Newsletter No. 4 
December 4, 2024
[New Book Release] This Is a Record of the Lost Children, New Book by Director Hee-Jung Kwon of UMI4AA This book traces and documents the lives of children who were killed, abandoned, neglected, or adopted shortly after birth. It compiles the stories of children who faced such fates due to being born outside of marriage, into poverty, or simply because they were girls. Drawing on historical newspapers, domestic and international archival records, and firsthand interviews, the author examines the underlying causes and social contexts of infanticide, abandonment, neglect, and adoption. (from “Memories of Abuse – This Is a Record of the Lost Children,” Yonhap News) 
[UMI4AA Advocacy] Revisiting the “Role of Fathers” through the Jung Parenthood Controversy Another glaring issue in the Jung controversy is the absence of meaningful discussion about the role of fathers—both historically and moving forward. Some exemplary fathers embrace their responsibilities, such as single fathers raising children born from non-marital relationships, fathers raising stepchildren, or those who adopt. But far too many men shirk these responsibilities. Behind the stories of mothers abandoning children at baby boxes or relinquishing them for adoption are absent fathers who failed to step up. by Hee Jung Kwon Director, Unwed Mothers Initiative for Archiving and Advocacy (UMI4AA)
[UMI4AA Academic Activities] 1st Seminar Series - Review of the 2nd UMI4AA Seminar Meeting On November 23, the Unwed Mothers Initiative for Archiving and Advocacy (UMI4AA) held its second seminar of the term. We examined Is There a Class in Life?: Politics of Gene and British Eugenics by Woon Ok Yeom. ■ Book Review At the end of the 19th century, in the waning days of the Victorian era, a time of biological evolution and civilizational progress, eugenics emerged from an uncritical reverence for science and an insatiable desire for a superior race. Eugenics intersected with imperialism, leaving a tragic legacy for humanity. The author contends that eugenics did not vanish with the decline of empire or the trials of Nazi war criminals, but rather evolved in its birthplace, England. Following the author’s narrative, one observes significant transformations characteristic of the 1920s and 1930s. At the turn of the 20th century, Britain witnessed rising incomes from mass production, enabling even the poor to afford tea, while household electricity liberated people from the need to sleep by open fires. The Ideal Home Exhibition began in 1908, and by the 1930s, it prominently featured household appliances. During this period, suffragettes and their daughters shifted towards maternalist feminism, proclaiming that “married women must be the primary agents of the women’s rights movement.” This transition replaced the earlier “maternity fund” with “family allowances” and brought scrutiny to premarital sexuality. Simultaneously, the Eugenics Society advocated both for the elimination of individuals with disabilities and for “eugenics to regulate marriage and reproduction.” In the 1930s, discussions around marriage and family flourished. The Eugenics Society participated in the Ideal Home Exhibition, promoting the slogan “Wed Wisely & Help to Build a Healthy Nation” The establishment of the Marriage Guidance Council and the Marriage Guidance Sub-committee further reflected these efforts. Eugenics increasingly transformed into “hygiene,” sexuality into “health,” and motherhood into “family,” contributing to a modern family structure in which, as Foucault suggests, sexuality and love were subsumed within marriage and family. Consequently, individuals with disabilities, single parents raising children alone, and unwed mothers with children born outside marriage were progressively excluded from the definition of “family.” Though the book was challenging to read, it sparked many insightful discussions among seminar participants. ■ Participants’ Reflections 
[UMI4AA Archiving Activities]
Eugenics, which expressed concerns about the increasing birth rate among the lower classes, merged with the birth control movement in the 20th century, integrating itself into the realm of managing everyday sexuality (see Is There a Class in Life?: Politics of Gene and British Eugenics (unofficial translation) by Woon-Ok Yeom). Decades later, this enduring eugenic ideology was invoked in South Korea to justify the adoption of children born to unwed mothers and to promote the notion of improving the bloodlines of middle-class families. Here is a related article. - Headline: "Woman of the Year: Hyunsook Shim, President of CAPOK"
- Subheading: A Decade of Helping 2,000 Adoptions, Advocating for "Excellence Beyond Bloodlines"
- Source: Chosun Ilbo
- Date of Publication: January 23, 1975
Full Article Here ▼
Connected to the discussion above is a 1970s article reporting on a British Conservative MP's call for birth control measures targeting unwed mothers and women from lower classes. The article is provided below. - Headline: “Britain: Rise in Disorderly Unions (Promiscuous Intercourse) Among Lower Classes”
- Source: Chosun Ilbo
- Date of Publication: October 23, 1974
Full Article Here ▼
[The 1st UMI4AA Annual Call for Papers]
The term “unwed mother” intersects with a range of complex themes, including minority identity, otherness, motherhood, family normativity, adoption systems and practices, mixed-race and non-mixed-race identities, orphans, child abandonment, the rights of children born outside marriage, social stigma, poverty, diaspora, Christianity, and even eugenics. However, scholarship on unwed motherhood has traditionally framed single mothers primarily as welfare recipients, inadvertently re-marginalizing them and reinforcing the stigma surrounding unwed motherhood.
In response, Unwed Mothers Initiative for Archiving and Advocacy (UMI4AA) is pleased to announce the 1st Annual Call for Papers. This initiative seeks to promote scholarship that examines unwed motherhood as a historical concept and social phenomenon, exploring how “unwed motherhood” has been constructed, represented, transformed, and politicized over time. We warmly invite scholars from diverse academic disciplines to share their perspectives and insights on this critical topic. 
Unwed Mothers Initiative for Archiving and Advocacy (UMI4AA) (+82)-31-772-8639 umi4aa@gmail.com
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