Citizenship is more than a legal status.
It is belonging.
Opening Reflection
This is my first reflection in a series documenting my journey to regain Korean citizenship.
Citizenship is something I’ve always taken for granted.
Citizenship was provided to me when I was young. I was adopted from Korea, and my adoptive parents made the decision for me to become a citizen of the United States. At the time, I was probably six or seven years old. I didn’t know what citizenship was or why it was important.
All I knew was that I had to memorize a certain song and sing it to some strange person in a weird outfit.
Growing up, I never understood how valuable and important citizenship really is.
I was provided opportunities at every stage of my life because I was a citizen of the United States. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are words that really do mean something. As an adult, I understand why citizenship is so important and why it should never be taken for granted.
A Story That Changed How I Saw Citizenship
It wasn’t until recently that I watched a news story about a Korean adoptee living in the United States.
Like many adoptees, he was adopted from Korea and raised in America. He spent his life here, served in the U.S. military, and considered America his home.
However, because his citizenship was never properly completed during his adoption, he was not legally recognized as a U.S. citizen.
As a result, he was eventually deported to South Korea.
What struck me most was that he found himself caught between two countries. America no longer accepted him, yet Korea was also unfamiliar to him. He didn’t speak the language and had little connection to the country where he was born.
That story broke my heart.
Due to no fault of his own, he experienced something many adoptees understand on a deeply personal level: what it feels like to not fully belong.
It reminded me that citizenship is more than a legal status.
It is belonging.
Citizenship as Belonging
For me, citizenship means everything.
It means belonging.
It means having a place where you are recognized both legally and emotionally.
It means having a place that says, “You belong here.”
But as Korean adoptees, we are children of two worlds.
So what does that mean for us?
For me, it means that I am both a child of America and a child of South Korea.
Two Worlds, One Identity
Since reuniting with my birth mother, my understanding of identity has become even more complicated.
I look like 99% of the people in South Korea, yet I am also very different.
Even if I learn the culture, learn the language, and dress like everyone around me, I will always be different in some way.
At the same time, I learned that Korean adoptees now have the opportunity to apply for Korean citizenship.
Unlike many people seeking citizenship, we do not have to go through the same lengthy process because Korea recognizes that, as children, we never had the ability to choose which citizenship we would receive or maintain.
But now, as adults, we have a choice.
Reclaiming What Was Never Fully Documented
After reuniting with my birth mother and hearing the stories of my life before adoption, I began to feel a stronger connection to my roots in South Korea.
I also discovered something unexpected.
Because I was born at home and never received a birth certificate, I never truly existed in Korea from an administrative perspective.
Although I exist in the memories and heart of my birth mother, I don’t actually exist in the official records.
That realization stayed with me.
It made me realize that part of my journey is not only about reconnecting with family but also about reclaiming a part of my identity that was never fully documented.
Choosing Both
I decided that one way to continue my healing journey was to begin the process of obtaining dual citizenship with both the United States and South Korea.
South Korea is where I was born and spent the first five years of my life.
America is where I was raised and spent the next thirty-eight years.
I didn’t want to choose one country over the other.
I love both.
Pursuing dual citizenship felt like the most honest reflection of who I am and where my story comes from.
This series will bring you, the reader, along with me as I navigate that journey.
I hope it will be informative.
I hope you will experience the frustrations, joys, questions, and victories alongside me.
Most importantly, I hope it offers insight into what citizenship, identity, and belonging can mean for Korean adoptees.
So thank you for being here.
Let’s begin.