Many people don’t know that the large-scale international adoption movement started in Korea, right after the Korean War. It was the “perfect storm” of a war-torn country — orphaned children who were often Eurasians, because of the large contingent of Caucasian military personnel, combined with the Koreans enormous shame regarding these orphans and their unwed mothers. Often times, the children were literally left to die on the streets of Seoul. Rescue missions began quickly, and Harry Holt, a farmer and businessman from Oregon, went to Korea, began building orphanages, and then working with his wife, Bertha, lobbied Congress for some of the first international adoption laws. They adopted eight of these children themselves. Kim Brown, one of the magazine’s contributors, was one of those children who were rescued from near death. Holt Children’s Services is the agency that also delivered my children to me. Their work in Korea continued long after the war, and still goes on today. I wanted to provide some context to this incredibly fascinating and moving story, of one soldier who never forgot his days in Korea, and his promise to an orphan. – Jane Ballback Keeping A Promise (Part 1) As I sat Read more