This past summer was the
IKAA Gathering - the largest gathering of Korean adoptees in Korea that takes place every 3 years. The last time I participated, I was staying in Korea temporarily for a short term Korean language course. However, this time, I participated as a resident of Korea, having now lived in Korea for almost 2.5 years. Participating as an adoptee living in Korea, as opposed to just visiting, had a different feel to it. I was able to meet a bunch of new people, catch up with my adoptee friends that don't live in Korea, and also enjoy a good time with my circle of friends I've made in Korea.
I paid for the full registration as I wanted to attend as much as I could. A special weekend pass is offered for those that are adoptee residents in Korea however the weekend is only a short snippet of the full program. The first big event is the opening ceremony which features many distinguished guests. Below are some photos:
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| Chung Chin-Youb: Minister of Health and Welfare |
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| IKAA President (Liselotte Birkmose) and President Emeritus (Tim Holm) |
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| Roberto Powers: Consul General of the Embassy of the USA in Korea |
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| Republic of Korea President Park Geun-Hye Video Address |
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| Song Yong-Duk: President of Lotte Hotels |
In addition to participating, I was also part of a workshop that G.O.A.'L hosted about its services and living in Korea. I talked about living and settling in Korea for adoptees. My coworkers talked about the organization itself as well as birth family search. Our workshop was very well attended and we also had many people ask questions after the session concluded.
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| G.O.A.'L Workshop Attendees |
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| G.O.A.'L Workshop Attendees |
I was also able to attend some of the film sessions however I didn't take any pictures there. I saw the film
Twinsters and
Approved for Adoption. The one I didn't get to see during IKAA was
akaDan but I ended up seeing that film a little after IKAA. I've now seen a variety of adoption related films and I must say that each is different in their style and how they address adoption. While most of the films I have seen deal with Korean adoptees, I have seen the film
Somewhere Between which documents Chinese adoptees.
Since I also had to work during the week of IKAA I didn't get to attend much else of the actual conference. There are many other events and workshops that take place during the Gathering including a scavenger hunt, age breakout sessions, and other social events. If you are a Korean adoptee that has yet to attend the Gathering in Korea, I highly recommend you go to at least one.
The IKAA Gala Dinner is the big closing event (in addition to the after party) where there are performances and a great meal to go along with it! Check out the pictures below:
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| 손승연 Performance (Pretty sure it was her, will try to confirm) |
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| Traditional Korean drumming |
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| Traditional Korean fan dance (부채춤) |
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| NCT 127 Performance |
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| NCT 127 Performance |
I look forward to the next IKAA Gathering in Korea during 2019!
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