Returning to Korea

[Anchor Lead]

Decades ago, many children born to Korean mothers and foreign fathers were adopted by families overseas. Now, a growing number of half-Korean adoptees are returning to Korea to find their birth mothers. Here are some of their stories.

[Pkg]

This is Lisa Jackson, now a 55-year-old woman who was adopted by an American family at age 8. Her Korean name is Han Jeong-ja. The scenery of her homeland she left 48 years ago looks unfamiliar yet strangely comforting. That may be because she's been watching Korean dramas like "Descendants of the Sun" and dreaming of coming to Korea.

[Soundbite] Lisa Jackson(Han Jeong-ja/Adopted by American Family at age 8)

Steve Walker, whose Korean name is Ahn Jun-seok, is a grandfather with two grandchildren. He is overwhelmed with emotions after finding out that the park dedicated to half-Korean adoptees being built inside a former American army base is located near a house where he was born. At one time he resented his birth mother for abandoning him, but the hard feelings are all in the past now.

[Soundbite] Steve Walker(Ahn Jun-seok/Adopted by American Family at age 2)

There would be no grudges left if only they could meet their mothers.

[Soundbite] Lisa Jackson(Han Jeong-ja/Adopted by American Family at age 8)

Twenty-one adoptees from four countries took part in this program sponsored by an American organization. Their 10-day visit may be too short to find their birth mothers, but it is long enough to fill their hearts with love for their motherland.