Why in the world would I be asking this questions? Well, I will be standing in front of the current President of S. Korea soon and for three minutes will get to say whatever I want about being adopted and the state of adoption. IN KOREAN!
I am not nervous about what I want to say, I am excited and really honored. The important stuff is not what is making me sweat. Truth be told, my Korean is not formally trained. I learned via osmosis and not from a book. So, I have to memorize the speech. You can’t sound like an idiot in front of the leader of another country. And I am not cute enough to just wing it. Second, I need to send them a photo for security purposes. After perusing my nearly 10,000 photos, I found ONE! with my husband. Not good enough. So, I had to jump in the shower and get my son to take a pic with my phone to forward. Pathetic! I see now why professionals get headshots done. I literally look like a tired Ajuma (aunt, but a word used for every mother in Korea) minus the bad dye job and perm!
Seriously though, I would love to hear what you would say. Having an opportunity in front of any “sending country” leader, is a chance of a lifetime. How would you use this time?
I have been working on the statement. I will post as soon as it is ready for public consumption.
PS. I got an email from a friend – “I work with an adoptee from Korea who is considering giving up on Korean language lessons. I shared your news about meeting the president and he changed his mind! Awesome!”
adoptionechoes 
I think you ARE absolutely cute enough to wing it – EVEN if you did have the ajumma -perm (and a big visor!)
i was so going to buy one! hilarious! i would love to know what YOU would say. well worth a listen my friend!
interesting…
what would i say?
i would ask him if he knew how many koreans have grown up overseas due to being adopted and emphasize the need, as proud koreans, to take care of their own. i am korean, adopted when i was five, and i am proud to be korean. however, i find it disturbing and quite sad to see how many children have been abandoned. it amazes me to see how extreme the opposite ends of the spectrum are when it comes to family. generally, the korean family unit is a very tight one…but the ease in which parents have abandoned their children and shirked all responsibility is astonishing.
i don’t recommend you say this to the leader of korea…not with your three minutes, lol. but i am curious to see the reactions to the issues above.
-A.Roth
stay tuned, i think you wil like what i have prepared. just hope i get to say it all. i just found it might be Q&A. so screwed if that is the case, he will have to hear a six year old rendition of his language.
don’t be embarrassed or shy! be proud of who you are.
you’re speaking for all of us. 🙂