Birth Mothers and Transnational Adoption Practice in South Korea

Hosu Kim is Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, with an affiliation in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York, USA.

“Hosu Kim’s Birth Mothers and Transnational Adoption Practice in South Korea: Virtual Mothering, is an approachable book that manages to account for a significant historical breadth while also being succinct and clear. Any moments of repetition or circular writing are in fact helpful to readers as they navigate across time periods, genres, and media. Kim’s book is a memorable and necessary intervention in critical adoption studies.” (Jenny Heijun Wills, Adoption & Culture, Vol. 7 (2), 2019)

• PART I: UNBECOMING MOTHERS: HISTORY OF GENDERED VIOLENCE.- 1. Secure the Nation; Secure the Family.- 2. Maternity Homes and the Birthplace of the Virtual Mother.- PART II: RECONNECTION: VIRTUAL MOTHERING.- 3. Television Mothers: Birth Mothers Lost and Found in the Search-and-Reunion Narrative.- 4. Performing Virtual Mothers and Forging Virtual Kinship .- 5. “I am a Mother but not a Mother”: The Paradox of Virtual Mothering.