By Honorary Reporter Laarni Calpo from Philippines

Photos= Christine Pennell

Christine Pennell was born in Korea and adopted by an American family in 1972. She said she hopes to find her family one day, even if it means a long and winding process.

Now in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do Province, to complete the process of obtaining Korean citizenship, she said she plans to distribute flyers and pay for people to take DNA tests to aid her on her quest.

The following are excerpts from my interview with Pennell.

How were you adopted?
My file said I was found at Banyawol Station in Daegu on Nov. 13, 1971. A day later, I was brought to a baby home and put into foster care the next day. My birth year was estimated as 1969 and my age 2 1/2 or under. I couldn't speak then so I couldn't say my name or any details about me. I stayed in foster care until I was flown to the U.S. on Oct. 4, 1972, to be adopted.

How was life in the U.S. with your adoptive family?
I was adopted into a strict but loving Christian household. My father was a teacher and my mother was a nurse. I have two older sisters, two older brothers and one brother just three months younger than me. My family never once made me feel like I was adopted. I was very fortunate to be adopted into this family.

Why made you look for your biological family?
I'm 51 and have always wanted to know who my parents are and meet them. When I was upset with my family as a child, I'd always say I'd go to Korea to look for my real family. I've always been proud of my Korean heritage. In January 2018, I watched the movie "The Divine Fury (Saja)" on Netflix. I cried my eyes out but it got me thinking that something online could help me find my biological family.

When did you start your search?
When I was pregnant with my second child in 1995, I wrote to social welfare services in Korea but was told they could do nothing. This was because that since I was abandoned, no information to locate my family existed. The night I watched "The Divine Fury," I discovered a Facebook group for Korean adoptees that provided free DNA testing to adoptees from the U.S. So I immediately ordered a DNA test kit.

SWS Welcome Home is a program that takes Korean adoptees on a week-long trip to Korea. I went on the program and arrived in Korea in August 2018, but I stayed two more weeks to visit the town where I was born to look for my family. I provided my DNA to Korean police, did a birth search with the Seoul-based organization Global Overseas Adoptee Link, distributed flyers, and visited my adoption agency and Daegu. But my search failed and I cried as I left Korea, thinking I let my parents down because I couldn't find them.

You found one biological sister. How?
In January last year, I found out that I had a sister through DNA testing. We met in February that year. She was abandoned as an infant at Daegu Station on Dec. 3, 1971, three weeks after I was. Her estimated birthdate was October 1971. She was handed to a lady at the station by our mother, who said she was going to use the bathroom but never returned. My sister was adopted by a family in Belgium. Prior to the pandemic, we met every month. We're very alike in so many ways.

What if you cannot find your biological family or they don't want to see you?
If I find my biological family, I'll cry for joy. But if I don't, I won't give up. I want to return to Daegu to keep looking. I'll keep trying to get people to take DNA tests. If they're not ready to meet me, I'll wait and hope that they will someday before it's too late. In the meantime, I hope to keep learning Korean and spending time in Daegu.

If your biological family reads this article, what is your message to them?
I understand that life was extremely hard back then for most Koreans. I know it must've been a hard decision to give up your child. I don't blame you, I don't hate you. I'm a very understanding and empathetic person. So in the same way you think kindly and positively about others, I think kindly and positively about you. Please find me.

chaey0726@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.