Milan Wamsteker

At a young age, the notion of what Korea meant to me was not easy to grasp. It was the pre-internet era, and public libraries did not have any books about Korea. Growing up in a small countryside village, I did not even realize that I was different from other children.

It was during university that I had to explain for the first time why I looked different, spoke native Dutch, and carried a Dutch name. It was also while working in several Dutch companies that I realized colleagues did not always regard me as “one of us.”

As a result, I started to question: Who am I? Without a doubt, my adoption is part of that answer. Nowadays, much more is publicly known about overseas adoption from South Korea. However, very little is known about the beginning of my own life journey. Why was I abandoned by my parents? What does my family look like? What did I inherit from them? How are they doing?

To my Korean family, I would like to say the following:

“Dear mother and father, I forgave you a long time ago, no matter what the story is. After all these years, let us meet and bring peace to a painful family history.”

Your son,
Milan 홍광명