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“I Want to Introduce My Family to My Biological Parents”

2024-11-14 (목)
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▶ Melissa Enriquez, Korean Adoptee

“I Want to Introduce My Family to My Biological Parents”
"I want to show my birth parents how I look now and introduce them to the family I've built in the United States. I am deeply grateful to them for giving me the chance to live a healthy life."

Melissa Enriquez (Korean name Jung Won-ok, 53, pictured), a Korean adoptee, expressed her desire to reconnect with her roots in a letter to Korea's Adoption Identity Support Team. "Both my children and I are in excellent health," she wrote.

According to her adoption records, Jung was likely born on May 15, 1971. A week later, on May 22, she was found by a neighbor in Gyosan-dong, Hanam-si, Gyeonggi Province. She was subsequently placed in a child protection center managed by the city, and through Holt Children’s Services, she was adopted by an American family on October 14 of the same year.


Her adoptive father, a former U.S. Air Force serviceman, was stationed near Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. Both of her adoptive parents have since passed away. Jung is married with three children, and her eldest daughter recently got married. Although she has a penicillin allergy, she has no other significant health issues.

While Jung regrets not having detailed records due to the closure of the initial child protection center in 2006, she remains hopeful. She continues to search for her birth parents, eager to show them her life now and introduce the family she has built in America.

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