Since Christianity is relatively new to Korea (roughly 30% of Koreans are Christian), Christmas is not as popular as it is in other parts of the world. It definitely isn't celebrated with as much craziness as here in the states. Christmas decorations and music don't start up until a week prior to Christmas.
Those that celebrate Christmas primarily do so as a religious holiday. Services are held on Christmas eve and Christmas day. Gifts are exchanged typically on Christmas eve but not the piles of presents we do here. One present or money gift is customary.
Santa is popular, but he is called Grandpa Santa. He wears either a red or blue suit and can be found giving out gifts at stores. Koreans often celebrate Christmas day with a family meal at home, but just as often eat out. A lot of Koreans eat out on Christmas with friends and then eat a big family meal at home on new years - kind of the opposite as here.
South Korea is the only East Asian country where Christmas is recognized as a national holiday. Christmas in North Korea, by contrast, is not allowed. Since you can go to jail for practicing Christianity or carrying a bible, any celebrating of Christmas must be done in secrecy.
Want to learn more about Christmas in Korea? Go here:
http://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/south_korea.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_worldwide
Also, here is a cute video I found teaching about Korean holidays, including Christmas:
Merry Christmas everyone!
I was excited the other day to buy something for Sam. I think this is the first thing I've gone out and bought for him. Most everything we have for him so far has been given by family and friends. This one is from me! It is going to be a little big for him until next fall when football season starts!
I think based on his stats so far, he will be a strong stocky kid. So I'm thinking running back. Or he could be a receiver like who he is named after.... Sammie Stroughter of the Beavers!
I think based on his stats so far, he will be a strong stocky kid. So I'm thinking running back. Or he could be a receiver like who he is named after.... Sammie Stroughter of the Beavers!
We lost a member of our family last Monday. Ryo was 9 years old - which in rabbit years is about 90. He lived a long and spoiled life for a rabbit. Since Kristi and I haven't been able to have children of our own, the bunnies had basically become our kids. Ryo will be missed greatly and I'm sorry Samuel will not get to meet him. He is survived by his little brother Mr. Blanco Boo, who doesn't seem to be sad at all of his brother's passing. He rules the roost now! At least until Sam comes!
Ryo Oki
February 28, 2002 - December 12, 2011
We had a bit of excitement today. We received a new picture of Sam! The picture shows him with his foster mom and dad with some of the gifts that we sent him. He is wearing the sweater that our friend Althea knitted for him and is holding the picture album that we made for them (see Care Package #1 for a list of what we sent). I cropped out the foster family since we are supposed to keep their identities confidential. I think we may have fun trying to tame his hair. It seems to be sticking up funny in every picture we have of him!
Along with the picture, we received another physical exam report. It says he is walking on his own, waves bye bye, and can say umma and appa (Korean for mom and dad). Everything in the report shows he's a pretty healthy 13 month old.
We also received more good news in the mail today. We now have our I-600 approval. It means that US Immigration now recognizes Sam as our soon to be adopted son and he can get a Visa to enter the country. One more thing to check off the list!
Now that everyone has recovered from their Thanksgiving turkey comas (and I've recovered from being sick), lets talk about the Korean version of Thanksgiving. Its called Chuseok.
Chuseok is a three day celebration of the harvest celebrated in Korea around the autumn equinox (more specifically the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar). This year Chuseok was on September 12th. Next year (2012) it will be September 30th.
Like the US Thanksgiving, Chuseok is a family celebration centered around the idea of thankfulness and includes a big family meal. Meals generally consist of a lot of grains and fruits since these are part of the harvest. One of the common foods served on Chuseok is Songpyeon, which is a rice cake that contains either red beans, chestnuts, jujubes, powdered sesame, or just brown sugar.
Another important part of Chuseok is to honor your ancestors. Gravesites are visited and tended, and memorial services are often performed. Part of thanksgiving to a Korean is being thankful to those that came before him to make the harvest and life they have possible.
For more information on Chuseok, try these links:
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=811650
http://www.allkpop.com/2011/09/a-detailed-explanation-of-chuseok
Chuseok is a three day celebration of the harvest celebrated in Korea around the autumn equinox (more specifically the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar). This year Chuseok was on September 12th. Next year (2012) it will be September 30th.
Like the US Thanksgiving, Chuseok is a family celebration centered around the idea of thankfulness and includes a big family meal. Meals generally consist of a lot of grains and fruits since these are part of the harvest. One of the common foods served on Chuseok is Songpyeon, which is a rice cake that contains either red beans, chestnuts, jujubes, powdered sesame, or just brown sugar.
 |
| Songpyeon made by Soo |
Another important part of Chuseok is to honor your ancestors. Gravesites are visited and tended, and memorial services are often performed. Part of thanksgiving to a Korean is being thankful to those that came before him to make the harvest and life they have possible.
For more information on Chuseok, try these links:
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=811650
http://www.allkpop.com/2011/09/a-detailed-explanation-of-chuseok
I got this from my sister Julie today. Her 2nd grade class has been following this blog and decided to write letters and draw pictures for Sam. Julie put them together in this book:
Here's what a few of the kids wrote:
Dear Sam:
I hope you have fun with your new family. I hope you get youst to Amercka. And I hope you have fun with Rio and Blanco.
Love Trystin
Dear Sam
I hope you had a good dol. Sam what is your favrite color. I hope you have a good chrismas and plese be good for Santa. I was wondring what you are going to get for chrismas. I think you will get a esl (easel) and it comes with mrakrs so you can draw and color. I hope you get what you want for Chrismas.
Warmly, Megan
Dear Samual
I hope you have a good dol. I wonder what you will pick for your dol. My favoret thing to do in America is righ about you. Wat's your favoret thing to do in Korea.
Warmly,
Mandy
Thank you kids. We'll make sure Sam gets your letters.
Here's what a few of the kids wrote:
Dear Sam:
I hope you have fun with your new family. I hope you get youst to Amercka. And I hope you have fun with Rio and Blanco.
Love Trystin
Dear Sam
I hope you had a good dol. Sam what is your favrite color. I hope you have a good chrismas and plese be good for Santa. I was wondring what you are going to get for chrismas. I think you will get a esl (easel) and it comes with mrakrs so you can draw and color. I hope you get what you want for Chrismas.
Warmly, Megan
Dear Samual
I hope you have a good dol. I wonder what you will pick for your dol. My favoret thing to do in America is righ about you. Wat's your favoret thing to do in Korea.
Warmly,
Mandy
Thank you kids. We'll make sure Sam gets your letters.
What's going on? When do you get to pick up your son? These are the questions we get a lot these days. I'll try and explain here briefly where we are in the process and how long we have to wait.
At the moment we are waiting on two things: I-600 approval from US Immigration and an emigration permit from the Korean government. The I-600 is a "petition to classify an orphan as an immediate relative" so that our son can get a visa to enter the US. We expect the I-600 approval will come in a matter of weeks.
After this, we are just waiting on the emigration permit (EP). This permit is issued by Korea so that Sam has permission to leave the country and live in the US. Unfortunately the EP is going to take a while and it's really hard to guess when it will be issued. There are still a lot of adopting families in line ahead of us and it just depends on how quickly they are processed.
Once the EP is issued, the process starts picking up speed again. There is a process Sam has to go through (including blood tests and medical checkup) to get his Visa and passport. Once he is approved for a Visa we get the call that he is ready to travel. Then we freak out and find the quickest way to Korea!
So when will that be? When do we finally get to hold Sam in our arms? The best guess we have right now is April. But like I said before, it's hard to guess. We'll know more as time progresses. And when we know more, we'll post it here. So stay tuned!
In the meantime there are things you can do while we wait:
1. Learn about Sam's culture - the language, history, food, the country, there is so much to explore: http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/index.kto
2. Become an advocate for adoption. There are so many orphaned kids out there. Even in Korea which is a pretty developed nation, there are thousands of kids in orphanages that will never have a mom or dad. Make a contribution to Holt International http://www.holtinternational.org/ or another adoption agency or charity. November is National Adoption Awareness month. There are many ways to spread awareness: http://national-adoption-month.adoption.com/
3. Write Sam a letter. You can write to him and let him know you've been thinking of him and give it to him when he's older. We've been keeping a journal.
4. Most importantly pray for Sam. Pray for his safety, his health. Pray that his foster parents will give him the love and care he needs. Pray that the adoption process will go smoothly and quickly so that we can all spoil him together soon!
Once the EP is issued, the process starts picking up speed again. There is a process Sam has to go through (including blood tests and medical checkup) to get his Visa and passport. Once he is approved for a Visa we get the call that he is ready to travel. Then we freak out and find the quickest way to Korea!
So when will that be? When do we finally get to hold Sam in our arms? The best guess we have right now is April. But like I said before, it's hard to guess. We'll know more as time progresses. And when we know more, we'll post it here. So stay tuned!
In the meantime there are things you can do while we wait:
1. Learn about Sam's culture - the language, history, food, the country, there is so much to explore: http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/index.kto
2. Become an advocate for adoption. There are so many orphaned kids out there. Even in Korea which is a pretty developed nation, there are thousands of kids in orphanages that will never have a mom or dad. Make a contribution to Holt International http://www.holtinternational.org/ or another adoption agency or charity. November is National Adoption Awareness month. There are many ways to spread awareness: http://national-adoption-month.adoption.com/
3. Write Sam a letter. You can write to him and let him know you've been thinking of him and give it to him when he's older. We've been keeping a journal.
4. Most importantly pray for Sam. Pray for his safety, his health. Pray that his foster parents will give him the love and care he needs. Pray that the adoption process will go smoothly and quickly so that we can all spoil him together soon!
We're sending some things to Korea! We learned that Holt allows adopting families to send gifts to the foster family via Holt, Korea, so we prepared a package. We included some clothes that he may have grown out of by the time we get him and some other gifts.
Here's a list of what is going:
1. A photo album with pictures of us, the house, and family and friends.
2. A bottle of kids shampoo and diaper rash ointment (we're told its really expensive in Korea).
3. A stuffed toy rabbit. Thank you Julie.
4. A CD of lullabies that I played on the piano. Cover is personalized for Sam.
5. A sweatshirt. Thank you Janelle.
6. Monkey overalls and shirt. Thank you Jerie.
7. A fantastic knitted sweater and hat that Alena's mom made us. Thank you Althea!
8. A letter translated to Korean of thanks to the foster family. Thanks for translating Junggi.
We've noticed that some foster families will send back pictures with the gifts so hopefully we'll get something back too. I'll post if we get anything back. Thanks to everyone that contributed!
Here's a list of what is going:
1. A photo album with pictures of us, the house, and family and friends.
2. A bottle of kids shampoo and diaper rash ointment (we're told its really expensive in Korea).
3. A stuffed toy rabbit. Thank you Julie.
4. A CD of lullabies that I played on the piano. Cover is personalized for Sam.
5. A sweatshirt. Thank you Janelle.
6. Monkey overalls and shirt. Thank you Jerie.
7. A fantastic knitted sweater and hat that Alena's mom made us. Thank you Althea!
8. A letter translated to Korean of thanks to the foster family. Thanks for translating Junggi.
We've noticed that some foster families will send back pictures with the gifts so hopefully we'll get something back too. I'll post if we get anything back. Thanks to everyone that contributed!
My sister Julie became a part of our family on this day 26 years ago. She was adopted from Korea through Holt International. So Sam will have an Aunt with a lot in common. She was escorted to the Portland airport where my family came to pick her up. The moment is documented on this video that my dad took with one of those awesome 80s VHS camcorders! Quality's not too bad after all these years!
Now Julie is happily married and living in Redmond, OR. She teaches the 2nd grade where I understand her students are learning about Korea and watching this blog. Hi kids!
She is planning on accompanying us to Korea when we finally get the call to go to Korea. This will be an incredible opportunity for her as she has never been back to Korea since she was adopted.
Have a happy day Julie!
Now Julie is happily married and living in Redmond, OR. She teaches the 2nd grade where I understand her students are learning about Korea and watching this blog. Hi kids!
She is planning on accompanying us to Korea when we finally get the call to go to Korea. This will be an incredible opportunity for her as she has never been back to Korea since she was adopted.
Have a happy day Julie!
We get monthly updates from the doctor on Sam's development. We just got one today. At 1 year old he is now 21 lbs and 30 inches long. It always lists his appearance as "cute and fine", which I guess is better than ugly and coarse! The big news though is that he can now stand on his own and walk a few steps! It also says that he can wave bye bye and can play ball with the examiner. Its not clear whether "playing ball" is basketball, baseball, or football. I'm guessing baseball since other balls would be a little big for him still. We better get him a baseball glove.
We're getting ready to send a package to Korea. More to come on that later...
We're getting ready to send a package to Korea. More to come on that later...
I don't. Check this video out. I ran across it today and was amazed at how beautiful Korea is.
http://vimeo.com/18114813
Corey
http://vimeo.com/18114813
Corey
Before I begin, let me just say that when I share things about Korean culture, I am hardly an expert. I am learning just like most of you. So I apologize ahead of time if I make mistakes (Dr. Hong feel free to correct me)! But I think this is one of the fun parts about international adoption. We not only get to adopt a cute little boy, but a culture and a new language that is very different from our own.
So, Sam's 1st birthday is this Friday. In Korea the 1st birthday is a big deal. Koreans throw a big party. I'm told some parties can have hundreds of guests! The reason the first birthday (or "dol" as Koreans call it) is so important is because infant mortality was a real problem until recent times. So getting to your 1st birthday was reason to celebrate.
I'm learning that Koreans really like food and this celebration involves a lot of it. Towers of oranges, apples, dduk (korean rice cake), and other food is prepared to symbolize prosperity for the young child.
So, Sam's 1st birthday is this Friday. In Korea the 1st birthday is a big deal. Koreans throw a big party. I'm told some parties can have hundreds of guests! The reason the first birthday (or "dol" as Koreans call it) is so important is because infant mortality was a real problem until recent times. So getting to your 1st birthday was reason to celebrate.
I'm learning that Koreans really like food and this celebration involves a lot of it. Towers of oranges, apples, dduk (korean rice cake), and other food is prepared to symbolize prosperity for the young child.
During the celebration the child wears a ceremonial garment called a "Hanbok". Meet Abe. He is one of our friend's nephews who just had his 1st birthday recently. He can sport the Hanbok like nobody's business!
The highlight of the dol is a ritual in which the child is placed in front of a number of objects. They are encouraged by the parents to choose one object which will determine the child's future. Traditionally, objects include a long spool of string (long life), pencil (education), money (wealth), or sword (soldier). Families typically will come up with their own ideas that are meaningful to them like a cross for ministry, or a toothbrush for becoming a dentist, or a football to become a star quarterback! I think I would include a toy horn for music!
Abe chose a pencil if you are wondering. Then I guess he got hungry for an apple. Maybe that means he'll be smart enough to invent the next apple computer?
I wonder how Sam's foster family will be celebrating? Will he have his own dol? Will he pick out a pencil or maybe a baseball? We're told that Holt encourages their foster families to take lots of pictures while they grow up, so hopefully some day we'll have images of Sam in his hanbok. Or maybe we'll just throw our own dol when he comes home. This is one of the hardest things about the adoption process - the waiting, the wondering...
If you are interested in learning more about the dol celebration here are some websites you can check out:
Welcome to our adoption blog! We noticed that quite a few adopting families do this and we thought it would be a good idea. We'll update this blog with pictures and news as we get it while we continue the process of adopting our son Samuel. I'll also try to post information about Korea and things we've learned along the way. Feel free to leave comments!
You can subscribe to the blog by RSS (icon at top right) or by becoming a "follower" (bottom right). If you subscribe to this blog you can have an email sent to you each time we update the blog.
Lets get this thing started!
Corey
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