Chasing the Sun

An Orphan's Journey Home

source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, August 2003

Family Photo: Kim Jong Soon and Kim Jong Sun, photographed in an orphanage in Seoul, were given up for adoption by their family after their father died and their mother abandoned the family. They are now Lindsay and Courtnay Peifer, searching for their roots in a land they barely knew.

Download entire five-part series. (PDF 2.8Mb)

Part One (PDF 577Kb)

Twin adoptees search for their Korean roots
Courtnay Peifer and her twin sister, Lindsay, came to the U.S. 25 years ago as adoptees from Korea. Three years ago, they started on a quest to find out what they could about the Korean relatives they had left behind. This is the story of their quest.

Their mission was to adopt Korean orphans
As Oregon parents Harry and Bertha Holt were creating Holt International Children's Services to help other American families adopt Korean children -- eventually 60,000 -- the South Korean government began formalizing the adoption process overseas, something that was culturally unheard of before the 1950-53 war.

Part Two (PDF 300Kb)

A joyful surprise on the phone
P-I reporter Courtnay Peifer, adopted at 3 and relocated to Minnesota from her native South Korea, spent three years looking for her birth relatives without success. It took a Korean acquaintance three hours to find them.

A moment with ... Elliott Kim, state Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs
Commissioner Elliott Kim of the State of Washington Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs became the crucial link to reunite two American women with their Korean family.

A moment with ... Lt. Kwon Teh-il, Korean National Police
Korean National Police Lt. Kwon Teh-il, a 29-year police veteran, is the section chief of the white-collar crimes unit at Daegu West Metropolitan Police Department. Kwon and his wife have three children.

Part Three (PDF 620Kb)

Emotion-filled family reunion for twins
SEOUL -- Courtnay and Lindsay Peifer return to South Korea after nearly 25 years to meet relatives they can't remember, and begin learning about their past.

Thoughts and musings on finding family, roots
Family. It is the root of all of us. It is our foundation. Yet, where is the line drawn?

With one phone call -- lives forever altered
When I hung up the phone with Commissioner Elliott Kim, it was 2:45 a.m., 4:45 a.m. in Minnesota where my twin sister, Lindsay, and my parents live. I started pacing.

Short Takes: Rules of the road
Here are the rules in Seoul: Pedestrians must avoid cars and motorcycles whether the vehicles are driving on the road, on the sidewalk or in the crosswalk. The driver's obligation to the pedestrian: They must take any pedestrians they hit -- though it is the pedestrian's responsibility to avoid being hit -- to the hospital.

Part Four (PDF 480Kb)

One land connects two fathers
DAEBU ISLAND, South Korea -- A farmer dies and a soldier survives to take his place. Two fathers cleaved by half a world, but their fates intersect in Korea.

Short Takes: Can't sleep? Go shopping
Dongdaemun, or "east big gate," comes from the era when Seoul was protected by walls and guards watched over the city at stone gates. Today, it has shopping centers -- about 30,000 vendors -- open until 8 a.m.

Part Five (PDF 450Kb)

Coming home with losses healed
Courtnay and Lindsay Peifer end their journey of reconnection to family in South Korea and return to the U.S., fighting to understand the meaning of home.

Help for adoptees
Here is a list of organizations, support groups and other forums for Korean adoptees.

Short Takes: Stair masters
I initially wondered how everyone stays so thin in Korea with so much tasty food. Then I hit the subway. As simple as the subway is to navigate, it takes some effort.

Appendix (PDF 52Kb)

Family Tree, American:
See a recent photo of Courtnay Peifer's American family, along with a short biography of each member.

Family Tree, Korean:
See a photo of Courtnay Peifer's Korean family, taken before she was born, along with a short biography of each member.