Family welcomes foster child to fold
Published: 02 Oct. 2009, 08:14
Park Yeong-seong, left, and her husband, Kwon Taek-sik, smile brightly while preparing a schoolbag and notebooks for their foster daughter Seul-ki. By Song Bong-geun
After Seul-ki’s mother was hospitalized this summer, the girl stayed at a pastor’s house and any other place that would have her. Now, a ray of hope has shined down on Seul-ki, who is still suffering from her loss.
Park Yeong-seong, a 51-year old housewife in Ulsan, read Seul-ki’s story through the Good Neighbors’ newsletter in early September and contacted the nonprofit international humanitarian organization. She said she wanted to raise the girl.
Park didn’t adopt Seul-ki but decided to raise her because she didn’t want to change Seul-ki’s background. She wanted Seul-ki to keep her surname and leave her family registry unchanged because she wanted the girl to remain as her biological mother’s daughter. “My mother passed away when I was 16,” Park said. “It makes me heartsick whenever I see motherless children. I just couldn’t let Seul-ki go because she will enter puberty soon, and I know she would have a hard time without a mother’s care.”
Park and her husband have a son and a daughter and had fostered three children since 2004. After Park broached the idea of fostering Seul-ki, her husband and daughter welcomed the move. But her son hesitated, worried that his mother would have a hard time raising a preteen girl. “I asked my son, ‘Imagine being an orphan when you were only 12,’ and that was when he changed his mind,” Park said.
Though Park’s family opened its heart to Seul-ki, the girl insisted she wanted to return to her hometown Gumi just a day after she moved into Park’s house. Seul-ki told her foster mom that she felt uncomfortable because she had never lived with male adults before. Park, however, persuaded her to stay for a few more days.
Now the once shy and nervous 12-year-old has become close to her new family. Seul-ki and Park exchange text messages daily and Seul-ki recently told Park that she has been craving tteokbokki, a spicy dish of rice cakes in red chili paste. The two recently went clothes shopping for Seul-ki, who will meet her new relatives during the Chuseok holiday.
Despite his earlier objections, Park’s son and Seul-ki have bonded. Seeing Seul-ki’s anticipation of seeing her brother again, Park asked with a smile, “You’re always looking for your brother. Is he your favorite now?”
By Jeong Seon-eon [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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