Adopted Koreans in U.S. get together

A group of 400 families in a town in the U.S. state of New Jersey who have adopted Korean children, held a fraternal meeting, The New York Times reported July 26.

The sponsor of the meeting was Thomas G. Masters, 46, who was adopted by an American family in 1959, when he was 5 years old.

Behind his initiative for the fraternal meeting, he said, was his once attending a meeting of American-adopted Koreans in Las Vegas at the invitation of the Lions Club, when he worked with Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1983. At that time, he was very glad to rediscover the origins that he had forgotten for a long time.

The membership in his association in the United States now reaches over 300. They hold regular meetings, learn the Korean language, and make and eat Korean dishes. Also, they listen to lectures from invited notables.

At the meeting, he asked the participants not to forget that they are ethnic Koreans, and he advised their adopted parents that their children`s understanding Korean culture is the best way to ensure their happiness, as well as their parents` happiness.