In a word:

beautiful

Many Americans can not fathom how many adoptees there are in Europe.  But here in Seoul I meet the ones who have returned, and I must say, they are distinctly European in their outlook and the way in which they have handled (or not) the burden of being raised in distinct mono-cultures.

We just got word of this animated film and look forward to its completion and eventual release.

Here’s the write-up from Imprint TALK:  Fresh Asian Pop Culture

Approved for Adoption, a hybrid animated/documentary, is being hailed as the Korean Persepolis.  Persepolis was an Oscar nominated film in 2007 that used animation to tell the story of the narrators memories of childhood and adolescence.  Approved for Adoption uses a similar technique where the main subject matter of the film, Belgian-Korean comic book artist Jung, goes back to Korea for the first time since he was orphaned.  The animated sequences will help illustrate the memories of his childhood growing up with his adoptive parents in Belgium.  The film is directed by French filmmaker Laurent Boileau.  No word yet on an official US release date.

This is a pretty unique perspective on the whole Korean adoptee story because of the European setting.  There are, of course, many similar stories that have been told from Korean-Americans who were adopted at a very young age.  Here’s hoping that it will get a chance to play in the United States in the near future.

Here’s the official blogsite for the film.  It’s in French only though: http://approved-for-adoption.blogspot.com/