The Email

Let me start from the beginning. About a week and a half ago, I got an email from G.O.A.'L (Global Overseas Adoption Link), a Korean Adoptee organization I became a member of when I lived in NYC. The subject line was, "G.O.A.'L 2013 First Trip Home Deadline Extended!" Up until that moment, I wasn't even aware of this opportunity, but in reading the email, I became intrigued. It read:

Greetings from Seoul,

At Global Overseas Adoptees’ Link we are pleased to announce the 2013 First Trip Home.

Since 2008 Global Overseas Adoptees’ Link (G.O.A.'L) have arranged First Trip Home with the aim to reunite Korean adoptees with birth families and provide a unique experience for the participants. First Trip Home is intended for adoptees that have never previously returned to Korea, and would like to do so in order to conduct a birth family search. Rather than a typical tourist tour of Korea, our First Trip Home is focused on Birth Family Search and the reunion process.

This year's First Trip Home will focus on the southernmost portion of the Korean peninsula. We will focus the search on the city of Busan and nearby provinces.

We select the First Trip Home participants based on the following criteria:

• You have never returned to Korea since your adoption;
• The availability of your birth family search information;
• Whether you originate from Busan or surrounding areas.

Participants will have the opportunity to visit their adoption agency and other relevant places to their specific Birth Family Search. In cases where your birth family is not located, you will have the possibility of appearing in different Korean media to expose your story to the Korean public (most likely through the nationwide tv stations KBS or YTN).

I couldn't believe that I happened to get this email out of the blue- the timing of this trip was exactly when I was already planning a trip with my husband. We had asked my parents to watch the boys, and cleared our schedule. I fit all the parameters. It sounded like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me..would it even be possible? I forwarded it to my husband so we could discuss it; he was very supportive of it. I got the ball rolling with my application. Could this really happen?