MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) – A man born in South Korea and raised in the U.P. has embarked on a quest to locate his family.
“I love you, and just tell me about the family, and let’s take advantage of the time we still have to make memories,” Kinnunen said.
Those were the things Tom Kinnunen, a Marquette resident, believes he would say if he met his biological parents.
At the age of one, he was adopted from South Korea by a loving Yooper family.
While using apps like anstory.com, Tom was able to find a few first cousins.
“There are many Korean adoptee social media groups on Facebook, and I belong to a handful of them,” Kinnunen said. ”They are gathering and trying to exchange stories and experiences, all to find their biological family.”
An Associated Press investigation has brought to light serious allegations of mistreatment within South Korea’s adoption program.
According to AP, numerous adoptees have discovered that their records were altered.
Some parents never knew their children had been sent abroad.
Kinnunen says he believes he is one of many kids who could have had their documents switched.
“Doctors might have pressured new parents to consider adoption so the kids can have a better chance of getting procedures and of living a healthy and better life,” Kinnunen said. ”Also, the biracial Koreans or the ones that weren’t married, those kids were top of the pile to be adopted.”
He describes his childhood in the U.P. as wonderful, however, he experienced some discrimination and questioned things.
“Speculating why I was adopted. Did my parents not love me? Was I not good enough?” Kinnunen said. ”Through my support, that helped me get through that, hopefully with this and where I’m at now with my journey to find my biological family, I’ll be able to figure that out.”
Kinnunen, the people in this community are why he remains in the U.P.
“They were accepting of me and making me feel like I’m one of them, and I believe that I am one of them,” Kinnunen said.
He says he will now continue his mission to find his parents but is grateful to the U.P. for taking him in and allowing him to call this place his home.
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