RISING AWARENESS AND EMPOWERMENT

The first organization to be created for and by adult KADs, was the Swedish Adopterade Koreaners Forening (AKF) in 1986.

Similar groups have now emerged in most Western European countries, various US states and cities, as well as in Canada, Australia and Korea

Earlier most organized events and activities for KADs had been arranged and administered by adoptive parents and Korean immigrants, with a main focus on the needs of adoptive families and their children.

With the creation of adoptee associations, KADs were gathering with others who shared a common experience on their own terms and by their own initiative. KADs were making a statement both towards themselves and the public, that they were no longer children, but independent adults with their own unique concerns and issues.

Various KAD groups and associations have tried to work both locally and internationally to raise awareness about KADs' unique position both in relations to Korea and their adoptive countries, e.g. through conferences and social gatherings, as well as letting other KADs know about their existence through various communcatioin channels like the Internet.

Works of KADs have become famous both in art, literature and film-making, while other KADs have received celebrity status for other reasons, like Soon-Yi Previn who is married to Woody Allen, actress Nicole Bilderback, and Washington State Senator Paull Shin.