfare State. Virago, 2018. [Social Welfare]
• Wilson-Buterbaugh, Karen. The Baby Scoop Era: Unwed Mothers, Infant Adoption, and Forced Surrender. Karen Wilson-Buterbaugh, 2017. [American History]

Journal Articles – Korean 

Click on the English titles to view the abstract and link to the full article. 

• 권은혜 (Kwon, Eunhye). “일본계 미국인 강제 수용 시기 혼종 결혼 정책과 일본계 입양아 및 혼혈아의 인종 정체성 구성” (The Mixed Marriage Policy and the Racial Construction of Mixed-Race Children in Mixed-Marriage Families and Japanese Adoptive Children in White Families during the World War I I internment of Japanese Americans). History& Cultur), vol. 24, 2012, pp. 177-198. The Korean Workshop for the History of Culture. [Cultural History]
• 권희정 (Kwon, Hee Jung). “미혼모성의 경험을 통해 본 근대의 탈모성화 역사” (A History of Unwed Motherhood in the Modern Era). Korean Journal of Oral History, vol. 5, no. 2, 2014, pp. 37-80. Korean Oral History Association. [Oral History]
• 권희정 (Kwon, Hee Jung). “입양실천에 나타나는 정상가족 담론과 미혼모 자녀의 '고아' 만들기” (Orphaning Babies of Unwed Mothers in Adoption Practice). Issues in Feminism, vol. 15, no. 1, 2015, pp. 51-98. Korean Women’s Studies Institute. [Feminist Studies]
• 김은경 (Kim, Eunkyung). “가족 하기(doing)와 허물기(undoing) — 냉전사적 사건으로서 혼혈인의 미국 이주와 초국적 가족 형성, 그리고 수행적 ‘가족 실천’ — (Doing Family, Undoing Family — Mixed Race Migration to the United States as a Cold War Event, Transnational Family Formation, and Performative “family practice” —). Sarim, vol. 87, 2024, pp. 75-114. Susonsa Hakhoe (Soosun Historical Association). [Transnational Family Studies]
• 김재민 (Kim, Chae min). “한국의 해외입양 정책에 투영된 인권의 공백” (The Absence of Human Rights in South Korea’s Overseas Adoption Policy). Memory & Vision, vol. 35, 2016, pp. 282-318. Korea Democracy Foundation. [Human Rights Studies]
• 백민정 (Baek, Minjeong). "구비문학 속 미혼모와 그의 자녀들을 향한 ‘폭력’ 서사를 통해 본 병리학적 상상력- <주몽신화>, <제석본풀이>, <미혼모 엄마의 살아온 이야기>를 중심으로" (A Study on Pathologic Imagination found in ‘Violence’ Narratives towards Unmarried Mothers and their Children from Oral Literature - Focusing on Jumong Myth, Jeseokbonpuri, Life Story of an Unmarried Mother). Eomunyeongu, vol. 106, 2020, pp. 123-157. The Research Society of Language and Literature. [Literary Studies]
• 소영현 (So, Young-Hyun). “비장소의 쓰기-기록_해외입양인의 자전적 에세이를 중심으로” (Writing-document of Non-Places: Focusing on the autobiographical essay of an overseas adoptee). Korean Cultural Studies, vol. 100, 2023, pp. 183-210. Research Institute of Korean Studies, Korea University. [Cultural Studies]
• 소현숙 (So, Hyunsoog). “‘황국신민’으로 부름 받은 ‘집 없는 천사들’: 역사 사료로서의 영화 <집 없는 천사> (The Film ‘Homeless Angels’ as Historical Artifact: Interpellation as Imperial Subjects). Critical Review of History, vol. 82, 2008, pp. 484-894. The Institute for Korean Historical Studies 역사문제연구소. [Cultural Studies]
• 소현숙 (So, Hyunsoog). “1950-60년대 '가정의 재건'과 일부일처법률혼의 확산: 한국가정법률상담소의 활동을 중심으로” (The ‘Regenerating Domesticity’ Discourse and the Propagation of Monogamous Civil Marriage: Activities of the Korea Legal Aid Center for Family Relations in the 1950s and 1960s). Critical Studies on Modern Korean History, vol. 19, no. 1, 2015, pp. 970-135. The Institute for Korean Historical Studies. [Legal History]
• 소현숙 (So, Hyunsoog). “가족 근대화 모델 찾기에서 가족 ‘정상성’에 대한 성찰로: 한국 현대 가족사 연구 동향과 과제” (From models of family modernization to criticism of family “normality”: Research trends and challenges in Korean contemporary family history). Critical Studies on Modern Korean History, vol. 46, no. 2, 2021, pp. 351-388. The Institute for Korean Historical Studies [Social History]
• 소현숙 (So, Hyunsoog). “경계에 선 고아들: 고아문제를 통해 본 일제시기 사회사업” (The orphans on the boundary- A study on public welfare service focused on Korean orphan problems during the Japanese colonial period). Society and History, vol. 73, 2007, pp. 107-141. Korean Society History Association. [Social History]
• 소현숙 (So, Hyunsoog). “전쟁고아들이 겪은 전후: 1950년대 전쟁고아 실태와 사회적 대책” (Postwar History of War Orphans in the 1950s Their Condition and Social Measures). Journal of Korean Modern and Contemporary History, vol. 84, 2018, pp. 321-351. The Association for Korean Modern and Contemporary History. [Modern History]
• 신필식 (Shin, Philsik). “한국 해외입양 아동과 친생모의 이산 과정, 그리고 젠더화된 고통: 다섯 입양인에 관한 수기와 회고록을 중심으로” (Diasporic Process and Gendered Pain of Korean Adoptees and Their Birth Mothers: Focusing on the Memoirs and Autobiographies about Five International Adoptees from South Korea). Issues in Feminism, vol. 18, no. 2, 2018, pp. 101-147. Korean Women’s Studies Institute. [Feminist Studies]
• 염운옥 (Yeom, Woon Ok). “영국의 우생학 운동과 산아제한: 단종법에 관한 논의를 중심으로” (The British Eugenics Movement and Birth Control - The Campaign for Voluntary Sterilization -). The Korean Journal of British Studies, vol. 12, 2004, pp. 235-271. The Korean Society of British History. [British Studies]
• 염운옥 (Yeom, Woon Ok). “영국의 우생학 운동과 섹슈얼리티: 성병의 관리에서 결혼전 건강진단 계획까지” (The British Eugenics Movement and Sexuality : The Control of Venereal Diseases and the Premarital Health Schedule). Women and History, vol. 1, 2004, pp. 221-252. Korean Association of Women’s History. [History of Science]
• 염운옥 (Yeom, Woon Ok). “우생학과 여성: 골턴, 피어슨, 살리비를 중심으로” (Eugenics and Women ―Galton, Pearson and Saleeby). The Korean Journal of British Studies, vol. 13, 2005, pp. 89-118. The Korean Society of British History. [History of Science]
• 이복숙, 전영주 (Lee, Bok-Sook, and Chung, Young-Ju). “미혼모 생애사 연구” (A Study on the Life Histories of Unwed Mothers [unofficial translation]). Journal of Women’s Studies, vol. 16, 2005, pp. 155-186. The Center for Women’s Studies, Silla University. [Women’s Studies]
• 이숙진 (Lee, Sookjin). “한국 개신교의 정상가족 만들기: 타자화와 주체화 전략을 중심으로” (The Making of “Normal Family” in Korean Protestantism: Focused on the Strategy of Otherization and Subjectification). Studies in Religion (The Journal of the Korean Association for the History of Religions), vol. 82, 2022, pp. 87-112. Korean Association for the History of Religions. [History of Religion]
• 정소라 (Jeong, Sora). “가부장 없는 가부장제: 한국 미혼모의 입양과 양육 실천” (Patriarchism without 'Patriarch': Adoption and Child-rearing of Unwed-mother in Korea). Master’s Thesis, 2016, Department of Sociology, Yonsei University. [Sociology]
• 차희정 (Cha, HeeJung). “미혼모 유령과 사라지는 아이들: 수잔 힐의 고딕유령소설 《검은 옷을 입은 여자》” (Unwed Mother Ghost and Disappearing Children: Susan Hill’s Gothic Ghost Novel The Woman in Black). Feminist Studies in English Literature, vol. 24, no. 2, 2016, pp. 221-244. The Korean Society for Feminist Studies in English Literature. [Literary Studies]
• 황은덕 (Hwang, Eundeog). “입양인 디아스포라와 친생모의 서사: 『누군가의 딸』을 중심으로” (A Diasporic Adoptee and a Birth Mother’s Narrative: Focusing on Somebody’s Daughter). The New Korean Journal of English Language & Literature (NKJE), vol. 54, no. 3, 2012, pp. 123-146. The New Korean Association of English Language and Literature. [English Literature]