My Korean Life #57: IKAA Gathering 2016

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:

Chung Chin-Youb: Minister of Health and Welfare

IKAA President (Liselotte Birkmose) and President Emeritus (Tim Holm)

Roberto Powers: Consul General of the Embassy of the USA in Korea

Republic of Korea President Park Geun-Hye Video Address

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.

G.O.A.'L Workshop Attendees

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:

손승연 Performance (Pretty sure it was her, will try to confirm)

Traditional Korean drumming

Traditional Korean fan dance (부채춤)

NCT 127 Performance

NCT 127 Performance

I look forward to the next IKAA Gathering in Korea during 2019!
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My Korean Summer 2013: Day 29 - IKAA Closing Ceremony and Brunch

[IKAA Closing Ceremony & Brunch]
You could say this was the final final event of the IKAA (save for the after party/concert) Gathering 2013. At the Lotte Hotel a buffet-style brunch was served (Korean food) along with some closing remarks from the IKAA leadership. As I am one of the representatives for an IKAA member organization, I said a few words thanking all those parties involved with the planning and execution. I hope to see another gathering in the year 2016 in Korea. I think it still boggles people's mind when they see a bunch of Korean people speaking a ton of different languages...sometimes even I am surprised :)

The winner of the scavenger hunt that took place during the week was also announced. It was done amazing race style where the team's time and tasks counted towards the criteria for winning. The winning team completed the most tasks within the time given.

I later had some meetings with the IKAA leadership up on a high floor of the Lotte Hotel. To me, we looked like a "real" board of directors all sitting around a huge table with our iPads/Laptops and such. We looked professional/official to say the least ^^
I believe it is great that so many organizations across the globe can come together and collaborate as we did for this Gathering. Some of our organizations are having some very big anniversaries this coming year as well!

Below are some photos of the view from the conference room (built-in miniature mode was used for the color photos):

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My Korean Summer 2013: Day 28 - IKAA Gala Dinner

[IKAA Gala Dinner]
While I did not get to attend much of the actual IKAA Gathering due to language school, I did go to the closing ceremony/gala dinner hosted at the Grand Hyatt and sponsored by Samsung. Yes, the same Samsung that made your Galaxy S4 and flat-screen TV. IKAA and Samsung go way back (10+ years) and they put on a great gala this year.

They even had an ice sculpture made!!!