Raising a child alone is never easy in any cultures. In certain Asian societies, it’s a taboo equivalent to social leper. The single-mother and her child can be so ostracized that leading a normal life would be difficult. The situation has prompted many single mothers, though reluctantly, to put up their children for adoption in Western societies where they believe their kids would grow up in a more stable and loving environment.

In South Korea, Annie Sirgey writes in the Korea Quarterly, discrimination towards a single-mother and her child can be “cruel and unjust, bordering on inhumane”. When the unwedded Eunjeong Park—who shares her personal experience in Sirgey’s article—noticed some abnormal behaviors by her 3-years-old daughter, she decided to investigate. She was horrified to discover that “the mothers at her daughter’s daycare center were locking her in a room by herself to keep her from interacting with the other children”. She then moved her daughter to another center and had to lie about her marital status to prevent similar treatments.

After striking out many job interviews, it dawned on Park that she had to fabricate her family story to gain employment. She thought that although South Korea has become a more prosperous society and ranked among the top in technological advancement, the prejudice against unwedded mothers and their children has remained unchanged.

When more single mothers are speaking out with supportive organizations like KoRoot (Seoul-based organization that helps connect Korean adoptees with their homeland), Sirgey believe this would gradually help the Korean society to rethink and provide supports instead of out casting these women with shame.

“Raising a child alone in Seoul”
Annie Sirgey | Korean Quarterly | Winter 2007/2008 Issue
Annie Sergey is an adopted Korean living and working in Seoul, South Korea. She’s a member of the group Adoptee Solidarity Korea (ASK). Korean Quarterly is an English-language journal based in St. Paul, Minnesota.