Birthmothers: Unspoken Side of Adoption  By Yi Chang-ho, Contributing Writer

Captured screen shots from the documentary “Resilience” about adoptees

The documentary "Resilience" has some remarkable features. One of them is that it portrays birthmothers, and most of them are single mothers, who unwillingly had to give up their children for adoption, a side of the story often neglected in Korea.

Another is how the documentary came to be. The documentary’s producer, the Rev. Kim Do-hyun, met a Korean adoptee for the first time while he was working and living in Switzerland. The woman was happily married and had a child. The Rev. Kim says, “Everyday she was happy, but one day she told me this: ‘I have a great question mark in my heart, absorbing all my energy.’’’ These overwhelming questions about her adoption, identity, birthparents and Korea made a big impact on him. He came to think that one of the ways to answer the questions of adoptees could be through the birthmothers. “If the adoptee has a question, maybe the birthmother has the answer. They are two sides of the same coin.’’