“Seed from the East” – A Trip to the Homeland (Part 1)

In a week, I will embark on a trip to Korea where I was born. I have never had a desire to travel out the States. I’ve always been concerned about language barriers. Yet here I am, unable to speak the language and I’m going.

I am traveling with a woman, Sue, and her granddaughter, Jacqueline. (See above, photo of Sue and me in October, 2009.) We worked together over ten years ago. Recently, reconnected by way of Facebook, I learned of her plans to go to Korea. I am tagging along with the two ladies. Sue speaks Korean and I will rely heavily on her ability to communicate for me.

The first week we will be on a tour for eight days. We will visit JeJu Island, Pusan, Kjungyu, Gangneung, and Seoul. These places, other than Seoul, I had never heard of before but are places where the locals visit in their own country.

The second week, the three of us will be on our own in Seoul. During this week, Sue will get a chance to visit with some of her family and friends. She has lived in the U.S. for the past twenty years. Her parents are gone, but she has three sisters who remain in Korea. Her other two sisters are in the states. During the day we’ll make day trips in and around Seoul. In the evening, her family and friends will visit us.

I mentioned to Sue I wanted to visit Il San during our visit, not knowing at the time, the adoption agency, Holt International, still has a facility on the site. It is no longer an orphanage. Now it is a residential facility for the disabled. Since purchasing our tickets, I’ve done some research on Holt, called them and written them emails. I have scheduled a visit through Molly Holt to tour Il San Holt, thirty miles north of Seoul.

Sue suggested I look into Korean TV for searching for my birth parents. She thought Molly could help me and I should try and do this before our visit, just in case I could meet my birth parents. I had to file the appropriate paperwork through Holt International in Oregon. I’ve received copies of my files from the Oregon office, but it appears I will not receive my files from Seoul, Korea.

Searching for my birth parents is not my focus on this trip. Going on this trip has been impulsive. I turn fifty in November and have planned for many years to go on a big trip in 2010, just didn’t know exactly when or where.

In an earlier blog entry, “Giving Blood—The Gift of Life,” I wrote about Holt International and searching for my birth parents. This trip is not to learn who my birth parents are or were but about the land where I was born.