U.S. Should Stop Being “Babied” By South Korea
By Owen Rathbone (04/19/03)
A common criticism of U.S. policy in South Korea is that it is paternalistic and condescending. Koreans often complain that Washington does not treat them as “equals” or seriously consider their viewpoints. With such sentiments in mind, President Roh Moo-hyun promised early in his term to put South Korea and the U.S. “on an equal footing.” Arguing that the Land of the Morning Calm is now a fully grown and independent country, Roh has demanded treatment more befitting to a mature nation.
One point lost on Roh et al is that “equality” is a two-way street. If Roh’s countrymen continue to look toward the U.S. as a mother or father figure, all the crying in the world will not induce the White House to look upon Koreans as true equals. Yes, if American administrations are more “understanding” of South Korea it will help matters, but what is also needed is a fundamental change in the way Koreans perceive the United States.
An interesting aspect of U.S.-South Korean relations in this respect is Koreans’ use of America as both a dumping and birthing ground for its children.
It is well-known that South Korea is the largest exporter of children in the world. Since the end of the Korean War, some 200,000 South Korean children have been sent overseas. The great majority of these adoptees—about 150,000—now call the U.S. home. One reason for these large numbers of children is that Koreans, influenced by the dictates of Confucianism, are averse to raising children who do not share the same blood. The fact South Korea wishes to be perceived as a developed and sovereign nation has done little if nothing to stem the outflow of adoptees.
Korean adoptees generally grow up to be productive citizens and good Americans. They also provide joy to American couples who cannot have children of their own. We cannot deny these facts. Yet one has to question why South Korea is among the world’s top three suppliers of children when it is no longer a poverty-wracked, war-torn country. The only conclusion that can be reached is that U.S. adoptions offer a means for thousands of Korean couples annually to absolve themselves of parental responsibility and stick Uncle Sam with the bill. In this way, South Korea “babies” the U.S. with its unwanted children.
Korean couples of higher socio-economic status “baby” the United States in another way—by using the country as a giant birthing ground for so-called “anchor babies.” For those not in the know, the U.S. is one of few nations in the world that grants automatic citizenship to anyone born on its soil. For Koreans, there are obvious advantages to such citizenship—sons can be exempted from mandatory military service, children can access the vastly superior U.S. education system, and at age 21 “anchor babies” can sponsor parents to become American citizens. The “obstetric tourist” business is a profitable one, so much so that travel agencies in South Korea openly cater to women who wish to travel to the U.S. for the sole purpose of exploiting America’s citizenship loopholes.
At least 5,000 South Korean “anchor babies”—about 1 percent of annual South Korean births—are born in the U.S. each year. All that a Korean woman needs is a tourist visa and enough funds to pay for the cost of childbirth. Once the baby is born, it has all the rights of a regular American citizen. On the other side of the coin, though, any child of non-Korean origin born in South Korea is denied Korean citizenship. Not that an American would normally covet South Korean citizenship anyway, but the double standard is obvious.
The adoptee and “anchor baby” syndromes reveal how South Korea is not yet a mature country. A nation that is “equal” to America would not cast out its own kind, nor would its citizens desire a U.S. passport to rescue their children from a substandard educational system or compulsory military service. South Korea shows no signs of changing on these issues, so it is up to the United States to stop being “babied” by its temper tantrum prone ally. Americans should only adopt children within their own borders and pull up the drawbridge by denying citizenship to children born stateside to obstetric tourists. Such baby steps, if taken, would go a long way to putting South Korea on a more “equal footing” with the United States.
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