Sympathy and Advice for Korean Adoptee

The Nov. 28 Korean adoptee story, “Searching for Missing Pieces of a Painful Past,” was well written, fairly presented, heart-rending. When I was an officer in Korea just after the war, our company of soldiers took in a dirty, wandering 6-year-old, and cleaned, fed and clothed him. When we had to move on, we took him to a Seventh-day Adventist orphanage, but he ran away. I still have his picture, little Pak Swee Lee, and wonder what happened to him. So I understand the situation.

What is missing in Peter Roach’s life is not money, but the healing richness of gratitude. If he is ever to be happy, he must learn his hate only harms himself and learn that life is not an entitlement and that he has total control over the “now” of life. It is not easy, but where is his love and gratitude toward the Roaches? They are one of the many families, through the richness of their hearts, who have taken in unwanted children. It is his obligation to others that he must now recognize as he faces the day. Love is reflected in love.

Fred Andresen

Corona del Mar

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Roach’s tenacity is the only uplifting element of this heart-rending, though probably not too unique, story. Everyone charged with his well-being failed him: his mother, who gave him up for $68,000; the adoption agency that profited from his ordeal; even his adoptive parents (who thought he could be a “twin” to their son) succumbed to the lure of Kolon Industries money and accepted, then squandered $100,000 meant for him. Adopting an 8-year-old is a very different matter than adopting an infant. Proper counseling might have helped them understand that adopted children don’t forget their past -- especially when it involves memories of affection and love.

Angela Rubio

Irvine